William Ford

I am a development practitioner focused on peacebuilding, policy analysis and governance reform in Southeast Asia with 13 years of experience - four years living in Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Vietnam and Malaysia), and nine years in the US. I serve as Burma Program Officer at the US Institute of Peace. Since the 2021 coup, I focus primarily on conflict-sensitive local governance, intra-resistance peacebuilding, and mental health and psychosocial support. I regularly brief senior officials on conflict dynamics in Burma and write about intra-resistance cohesion-building, the religious dimension of conflict, and pathways to stability. I constantly seeking ways to optimize our program operations with deep interest in exploring creative and rigorous ways to measure the impact of our work - including through experimental and quasi-experimental methods. I have held positions with The Asia Foundation, the Center for Effective Global Action and the Tharthi Myay Foundation. I also spent 4 years at Freedom House, where I served as Freedom House's first Country Representative in Myanmar. I have managed projects funded by the US State Department (DRL, INL, CSO), USAID, and DFATD, and have worked on DFID and FCO-funded projects. I hold a masters degree in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. My coursework focused primarily on econometrics, policy analysis, program evaluation, and international economic development. Feel free to reach out: bford14@gmail.com | +1-804-840-5820