For Immediate Release
Contact: interviews@usip.org

Over the past six years, USIP has instilled gender and peacebuilding as central to preventing and defusing violent conflict. Among our programs, USIP identifies and supports innovative ways for women in civil society to prevent extremist violence. The Men, Peace & Security Initiative addresses male-related issues in conflict. The Missing Peace Program to End Conflict-Related Sexual Violence convenes scholars to ensure their research reaches practitioners and policymakers. And USIP’s Academy hosts an on-site course entitled Men and Women in War and Peace that features expert lectures, case scenarios and interactive exercises.

During this year’s 15th Anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security,  USIP is pleased to recommit to this mission and name as senior gender advisor Dr. Kathleen Kuehnast, a longtime leader on gender and peacebuilding who has spearheaded the Institute’s work in this field since 2009. She will continue to work with Ambassador Steven E. Steiner, a recognized champion of women in peace and security who has been with the Institute since 2011. USIP joins other institutions – the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of State, the World Bank and the Millennium Challenge Corporation -- in elevating gender-related issues to a strategic level to further maximize thought leadership and active engagement in conflict zones and continue to integrate gender throughout USIP’s work.