Hughes has spent twenty-eight years working in twenty-five countries as an industrial and financial specialist and project manager with the World Bank. During 1992-1999, he helped Chinese officials and state enterprise managers implement economic reforms and restructure enterprises. He has an M.A. in international economics and politics from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, an M.A. in anthropology from The George Washington University and a B.A. in history from The College of Wooster.