He is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a junior affiliate at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), an affiliate of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and an affiliate at the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA). He is also cofounder and president of GiveDirectly, currently the top-rated nonprofit by GiveWell and ranked among the 25 most audacious companies (Inc) and 10 most innovative companies in finance (Fast Company), and co-founder of Segovia Technology Co. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University. In 2013 Foreign Policy named him one of its 100 leading "Global Thinkers."