Dr. Ariel Schwartz

Biography

Ariel Schwartz is the Managing Director of the Center for Social Impact Strategy (CSIS) at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice. She has a strong background in social research, focusing on how grassroots social sector organizations effectively utilize donor-funded computing technology. Ariel has taught classes in Penn’s Nonprofit Leadership master’s program, covering Social Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation, and International Development. She previously taught Social Entrepreneurship at Princeton University. Ariel worked as a post-doctoral fellow at CSIS from 2016 to 2018 and conducted her dissertation data collection with the Technology for Emerging Markets Group at Microsoft Research in India, studying women community health workers' use of mobile phones. Her earlier experience includes roles as a Research Development Specialist at the Institute for Social and Economic Research Policy and as a Program Manager for the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University. In 2008, Ariel co-founded Maria’s Libraries, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization aimed at improving information access for social, political, economic, and cultural development through community libraries in Kenya. Ariel holds a BA and MPA from Cornell University and a PhD from the University of Texas at Austin.

Research Interests