Noah Flessel is a governance specialist with expertise in conflict analysis and applied political economy analysis who contributes to our work on countering violent extremism. He integrates RTI’s tools, approaches, and international best practices on citizen security, positive youth development, social accountability, leadership development, and civil society engagement. He coordinates an internal working group on countering violent extremism, and manages a Training With Industry fellowship on local governance approaches for low-intensity conflicts with U.S. Army Civil Affairs officers based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Recently, Mr. Flessel completed mixed-methods field research on hyper-local dynamics affecting out-of-school youth in Kenya. The results will inform training and mentorship development as part of the K-YES county-level youth workforce activity on resilience to violent extremism. He has also conducted state-level political economy analyses for the Nigeria E-WASH program, integrating conflict assessments and producing additional standalone conflict analysis reports.
Mr. Flessel joined RTI in 2018. Previously, he led field offices on USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives in Libya, Lebanon, and Kenya. He supported locally led efforts to reverse cyclical violence, enhance social cohesion, and strengthen foundations for sustainable democratic norms. The work involved forming partnerships among civil society organizations, youth, media outlets, municipal governments and others to increase youth civic engagement, strengthen voices for nonviolence and dialogue, and support democratic political processes.
