Berkley Center

Diane (Dee) Aker is Deputy Director of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice (IPJ) at the University of San Diego and founding director of IPJ's Women PeaceMakers Program, Nepal Project, and WorldLink program. A psychological anthropologist and conflict resolution professional, Aker has organized international conferences on gender related dimensions of peacebuilding with UNIFEM and various INGOs and is executive producer of three Women PeaceMakers films. Aker also created and was director/host of a TV program that produced 234 interviews with women leaders, pioneers, and survivors from around the world; she covered women and gender concerns for Women’s Times, the Chicago Tribune, and other media. Aker's experience in international higher education includes administration, curriculum development, and teaching, and she is the former director of an American university in Kenya and former president of the University of Humanistic Studies.