Ashkan Shekarchi
Scholar . Policy Analyst . Author . Translator
Hailing from a long and diverse educational background, I have been engaging in multidisciplinary studies and cross-sectoral topics, with a focus on development management and public policy. This is where I can leverage my array of competencies to craft, analyze, and revamp policies and initiatives, particularly in the realms intersecting economic and human development, religious statecraft, and foreign affairs.
Having cultivated my quantitative, critical, and language skills over many years across several areas of knowledge, I have advanced my professional path as a researcher and policy analyst. I have served for a decade as an economic researcher and development strategy analyst, conducting numerous sector-specific comparative studies and analyzing economic, social, and political dimensions of national policies and strategic roadmaps. Similarly, my Ph.D. research focused on the interplay and dynamics of faith-based organizations, religious statecraft, and regional policy in the recent Middle East.
Being an avid scholar, traveler, and lifelong linguaphile has led me to deeply appreciate cultural, linguistic, and literary heritage. This dedication has enabled me to author a half-dozen books on verbal systems in languages and engage in wide-ranging studies on literature and linguistics. In addition to these scholarly pursuits, I have a strong interest in cinema, cosmology, history, and mystical theology, and actively engage in cycling, swimming, and skateboarding!
Milestones
During my formative undergraduate years, studying physics provided me with strong analytical and quantitative skills, sharpening my systemic thinking and problem-solving abilities. A minor in management also inspired me how to craft and conduct plans and policies. Engaging in miscellaneous extracurricular activities—from mountaineering and mysticism to poetry, psychology, and photography—has significantly shaped my life trajectory ever since.
My ever-present dedication to acquiring reading and rendering skills in a dozen major languages has allowed me direct access to a vast scholarly and literary heritage, enriching my intellectual, cultural, and interpersonal accomplishments.
Pursuing two consecutive master’s degrees in Economics and Comparative Religion has immersed me in the study of humans, institutions, societies, and states. This academic path has integrated my analytical and systemic skills with critical and historical thinking, enabling me to address economic, social, and political issues both holistically and effectively.
More like a wild roller-coaster ride than a cruise—quite onerous, yet absolutely rewarding. My doctoral dissertation centered on Islamic ecumenical enterprise in the recent Middle East, focusing on the intersection of faith-based organizations, religious statecraft, and regional policy.
It taught me the true art of scholarship, honed my critical thinking and academic writing, and enhanced my ability to conduct an extensive, multidisciplinary study with rigorous methodology.
A decade of engagement in development management and public policy—away and along my academic pursuits— introduced me to the competencies and complexities of real-world statecraft and policymaking across a wide range of arenas.
A score years of endeavors, both on- and off-campus, across disciplines from religious studies and foreign affairs to economics and linguistics, has positioned me to contribute further to the educational field by authoring seven scholarly books, with half a dozen more in the pipeline. Advancing human development has always been—and will continue to be—my core personal and professional mission.