Daniel Balson

Lead Specialist for The Middle East and Eurasia, Smart Campaign

Daniel is the lead specialist for the Middle East,and Eurasia at the Smart Campaign. His portfolio includes North Africa, the Levant, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, where he supports the efforts of regional financial institutions in reforming their policies and practices to best serve their clients. In this capacity, he develops partnerships with regional institutions, provides technical assistance to key decision makers, and develops new approaches to client protection across the Middle East and Eurasia.

Previously, Daniel worked at the National Democratic Institution to support civil society and governance development across Central Asia. As a management consultant at Springhill Consulting Group, he helped clients uncover new growth opportunities in emerging markets. In his work, he enjoys finding brief opportunities to savor the diverse food of the Eurasian region, with a particular fondness for khachipuri, manti, chkmeruli, and plov. He is fluent in Russian and Spanish, and has a conversational knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew.

Daniel received his master’s in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and his bachelor’s from Cornell.

dbalson@accion.org