Older and Unappreciated: Workers Over 50 Face a Rough Time on the Job
USA Today, December 26, 2022
Forget the Great Resignation. The shakeup of Generation Z workers, seeking fulfillment and treating their jobs like a game of musical chairs, will sort itself out over time.
South Korea Is No Country for Young People
Foreign Policy, November 5, 2021
“Squid Game” reflects a landscape of despair.
South Korea Struggles to Confront Its Own Racial Prejudices
Foreign Policy, November 17, 2020
Black Lives Matter has sparked change among a younger generation.
COVID-19: Life in Seoul Amid the Epidemic
The Diplomat, March 11, 2020
With the most coronavirus cases outside of China, South Korea is now living through its own real-life drama.
South Korea Needs More Immigrants
Korea Éxpose, January 8, 2020
A temporary “guest” worker program cannot be used to address the country’s long-term and structural labor shortage.
The Great American Food Aid Boondoggle
Foreign Policy, December 10, 2019
The United States could feed millions more people—if it changed outdated policies.
How Not to Build Back after Disasters
The Hill, September 19, 2019
Natural disasters disproportionately affect the underclass. Yet, disaster recovery has amplified social inequality that made poor communities more vulnerable to natural disasters in the first place.
A Green New Deal for Global Hunger
The Hill, June 5, 2019
Environmentalists often discuss saving the planet without talking about hunger. It’s similar to Davos attendees discussing inequality without talking about taxes.
When MeToo comes to the UN
The New York Daily News, February 19, 2019
Why progress in the world organization can feel maddeningly slow.
Time to Reevaluate Agriculture as Cape Town Runs Dry
The Hill, April 28, 2018
Cape Town’s taps are running dry. This South African city of juxtapositions — for some a haven of wine and breathtaking views, for others a city of crushing poverty and the legacy of apartheid – has shown what happens when climate change collides with urban inequality.
Japan and South Korea Shut Out Refugees
USA Today, September 14, 2015
Japan and South Korea are like estranged fraternal siblings. Both have more in common than they care to admit: an aging population, abysmal birthrates and gender inequality.
Rethink Masculinity for Father’s Day
USA Today, June 19, 2015
Father’s Day might seem like the wrong holiday to discuss discrimination against mothers. But the problem is an enduring workplace affliction, which also harms dads.
PowerPoint should be banned. This PowerPoint presentation explains why.
The Washington Post, May 26, 2015
Make these slides the last ones you ever read.
How Not to Empower Women in Afghanistan
Cicero Magazine, April 8, 2015
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s $416 million, five-year program to boost women’s leadership runs the risk of being irrelevant in a country where, just last month, a woman was beaten to death by a mob of men in broad daylight for allegedly burning a Quran.
Why the Pentagon Needs a War on PowerPoint
Cicero Magazine, March 18, 2015
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter became the latest top Pentagon official to recognize the threat posed by the indiscriminate and ingrained use of PowerPoint, when he banned his commanders from using it during a summit in Kuwait.
S. Korea Reflects Lag in Gender Equality
USA Today, March 14, 2015
The world leaders have gathered at the United Nations in New York to take stock of progress on gender equality since a landmark conference in Beijing declared women’s rights as human rights 20 years ago.
A Nation as Beautiful as a Rolex Knockoff
Korea Exposé, January 25, 2015
I only recently saw the photos of 20 remarkably identical-looking Miss Korea contestants. The shots of these polished young women inspire both horror and confusion.
Disaster Relief Fiascoes
USA Today, December 26, 2014
Ten years ago this Friday, a tsunami wiped away whole coastlines of Southeast Asia, leveling villages, uprooting millions and killing a quarter of a million people in its wake.
When Women Bully Women at Work
The New York Daily News, November 3, 2014
I have had my share of egomaniacal male bosses, but I also know how female fury can strike.
A Trail of UN Malfeasance in Afghanistan
Cicero Magazine, October 15, 2014
The correspondence between the chief of the U.S. watchdog on Afghanistan reconstruction and the administrator of the UN’s development agency over a trust fund, bankrolling the Afghan police force, is an entertaining read.
Can a Divided UN Help us Fight Terrorism?
Cicero Magazine, September 24, 2014
President Obama came before the United Nations hat in hand this week and got it to commit to anti-terror action, as the Security Council unanimously approved his foreign fighters resolution.
Send Development Aid to North Africa, Not Drones
Cicero Magazine, September 16, 2014
With the unforgiving sun beating down on creaking donkey carts in bone-dry heat, it is evident to first-time visitors that Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, is one of the poorest places on earth.
Why Older Workers Are Valuable
USA Today, September 10, 2014
This summer I quit a paper-pushing job at an international organization at the tender age of 40. Horror stories of mid-lifers scrambling to find work months or years on end made me wonder whether I’d be able to get back into the job market.
Lebanon’s Refugee Crisis: Crushing and Curable
The New York Daily News, June 20, 2014
It is striking to a first-time visitor: Lebanon is a bustling crossroads of many worlds. It’s fascinatingly Arab and European, Muslim and Christian.
Standardized Testing Afflicts Us All
USA Today, October 20, 2013
In an American society that values originality and creativity, it makes no sense to subject millions of students to “one size fits all” testing that inspires uniform skills and conformity.
UN Should Combat Poverty, Not Dictators
USA Today, September 24, 2013
World War Z was one of the few gripping summer blockbusters. Brad Pitt plays a former U.N. investigator who worked in crisis countries. Using special forces-like skills, Pitt searches the globe for the origin of a zombie outbreak.
New York and the United Nations: Time for a Divorce
New York Daily News, September 23, 2013
It’s time for New York and the UN to split.
My Gloriously Useless Degrees in the Humanities
Christian Science Monitor, August 17, 2012
When I left school in 2002 with a master’s degree in international affairs, I was set on having a career at the United Nations. Ten years later, I have the experience of both working for and leaving the UN.
Rein in United Nations Pay
New York Daily News, April 26, 2012
At the UN in New York, I once had a boss who, whenever she had to take a personal trip back to Africa, found a conference to attend. The UN then paid for her business class flights between New York and Dakar, for instance, and gave her a travel allowance.
Ex Nemo 