Asher D. Hildebrand

Asher teaches core courses on domestic politics and policy analysis in the Sanford School’s Master of Public Policy program and leads graduate/undergraduate seminars on legislative advocacy and American democracy. He is also the inaugural faculty director of Duke's executive Master of Public Affairs program, which will welcome its first cohort of students in 2025.

Prior to joining the Sanford faculty, Asher served in government and politics for more than 15 years, holding senior leadership roles as Chief of Staff to U.S. Representative David Price and as Director of Policy and Research for President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign in North Carolina. He has also worked for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in Beirut, Lebanon, and for two foreign policy think tanks in Washington, DC.

Asher appears regularly in the media as a commentator on state and national politics, the U.S. Congress, and challenges facing American democracy such as gerrymandering and voting rights. He has contributed insight and analysis to The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Newsweek, The Associated Press, The (Raleigh) News & Observer, and many other print publications, and he is a frequent guest on television and radio news and politics programs.

In addition to his role at Duke, Asher is the principal of True North Strategies, a boutique policy and advocacy consulting firm, and he serves on the boards of various local and statewide organizations. He holds an M.P.A. from Princeton University and a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill. He lives in Durham with his wife, two sons, and yellow lab mix.