Ben Spears, M.A.

Before joining the Conflict Resolution Program in 2018 to focus on Sudan, Ben Spears interned with The Carter Center in 2013 and joined as program associate in 2016. He was promoted to associate director in 2022. With the Democracy Program, Spears coordinated election observation and transition monitoring in the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Spears previously managed field operations for multiple political campaigns, coordinated outreach for Congressman John Lewis’ district office, and directed programs for Ultimate Peace, a peer-to-peer sports initiative in the Middle East. Spears studied Arabic in North Atlanta High School’s International Baccalaureate program, liberal arts at Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, earned a bachelor’s degree in international development at George Washington University’s Elliott School, and a master’s in nonprofit management at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.