Rachad is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Oregon State University (OSU) School of Public Policy. Rachad is originally from Benin and has a special interest in Rural and Environmental policies. Before joining OSU, Rachad was an African Graduate Fellow (AGF) at the American University in Cairo (AUC) where he conducted extensive research on the economic cost of climate change on precarious workers, and policy frameworks on climate change adaptation in Agriculture in Egypt. Rachad has also worked in the development space. He served as a Programme Associate at the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in Ghana where he supported the implementation of projects aimed at improving participatory governance across West Africa, particularly in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, and Benin. Rachad also served as Senior Regional Associate for Africa at the Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS) based in Brazil. At his core, Rachad is passionate about understanding the causes of structural poverty and is constantly seeking to understand human beings, their world, their actions, and above all what policies can be adopted to improve human welfare for a just and equal world.