Natasha N. Iskander is the James Weldon Johnson Professor of Urban Planning and Public Service at NYU. Her research explores the relationship between migration, economic development, and political change, with a focus on how migrant workers shape labor, infrastructure, and policy.

She is the author of Creative State (2010), which examines how migrant workers influence economic policies in Morocco and Mexico, and Does Skill Make Us Human? (2021), which explores how skill categories shape political identity. Her latest book has received multiple awards, including the ASA Sociology of Development Best Book Award.

Her current work investigates concrete—the world’s second most-used substance—as a lens to study climate change, migration, and urbanization. Dr. Iskander has held fellowships at Princeton IAS, Stanford CASBS, and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Global Research Institute and has received funding from organizations like the NSF, MacArthur Foundation, and Sloan Foundation.

She holds a PhD and MCP from MIT and a BA from Stanford, and collaborates with institutions such as the World Bank, unions, and NGOs on migration and development policy.