Andrea Messing-Mathie

Andrea Messing-Mathie is the Assistant Director of the Office of Education System Innovations at Northern Illinois University and an adjunct professor in the School of Public Service at DePaul University. Dr. Messing-Mathie is an international researcher and academic with interests in equality and education policy, particularly in non-developed contexts, and capacity building in non-profits at the local and international level. She is also an experienced international project manager with a background in higher education, both at the faculty and administrative level, and has a background in international advocacy, education and equality initiatives. She has proven experience in the design, content and implementation of high-profile international projects in both corporate and academic settings and is experienced in managing complex logistical arrangements for individuals and program events, with experience in designing and implementing programming for large and small groups alike.

Prior to joining NIU-OESI, Dr. Messing-Mathie completed a post-doctoral research fellowship with the department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis, where she was the program lead on an international, multi-year NSF grant to examine the global impact of national-level equality initiatives. Dr. Messing-Mathie was also the project assistant on an inter-disciplinary initiative to develop at Public Affairs Ph.D. program in Public Affairs at NIU, where she received her Ph.D. in Political Science, and was intimately involved in academic advising and career guidance to over 500 students in their Liberal Arts and Studies program. After attending a fellowship in international advocacy for girls’ education at the United Nations in 2009, Dr. Messing-Mathie was also the project assistant on a Service-Learning course in Tanzania which focused on the role of NGOs in development, particularly for underserved areas. Prior to her work in academia, Dr. Messing-Mathie was a project and training consultant for Arthur Andersen’s Business Consulting Unit.

Finally, she is an academic with institutional ties to one of Chicago’s leading universities and have developed strong intellectual partnerships across academia, research institutions and not-for-profits as a result of her graduate and post-doctoral work. In the classroom, she consistently works to create content and programming that is relevant to the intent of international public service and guides students in their understanding of key international policy issues. She is skilled at outreach programs that seek to develop intellectual curiosity about international affairs and is highly adept at forging professional connections which foster these outreach programs.