Elana Aquino
Elana Aquino's passion and commitment to being of service as a practitioner and academic in the field of global peacebuilding is the through line in her career. She has experience in both international development and diplomacy with a portfolio of strategic and operational leadership and impact in both areas. She is the former U.S. executive director at Peace Direct, with 20 years of experience in international development and peacebuilding.
In Sudan, Aquino supported community-driven solutions for the return of internally displaced South Sudanese people. As a peacebuilding program officer, she focused on supporting locally driven women’s empowerment initiatives, recognizing women as a crucial factor in solidifying peace gains. In Kenya, Aquino was rapidly promoted from researcher to head of the key coordination secretariat between the government of Kenya and 17 international development agencies. She led the production of the national joint assistance strategy for Kenya, targeting her strengths: facilitation, communication strategies, supervising teams of experts, website development, research, data and risk analysis, benchmarking global best practices, and nurturing partnerships. She organized the first National Development Partnership Forum in Kenya, co-chaired by the prime minister and the regional head of the World Bank, with key participation from U.N. agencies in the region.
Aquino is an International Career Advancement Program fellow; a fellow of the International Peace and Security Institute; a former board chair of Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation; a board member at World Learning; and a member of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security. As a first-generation American, the child of immigrant parents from the Caribbean, she is passionate about global peacebuilding, conflict transformation and prevention, and poverty reduction.
Aquino has a B.A. from Yale University and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
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