ABOUT THE FELLOWS

Waheed Ahmad (2024-2025)

Waheed Ahmad holds over a decade of experience at the intersection of national security, governance, and development. He notably served as a senior National Security staff of the Afghanistan Democratic Government (2001-2021). During his tenure, he was responsible for strategy and implementation of security sector reforms, and for developing the 2020 Afghanistan National Threat Assessment among other projects.

Originally from Baghlan, Afghanistan, Waheed’s passion for public service began during his adolescence. In the early days of the Afghanistan democracy, he led many civic activities in his hometown, including the establishment of a library and sponsoring a radio station for women voices.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Balkh University in Mazar, Afghanistan and later pursued a Master of Public Administration degree from State University of New York- Binghamton as a Fulbright Scholar. He has worked at every level of the Afghanistan Democratic Government, from sub-national conflict resolution and community engagement with the Ministry of the Interior to empowering sub-national elected bodies and local councils with the Independent Directorate of Local Governance. In his past roles, he worked closely with the United Nations Development Program, the United States and NATO mission in Afghanistan, and the World Bank, as well as other relevant stakeholders.

Waheed has also written many articles on Afghanistan’s security and political challenges that have been published in international news outlets, including a chapter on Afghanistan’s implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He has received several awards, including a top honor from the President of Afghanistan for his public service. He is fluent in English, Farsi, Pashto, and Urdu.

Waheed fled Afghanistan after the Taliban forcibly took power during the U.S. withdrawal from the country in 2021. Once in the U.S., he served as Resident Practitioner at the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) at Binghamton University, focusing on human rights issues in Afghanistan. He is now a Mason Fellow pursuing his MC/MPA at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Nazmul Haque (2023-2024)

Nazmul Haque has over 20-year experience in structuring and financing infrastructure, renewable energy, and PPP projects in Bangladesh. As the Chief Investment Officer of IDCOL, the largest development financial institution of Bangladesh, he managed a loan portfolio of USD$1+ billion, played an important role in negotiating sovereign debts and supported government on various policy matters.

In addition to conventional infrastructure projects, Mr. Haque played a lead role in designing and implementing several ‘Access to Energy’ programs in the country that provided clean energy, water, and cooking solutions to millions of rural people and reduced indoor air pollution and respiratory diseases among women and children. In recent years, he worked on promoting energy efficiency across multiple sectors and mobilized US$ 500m+ to support industries and buildings in adopting clean technologies and reducing their CO2 footprints.

Mr. Haque is an international coach on project and climate finance and has consultancy experiences in several developing countries of Asia and Africa. He delivered speeches and presented papers at many seminars/conferences across Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America.

Mr. Haque is an Edward S. Mason Fellow in Public Policy and Management and an MCMPA candidate at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. A Summa Cum Laude in his class, Mr. Haque also has an MBA from North South University, Bangladesh.

He loves traveling, cooking, pottery-making and is a proud father of two beautiful children – Zayed and Zubi.

Laila Khondkar (2022-2023)

Laila Khondkar is from Bangladesh. She has two decades of experience in international development. As a practitioner and researcher, she has contributed to Child Protection, Child Rights Governance, Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS sectors. Laila has worked with Save the Children in various technical, management and leadership positions in Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Liberia, Australia and England. In addition to working with CARE on Program Quality, she offered consultancy support to several national and international organizations. She has conducted research on public health issues at Centre for International Development (Harvard University), Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies (South Africa), and Institute of Population and Social Research (Mahidol University, Thailand).

Laila has significant experience in working at local, national and global levels on policy and advocacy. She writes regularly on child rights and other development issues and also speaks up on child rights violations through active engagement with print and electronic media.

Laila has completed MSc Control of Infectious Diseases from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Post Graduate Diploma: Children, Youth and Development from Institute of Social Studies, the Nederlands. She is presently studying Mid-Career Master in Public Administration/Mason Fellows Program at Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Learn more about Laila below! Video created by Rick Brotman '73.

Zeina Majdalani (2021-2022)

Engineer Zeina Majdalani completed the MC/MPA master’s degree program at Harvard Kennedy School. She is originally from Lebanon and currently residing in Beirut. Zeina has been recently elected as board member of the Harvard Alumni Association of Lebanon.

As part of the office of the Prime Minister in Lebanon, Mrs. Majdalani currently works on various infrastructure/development projects related to the water/energy sectors, as a senior economic expert. In parallel to her work, she is a lecturer on sustainable engineering at LAU University, including courses for the Honors Program Section.

Mrs. Majdalani is a founder and current President of the Lebanese Women Engineers committee; and represents Lebanon in the Arab Women Engineers Committee.

Zeina has a BE in civil/environmental engineering, a master’s in engineering management, and an MBA from the American University of Beirut; as well as an international diploma from ENA school/France.

Her publications include “Sustainability in the Construction Industry: A Lebanese Case Study.” Global Thinkers Forum has selected Zeina for the category Leadership/Women Empowerment and shortlisted her for the Award of Excellence.

Learn more about Zeina below! Video created by Rick Brotman '73.