Midcoast Forum on Foreign Relations

Sir Masood Ahmed

May 18, 2026

Topic: World Development and the US Role

Sir Masood Ahmed is the president emeritus of the Center for Global Development. He joined the Center in January 2017, capping a 35-year career driving economic development policy initiatives relating to debt, aid effectiveness, trade, and global economic prospects at major international institutions including the IMF, World Bank, and DFID.

Ahmed joined CGD from the IMF, where he served for eight years as director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, earning praise from Managing Director Christine Lagarde as a “visionary leader.” In that role, he oversaw the Fund’s operations in 32 countries, and managed relationships with key national and regional policy makers and stakeholders. In previous years, he also served as the IMF’s director of External Relations, and deputy director of the Policy Development and Review Department.

From 2003-2006, Ahmed served as director general, Policy and International at the UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID). In that role, he was responsible for advising UK ministers on development issues and overseeing the UK’s relationship with international development institutions such as the World Bank.

Ahmed also worked at the World Bank from 1979-2000 in various managerial and economist positions, rising to become Vice President, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. In that role he led the HIPC (heavily indebted poor countries) debt relief initiative, which has to-date brought relief from debt burdens to 36 of the world’s poorest nations.

Born and raised in Pakistan, Ahmed moved to London in 1971 to study at the LSE where he obtained a BSc Honors as well as an MSc Econ with distinction.

As a leading expert on international development finance, Masood Ahmed has served on a number of international committees and forums. Currently, he is Policy Advisor to the G20 High Level Independent Expert Group on Strengthening Multilateral Development Banks and co-chair of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Future of Growth. Previously, he was a member of the G20 High Level Independent Panel on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response and the High Level Advisory Group of on Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery and Growth set up by the World Bank and IMF.

In January 2023, he received a knighthood (KCMG) from the UK government for his services to international development.

Dr. Isaiah (Ike) Wilson

April 13, 2026

Topic: Why America Keeps Winning Battles—and Losing the Peace

Dr. Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III is a retired U.S. Army colonel, former Department of Defense senior civilian executive, and a scholar-practitioner of national security and strategy. He is the founder and CEO of Wilson W.i.S.E. Consulting, where he advises leaders on security, governance, and institutional resilience, and a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University.

Dr. Wilson previously served as President of the Joint Special Operations University and has spent decades working at the intersection of military power, diplomacy, and civic legitimacy. His current work focuses on the role of soft power, trust, and democratic credibility in sustaining American influence in an era of great-power competition. He is also the host of The Civic Brief podcast and author of the Substack Compound Security, Unlocked.

George Chalos

March 30, 2026

Topic: Anchoring Power – The Rise of the US as Global Enforcers in the Maritime Industry

George M. Chalos is the principal and founding member of Chalos & Co, P.C.  Mr. Chalos has been engaged in the practice of international maritime, admiralty and regulatory law for nearly thirty (30) years, and is experienced in all facets of complex civil, criminal and administrative cases, sanctions, maritime attachment and vessel arrests, Marpol, environmental matters, and other international maritime and commercial transactions. He is a seasoned and respected litigator, having been counsel of record in over two thousand (2000+) civil and criminal maritime matters, in over twenty (20+) different U.S. District and Appellate Courts.

In addition, he has earned the high distinction of being recognized as a Proctor in Admiralty by fellow members of the Maritime Law Association of the United States. He is a contributing member and author for the Shiparrested.com network, an international network of lawyers who specialize in handling ship arrests and attachments around the world. Mr. Chalos is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuits, and the following U.S. Federal District courts: the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the Northern District of New York; the District of Connecticut; the Southern District of Texas; the Eastern District of Texas; the Central District of Illinois; the District of Columbia, the Central District of Utah; and the Northern District of Florida, and is admitted to practice law before all trial and appellate courts sitting in the States of New York, Texas, and Utah.

Mr. Chalos has authored numerous articles involving matters of legal significance, which have been published in law journals and bar association newsletters and is regularly called upon as a speaker at conferences throughout the world.

Christina Bobrow

February 9, 2026

Topic: Ice in the Mediterranean: Frozen Conflict in Cyprus

Christina Bobrow served three decades in diplomacy, foreign affairs, and intelligence from both Washington DC and the field. Complementing academic research with experience as a diplomat and intelligence analyst, Dr. Bobrow established herself as an expert on domestic politics and foreign policy of the Republic of Turkey and on the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean region.  This region is home to rich and storied cultures, entrenched political polarization, separatist movements, and frozen conflict.

During the Obama Administration, Dr. Bobrow served in the White House as Director for Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus at the National Security Council,  In that role she coordinated efforts across all agencies and departments of government on topics ranging from agricultural disputes to missile deployments. She subsequently led CIA analytic teams focused on global religious issues, demographics, and on the Eastern Mediterranean.  She then shifted focus to manage global programs for CIA’s Directorate of Analysis. Over the course of her career, she provided analytic support to five Presidents of the United States; briefed Members of Congress; prepared and provided the Secretary of State’s daily intelligence briefing; and served as acting Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Europe.

Dr. Bobrow’s doctoral dissertation, from Georgetown University, explored the governing effects of arbitrary enforcement of laws and norms related to free expression in Turkey.  She earned a Masters in German and European Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Languages from Georgetown. Christina has studied at Bosphorus University in Istanbul, University of Vienna in Austria, and University of Maine.  She is a graduate of Saint Mark’s School in Massachusetts.

Dr. Bobrow has lived in Austria, Germany, and Turkey and has traveled extensively in Africa, Asia, and Europe.  She speaks Turkish, German, and French.  She was pleased to move back to her hometown of Farmington, Maine, with her husband Adam in 2025.  They have two adult children.

Nader Habibi

January 12, 2026

Topic: The Economy of Iran in the Shadow of International Sanctions and the Supreme Leader

Nader Habibi is the Henry J. Leir Professor of Practice in the Economics of the Middle East at Brandeis University’s Crown Center for Middle East Studies. Before joining Brandeis University in June 2007, he served as managing director of economic forecasting and risk analysis for Middle East and North Africa in Global Insight Ltd. Mr. Habibi has worked in academic and research institutions in Iran, Turkey and the United States since 1987. He earned his master’s degree in systems engineering and his PhD in economics from Michigan State University. His most recent research projects are a) Economic relations of Middle Eastern countries with China, b) Impact of sanctions on Iran’s middle class, c) Analysis of the excess supply of college graduates in Middle Eastern countries, d) Economic relations of Turkey with Iran and Arab countries. Habibi served as director of Islamic and Middle East Studies at Brandeis University (August 2014-August 2019). Links to his publications are available here.