Dr. Maham Ali

Dr. Maham Ali is an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods researcher whose work examines how nonprofit and public organizations respond to external pressures, engage stakeholders, and navigate competing institutional demands to advance social change.

Dr. Ali is a Research Associate at the Building Movement Project (BMP), where she leads and supports data analysis for major initiatives, including the nationally recognized Race to Lead survey examining racial disparities in nonprofit leadership. She has contributed to influential BMP reports, including The Push and Pull: Declining Interest in Nonprofit Leadership and Sounding the Alarm: Nonprofits on the Frontlines of a Polarized Political Climate. Her work brings together rigorous research and practical insights to better understand the challenges facing nonprofit and public organizations.

She holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University. Her research has been published and is under review in leading journals in public administration and nonprofit studies. She also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public and nonprofit management.