Scott Worden is an undergraduate capstone instructor at the Jackson School of Global Affairs (2023-2024).
Worden is director of Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). He comes into this role with an extensive background in reconstruction, development, democracy and governance policy, among others; as well as extensive regional expertise on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Prior to joining USIP, Worden was director of the Lessons Learned Program at the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), and served as acting director of policy as well as a senior policy advisor for the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In the latter position, he was responsible for advising senior officials on strategies for sustainable development in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
At his previous time with USIP, Worden directed Rule of Law development programs for the USIP and served as a United Nations-appointed Electoral Complaints Commissioner for the 2009 Afghanistan elections, as well as advising the U.N. on elections in 2005-06.
Worden also lived for two years in Cambodia working on legal aid and transitional justice projects. He began his career as an associate with a law firm in New York. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at Colgate University and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.