Background
PPTI's founders have worked in Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America and North America, providing technical assistance, capacity building and leadership mentoring in constitutional process design as well as substantive constitutional content in conflict affected countries as part of overarching peacebuilding and state building efforts. Similarly, PPTI founders have designed post-adoption constitutional implementation processes and provided legislative drafting assistance to executive branch officials, parliamentary committees, independent commissions, and civil society organizations. In addition to constitutional and political transition work, PPTI focuses on the role of law and policy in inclusive growth and development across multiple sectors.
PPTI particularly focuses on the ways in which constitution making and law making processes, as well as constitutions and organic laws themselves can and should simultaneously serve peace building, state building and inclusive development purposes. We believe that in order for this to happen, constitutional and legal solutions must be appropriately tailored to a country’s specific and unique national circumstances and not dictated or copied from outside experience. PPTI believes that country nationals must “buy-in and own” both the process and the final product, whether it be a constitution, law, policy or other development initiatives. We believe that this sort of integrated approach is especially important in the wake of protracted violent conflict.
Gender equality and women's empowerment are central to the PPTI's mission and commitment to inclusivity and justice. PPTI mainstreams gender analysis and strategies across all thematic areas of its work. Additionally, PPTI focuses specifically on women's issues within each area of its work, particularly in terms of women's rights as human rights, socio-economic inequality and women's and girls' special needs across sectors, including economic growth and development, access to justice, social protection, among others.
Our approach and background enhance PPTI’s ability to provide tailored, specific technical advice and assistance and uniquely situates PPTI to bring both deep expertise and fresh clarity to provide new and informed perspectives to clients and beneficiaries. We believe this enhances our ability to provide creative, timely, relevant and effective advice and recommendations to help conflict affected and post-conflict societies advance to the next stages of peace consolidation. PPTI works with a network of over fifty experts on inclusive growth and development, civil society, human rights and human security, constitutional development, comparative law, legislative drafting and other relevant fields and subject matters. PPTI experts have diverse geographic experience to draw from and believe in evidence based, problem solving oriented development practice.
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
Partners
FOUNDING Partner
April Powell-Willingham, J.D., M.A.U.P. (international development), B.A.
April has over 20 years of experience in law and development, including democratic governance, inclusive, rights-based development, political transitions, rule of law and legal reform as well as constitution making and law making in complex, conflict affected and post-conflict settings throughout Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In addition to this experience, she is a seasoned executive and manager, having played key roles in peacebuilding, constitutional and transitional processes in Iraq and Somalia on behalf of the United States Department of State and the United Nations respectively. Prior to that, April was a member of the faculty of the Sustainable International Development Program at the Heller Graduate School at Brandeis University, teaching courses on law and development, directing the Combined Programs in Ethics, Inclusion and Social Justice at the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life establishing the Brandeis Institute for International Judges. April has also served in state government and as a federal appellate judicial law clerk and civil rights appellate attorney, including as a member of the civil and international human rights law firm, Hadsell, Stormer & Renick. She earned her Juris Doctor degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, and her Master of Arts in Urban Planning (international development) degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Architecture and Urban Planning. April’s undergraduate studies focused on political science, history and critical theory, with a major in history and concentration in African Studies. April is based in Los Angeles, California, and is a member of the California Bar.
Education
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
Juris Doctor and Master of Arts, 1991
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
Bachelor of Arts, History, 1986
FOUNDING Partner
Robin L. Gary, J.D., M.A. (international affairs), B.S.
With over 15 years of experience in constitution making, peace processes, rule of law, democracy, governance, law and development, Robin Gary provides clients with creative solutions based on comparative practice and solid recommendations on implementation for resolving complex constitutional, rule of law and process issues. She has worked for several international organizations in different complex, post-conflict settings throughout Africa, the Middle East & South America including the United Nations Development Programme, the Institute for International Law & Human Rights and the Public International Law & Policy Group. Robin has also served as Litigation Staff Attorney at the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, and Garrison LLP, as Pro Bono Immigration Legal Advisor to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and as an Officer on Pew Charitable Trusts' International Oceans & Protecting Ocean Life on the High Seas Campaign. She is a graduate of American University’s Washington College of Law and also holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from American University’s School for International Service as well as a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from the University of Vermont. Robin is based in her native Washington, D.C., and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Education
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON D.C.
Juris Doctor and Master of Arts, 2003
UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT
Bachelor of Science, Social Work, 1998
Partner
Sara Johnson-Steffey, M.A. (sustainable international development), B.A.
Sara has 20 years of experience in civil society and non-profit consulting, including advocacy, needs assessment, strategic planning and program development, organizational management, democratic law-making and inclusivity. She has worked and lived in Brazil, the Middle East and Southeast Asia teaching legislative process workshops and participatory lawmaking both to government officials and members of civil society. As a proponent of grassroots power, Sara provides technical assistance to clients and partners in developing needs-based analyses of pressing social issues in communities. Community members are thus active partners who are equipped to inform law-making processes and advocate for citizen-centric laws and policies. Sara also teaches social justice and non-profit development at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul and coaches clients in organizational development. Her undergraduate work focused on international politics and economics with a focus on Africa. Her graduate work at Brandeis University’s Heller Graduate School for Social Policy and Management centered around participatory lawmaking and civil society strengthening.
Education
GORDON COLLEGE, WENHAM, MA
Bachelor of Arts, International Affairs, 2000
BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, WALTHAM, MA
Master of Arts, Sustainable International Development, 2004
“We have to see individual freedom as a social commitment. Expansion of freedom is viewed as both…the primary end and as the principal means of development. Development consists of the removal of various types of unfreedoms that leave people with little choice and little opportunity…. The removal of substantial unfreedoms…is constitutive of development.”