Jennifer Brick
Murtazashvili

Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili is a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public and International Affairs, where she holds secondary appointments in the Departments of Economics and Political Science. She is the Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Markets and a Nonresident Scholar in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Her research focuses on the political economy of governance, institutions, and development — with particular expertise in Afghanistan, Central Asia, and post-Soviet states. She examines how informal institutions, customary governance, and property rights shape political order, state-building, and conflict in fragile and transitional societies. Her work also extends to the Middle East and questions of regional cooperation and geopolitics, exploring how states and non-state actors navigate governance challenges across contested and strategically significant regions.

Murtazashvili has been recognized for distinguished research, teaching, and service. She was named one of the "World's Top Thinkers" by Prospect Magazine and has testified before the U.S. Congress, delivered keynote addresses for the U.S. State Department, and advised governments and international organizations on governance and development policy. Her research honors include the Elinor Ostrom Award from the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research and the APSIA Inclusion Award from the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. She has received the Goldstein Award for Distinguished Teaching, the Outstanding Civic Engagement Project Award from the American Political Science Association, and the University of Pittsburgh's Chancellor's Distinguished Public Service Award.

She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science (with a minor in Constitutional and Comparative Law) and an M.A. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She has conducted research in Afghanistan, across Central Asia, Israel, and Russia, and has served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, a Democracy and Governance Officer for USAID, and formerly as a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Atlantic Council.

Murtazashvili has raised more than $15 million in external funding and uses philanthropy as a tool to bridge divides — bringing together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners across diverse values and geographies. Her work has been supported by private foundations, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Education, and many others.