Dr. Robert E. Maguire
Dr. Maguire joined the faculty of the International Development Studies (IDS) program at the Elliott School in August 2011, following a decade in the International Affairs program at Trinity Washington University, where he also directed the Trinity Haiti Program. In January 2012, he assumed the duties of Director of GW’s Latin America and Hemispheric Studies Program (LAHSP).
Dr. Maguire has worked for years on issues of ‘bottom-up’ development in post-plantation societies in the Americas, including Louisiana, where he conducted Ph. D. research, but especially Haiti and the English-speaking Caribbean. He is recognized as leading US expert on Haiti, having been engaged with that country since 1974. His current involvement focuses on issues of US-Haiti policy, politics, post-disaster development, and effective poverty alleviation.
Scott Freeman
Scott Freeman is a Doctoral candidate in anthropology at Columbia University in the program of applied anthropology at Teachers College. His research takes place in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti, focusing on sustainable development initiatives and environmental development projects. Specifically, he examines how these projects cultivate unintended understandings of the environment, land, and labor. He is a current visiting scholar at the Institute for Global and International Studies at the Elliott School of George Washington University.
Nicholas Johnson
Nic Johnson is a BA candidate at the Elliott School of International Affairs, concentrating in International Development and Economics. His interest in Haiti began with analyzing the perceptions of foreign humanitarian intervention in historical context. His research now focuses on the prospects of micro-credit and other domestic initiative-based aid models. He currently works as a Research Assistant at the Institute for Global and International Studies, where he manages the “Focus on Haiti” blog.
Past Team Members
Meghan Pierce
Meghan Pierce is a BA candidate at the Elliott School of International Affairs, concentrating in International Development and Latin American Studies. Her research experience includes US/Latin American migration and Latin American gender and development issues. She worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute for Global and International Studies, where she managed the “Focus on Haiti” blog.
Focus On Haiti Initiative 
I’m very impressed with the site and the accomplishments of the team members.