AMINEF, the binational Fulbright Commission in Indonesia, is pleased to announce that its Board of Management has appointed Dr. Sandra Hamid, a distinguished scholar, development specialist, and foundation executive, as its new Executive Director. She will take up her duties in late January 2025 and succeed current Executive Director Alan Feinstein, who is retiring after 10 years at AMINEF.

Dr.  Hamid is a cultural anthropologist who has been working in development for more than 20 years. She has strong interests in political participation, civil society, social inclusion, and religious freedom. She formerly served as country representative in Indonesia of The Asia Foundation, a US-based non-government organization. Her academic journey began at Universitas Indonesia, followed by work as a reporter for Tempo magazine. With a Fulbright scholarship she pursued a master’s degree in anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she later received her doctorate in the same field.

Dr. Hamid has been a fellow at the Center for Indonesian Law, Islam, and Society at the University of Melbourne and a Draper Hills Summer Fellow on Democracy and Development at Stanford University. As John R. Heath Visiting Professor at Grinnell College, she recently taught courses on the nexus of anthropology and development.

She has previously served AMINEF as a member of its Board of Trustees for two terms.

AMINEF looks forward to Dr. Hamid’s leadership as she guides AMINEF/Fulbright Indonesia in this exciting new chapter.