Dr. Chloe Schwenke Joins ICRW as Director, Global Program on VRI

Article Date

06 March 2017

Article Author

Erin Kelly

Media Contact

Anne McPherson

Vice President, Global Communications email [email protected]

Dr. Chloe Schwenke, a human rights and social inclusion scholar and an international development practitioner, has joined the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) as the Director of Violence, Rights and Inclusion.

Prior to joining ICRW, Schwenke served as vice president for global programs at Freedom House in Washington, D.C., where she supervised programs and business development. Earlier, as a political appointee under President Obama, she served as Senior Advisor on Human Rights at the Africa Bureau of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Previously, she served both as Director of Business Development and as a Technical Director for one of America’s leading international development firms, Management Systems International.

“I have known and respected ICRW for many years,” Schwenke said.  “I also know some amazing, transformational people who have come through the ICRW community. The work that ICRW does is vital, provocative, and very influential.”

Through Schwenke’s work, she has addressed the challenges around keeping international foreign assistance grounded in an ethically explicit and justifiable framework – with a focus on achieving pragmatic, measurable results on the ground.  As one of the first three transgender political appointees in the history of the US government, Schwenke’s passion regarding LGBTQ, gender equality and human rights issues aims to guide ICRW toward an even greater understanding of challenges and opportunities facing historically oppressed populations. Her expertise will help ICRW expand its Violence Rights and Inclusion portfolio to tackle some of the biggest challenges currently facing vulnerable populations around the world.

Schwenke said, “I look forward to helping to create a wider scope within ICRW for research on the plight and prospects of socially excluded groups (including but not limited to sexual minorities), and on complementing the very impressive and robust analytical work we now do with applications using normative techniques based on human rights frameworks, the capabilities approach and feminist ethics.”

Schwenke received her Ph.D. in public policy at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland at College Park, where she was Alumna of the Year for 2013. In that same year she was awarded a National Public Service Award by the National Center for Transgender Equality, and in 2016 she was awarded the Global Advocate Award by DC Center – Global. She is the author of Reclaiming Values in International Development (Praeger 2008), and her memoir will be published by Red Hen Press in 2018.

“Chloe previously served on our independent ethics review team, helping refine some of our research projects on the most pressing issues facing women and girls,” said Sarah Degnan Kambou, President of ICRW. “I am excited to welcome her back to ICRW in a leadership capacity and am confident that her experience and vision will strengthen our work on violence, rights and inclusion for years to come.”

Follow Chloe on twitter: @ChloeMaryland