The Middle East Institute is proud to host Leslie Campbell, senior associate and regional director for the Middle East, and Danya Greenfield, deputy director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council, for an assessment of the Jordanian elections and an examination of the political challenges ahead for Jordan's King Abdullah II. Both Campbell and Greenfield monitored the parliamentary elections on January 23rd and return to Washington from Amman with fresh insights about the implications of Jordan's democratic reform efforts and the pressures faced by King Abdullah II as he seeks to address growing frustration with his rule.

The Middle East Institute's Vice President, Kate Seelye, will moderate.

Biographies:
Leslie Campbell has 25 years of experience in international development, parliamentary governance and political affairs. He joined NDI in 1994 and has directed the Institute's programs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region since 1996. As NDI's senior associate and regional director, Mr. Campbell has overseen a vast expansion of NDI's programs in the Middle East with the establishment of offices and programs that furnish assistance with political, civic and governance reform throughout the Arab world. Mr. Campbell has been a guest lecturer at American University, Princeton University, Georgetown University, Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the University of Toronto. He has served on task forces and study groups on Middle East democracy at the Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the United States Institute of Peace and is a member of the Agenda Working Group for the Halifax International Security Forum. Mr. Campbell holds a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University and a B.A. from the University of Manitoba.

Danya Greenfield is the deputy director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. A democracy and governance specialist with extensive experience in the Middle East and North Africa, prior to joining the Atlantic Council, she worked at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) as a Program Officer for the Middle East and North Africa division. Before CIPE, she worked as a program officer at the International Republican Institute (IRI) from 2003-2007 and helped launch several field offices and managed a variety of programs related to elections, political party strengthening and civil society development in Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Qatar, Jordan and West Bank/Gaza. From 1997-2000, Danya worked within the NGO and interfaith community in Washington on international policy issues and advocated to increase US international engagement, support foreign aid, and fulfill US financial commitments to the United Nations. Danya holds a Master's Degree in International Relations and Middle East Studies from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Tufts University.