People

James C. Witte
James Witte is the former Director of the Center for Social Science Research (CSSR) and the Institute for Immigration Research (IIR). Witte, who earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1991, has been a professor at Clemson University and Northwestern University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Carolina Population Center and a lecturer in sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Dr. Witte has written numerous articles that have appeared in journals such as The European Sociological Review, Population and Development Review and Sociological Methods and Research.  He has also published three books, Labor Force Integration and Marital Choice, the Internet and Social Inequality and The Normal Bar.  The Normal Bar, co-authored with Chrisanna Northrup and Pepper Schwartz, was released in 2013 and made the New York Times bestseller list. Dr. Witte came to Mason in the fall of 2009 to take over leadership of CSSR. 

Nishit Sahay
Nishit Sahay is Senior Advisor-External Relations at Institute of Immigration Research (IIR) He leads IIR’s external relations efforts that build and sustain IIR’s expertise and offerings to the wider audience nationally and globally. He works closely with faculty, staff and key persons in the university to enhance academic and research collaborations of the center with Universities, public and private institutions, donor organizations and philanthropic groups. Sahay also assists center’s leadership in wide range of fundraising activities, including providing stewardship, identifying new prospective donors, developing solicitation goals, objectives, and strategies that cultivate support for public service education with a focus on immigration policy & welfare through IIR.

Sahay uses his training as Experimental Nuclear Physicist, professional experiences in international trade, higher education & training and public policy in understanding and finding quantitative description of a broad class of collective dynamical phenomena within society. At the center, he works on issues concerning social, political and economic contributions of immigrants and their integration into the United States. His interests and expertise throw light on American ingenuity in social, economic and technological innovations that help US maintain its leadership role in the world. Sahay holds M.S. in Transportation, Policy, Operations & Logistics (TPOL) from George Mason University; M.Sc. in Experimental Nuclear Physics from the department of Physics & Astrophysics, University of Delhi; Master’s in International Business from Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and Bachelor’s in Science with honors in Physics from Ranchi University, India.

Mustafa Hyder
Dr. Mustafa Hyder is a research scholar and faculty member at the University of Karachi. He is also an official facilitator and trainer of the British Council Active citizenship program, member of the Community Resilience Research Network (SDPI), Intel Trainer and ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System certified. Dr. Hyder is also an MBTI expert, corporate trainer and career counselor, has compiled 8 books of intermediate level for entrance & aptitude tests of medical, engineering and business institutions. He shifted from physical sciences to social sciences and did his Masters in Public Administration at the department of Public Administration, University of Karachi in 2005-06. After his graduation in Computer Science from the department of Computer science, University of Karachi way back in 2000-2001 he worked for Fazaia Degree College as lecturer for 7.5 years. In a short period of 4 years he became Head of Computer Science department there. He has about 20 Years of Administration and Teaching experience in education sector.

Tehmina Faisal
Dr. Tehmina Faisal is associated with the Department of Public Administration, University of Karachi as Asst. Professor since 2012. She has earned her PhD in the year 2019 under the title “Social Entrepreneurship; A Pathway to Social Change – A case of Pakistan”. She has published quite a few articles on topics related to social policy, youth engagement, women empowerment, encouraging entrepreneurial tendencies and managing human resources in organizations. Her work shows her enthusiasm and commitment towards the preservation and progression of ethical and social norms and trends; embracing social change and development of social capital, specifically in Pakistan. Dr. Tehmina was also associated with the GMU-UoK project on “Managing Megacities – A case of Karachi (2014-2016)”, as a research scholar and lead organizer for the project conference held at Karachi in Sept, 2016. She is a certified British Council trainer for SAP; and is currently associated with multiple research projects at national and international level.

Speakers from Pakistan:

  • Dr. Mustafa Hyder: PPP Co-PI, British Council Active Citizenship Program, Community Resilience Research Network, University of Karachi: Introduction to the Parallel Pandemic Project, July 1, 2020
  • Dr. Abdul Bari Khan: CEO Indus Hospital Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Member Task Force on National Health Services And Regulation Ministry: COVID-19 and Healthcare System, July 8, 2020
  • Anis Shiekh: Economist, CEO #baseH Technologies, Co-Founder #Peepu, developer of #AI #News writing software: COVID-19 and Economy, July 15, 2020
  • Ambassador (r) Tajammul Altaf: Former diplomat; Former Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senior Research Associate at Institute of Policy Studies: COVID-19 and Policy Implementation, July 22, 2020
  • M Azhar Siddique: Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Human Rights Activist, Pro Bono Public Lawyer, Columnist: COVID-19 and Legislative Responses, July 29, 2020
  • Sumrin Kalia: PhD Candidate: COVID-19 and Religion, August 5, 2020
  • Prof. Dr. Anila Amber Malik: Professor of Psychology, Counselor / Consultant: COVID-19 and the Family, August 12, 2020
  • Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood Iraqi: Eminent Educationist VC, University of Karachi: COVID-19 and Education System, August 19, 2020
  • Rizwan Jaffar: Anchor-AAJ News., Founder Chairman Youth Parliament, Convener-FPCCI Standing Committee on Media & Youth Development: COVID-19 and Media, August 26, 2019

Speakers from the United States:

  • James Witte: PPP Co-PI, George Mason University, Professor of Sociology, Director of the Institute for Immigration Research: Introduction to the Parallel Pandemic Project, July 1, 2020
  • Dennis K. McBride: Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies: COVID-19 and the Health Care System, July 8, 2020
  • Dan Griswold: George Mason University, Co-Director, PAEG, Mercatus Policy Research, Mercatus Center: COVID-19 and the Economy, July 15, 2020
  • Kingsley Haynes: George Mason University Professor Emeritus: COVID-19 and Policy Implementation, July 22, 2020
  • Ed Rhodes: George Mason University, Professor of Public Policy: COVID-19 and Legislative Responses, July 29, 2020
  • John Turner: George Mason University, Professor of Religious Studies: COVID-19 and Religion, August 5, 2020
  • Patricia Masters: George Mason University, Professor of Sociology: COVID-19 and the Family, August 12, 2020
  • Mark Ginsberg: George Mason University, Provost and Executive Vice President: COVID-19 and the Educational System, August 19, 2020
  • Gary Kreps: George Mason University, Distinguished Professor of Communication, Director, Center for Health and Risk Communication: COVID-19 and the Media, August 26, 2020