Berkley Center

Kathleen Kuehnast is a socio-cultural anthropologist and director of the Gender and Peacebuilding Center at the United States Institute of Peace, which she joined in 2008 as Associate Vice President of the Grant Program following a 15-year career in international development. Kuehnast worked extensively with the World Bank managing international research projects and advising policymakers on social development concerns, with a focus on gender related issues. Her ongoing work focuses on the increasing socio-economic disparities in Central Asia and the impact on local level conflicts. She is the author of, among others, Women and War: Power and Protection in the 21st Century (2011, co-edited with C. de Jonge Oudraat and H. Hernes). Kuehnast holds a PhD in socio-cultural anthropology from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in education from the University of St. Thomas; her work focused on Muslim women in Kyrgyzstan.