Ava Majlesi, Associate Professor of Professional Practice is the Chief Operating Officer at Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics Democracy Lab. She also serves associate director of the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience.

Majlesi has had a long and successful career at Rutgers University, both as a student and as an administrator. After graduating summa cum laude from Rutgers College, Majlesi was admitted to Rutgers Law School, where she served as co-editor-in-chief of the Women’s Rights Law Reporter. After receiving her law degree, Majlesi joined the Institute on Education Law and Policy as a research associate, conducting research and analysis of school districts under mayoral control within U.S. cities, and creating a curriculum to educate school principals on New Jersey education law.

Majlesi joined the Rutgers Law School advancement office in 2008, and was later promoted to director of development, a position she held from 2010–2014. During her tenure, Majlesi received her master’s degree in public administration, summa cum laude, from the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration. Her thesis, entitled Policing New Jersey’s Urban Areas during Times of Economic Crisis, included an examination of policing techniques utilized in three of New Jersey’s major cities—Newark, Trenton and Camden. She served as associate director for the Institute for Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security prior to taking on her current roles at the University.

Majlesi has taught Introduction to Critical Intelligence Studies; Critical Thinking & Analytic Writing in the Intelligence Community; Research in Critical Intelligence Studies; Current Issues in Intelligence and National Security; and Moral and Ethical Dilemmas in Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Homeland Security. She served as principal investigator on a grant award from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to oversee the Rutgers Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence.  She maintains admission to the bar in New Jersey and New York.