About Us

ABOUT US

The project is co-led by Dr Caitriona Dowd at University College Dublin, Ireland and Ms Liezelle Kumalo at Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The research team also comprises of a research officer at CSVR and a research assistant at UCD, and is supported in project progress and quality by a Research Advisory Group, comprised of members of policy, academia and civil society.

research team

Liezelle Kumalo

Liezelle Kumalo is Gender Specialist at CSVR, and a researcher and facilitator on development and human security with a specific focus peacebuilding, peace operations and gender. She has conducted extensive research on the Liberia and South Sudan peacebuilding processes. She also conducted research on women peace and security agenda in African countries such as Malawi, Mozambique and Somalia at different levels of the peace continuum. Liezelle has also developed and conducted gender mainstreaming and dealing with sexual and gender based violence trainings for military, police and civilian personnel deployed or deploying to peace operations. Liezelle has a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Witwatersrand and a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Johannesburg.

Caitriona Dowd

Caitriona Dowd is Assistant Professor in UCD's School of Politics and International Relations. Her research focuses on political violence in sub-Saharan Africa, with particular attention to the role of conflict in humanitarian crises and food insecurity; civilian targeting; and methodologies for violence monitoring. Caitriona's work has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Peace Research, African Affairs, and Terrorism and Political Violence among others. In her previous role as a peace and conflict specialist in the humanitarian sector, Caitriona worked in Somalia, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Mali, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Haiti and Afghanistan. She holds a PhD from the University of Sussex, an MA in Development from the London School of Economics, and a BA in History and Politics from Trinity College Dublin.

Naledi Joyi

Naledi Joyi is a gender officer at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. Her work focuses on gender dynamics within communities affected by violence. her research interests include gender studies; diversity, equity and inclusion; human security; Women, Peace and Security, and the effects of hegemonic masculinity in African communities. Naledi holds a Master’s degree in Critical Diversity Studies, and an Honors in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts double major in Psychology and Media Studies. Before joining civil society, Naledi worked as a research assistant at Wits Psychology Department, Wits Health Consortium, and the Chicago School of Psychology.

Raja Albers

Raja Albers is supporting the GDHP project as an Erasmus trainee. Currently pursuing am MSc in Human Security at Aarhus University, she is interested in undestanding the factors that determine the inclusion of human security themes in policy. Her work focuses on intersectional and agency-based approaches to conflict resolution, humanitarian and peace policy. Before moving to Denmark for her Master's, she worked on international peace and security issues at the Bundeskanzler-Helmut-Schmidt-Stiftung – a German think tank. Raja holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Hamburg.

Heidi Riley

Heidi Riley is a Research Fellow in the School of Politics and International Relations, at University College Dublin. Her research focuses on masculinity and insurgency, conflict related trauma, and innovative mediation practices. She is author of Rethinking Masculinities: Ideology, Identity and Change in the People's War in Nepal and Its Aftermath, (2022) Rowman & Littlefield. She is also co-Principal Investigator for the Talk4Peace project that examines transformative mediation as a mechanism for inclusive dialogue in peacebuilding. Heidi holds a PhD from University College Dublin, an MPhil in International Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and an MA Honours in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh.

research Advisory Group

Saara Bouhouche

Saara Bouhouche is a French humanitarian, peace, and inclusive security expert and an anti-racism, gender equality and social justice activist. Saara is the Humanitarian Policy Advisor at Concern Worldwide, where she leads the organistion’s global strategy on violent conflict, conflict transformation and peace, and is a member of Concern’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion steering committee. Her 20+ year career has been shaped by her commitment to fighting exclusion and poverty, while promoting intercultural dialogue and the protection of human rights and minority rights.

Prof Cheryl Hendricks

Prof Cheryl Hendricks is the Executive Director of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. Prior to this, she was Executive Head of the Africa Institute of South Africa in the Human Sciences Research Council, and Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Johannesburg, among other roles. She has published widely on conflict management; women, peace, and security; and African Regional Security Architectures, and engages a range of policy makers, academics, researchers, and civil society on these issues.

Dr Walt Kilroy

Dr Kilroy is Associate Director of Dublin City University's Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruction, and also Assistant Professor at the School of Law and Government. His research interests include development, conflict, and post-war reconstruction, and the interactions between these processes. His doctoral thesis looked at the way in which ex-combatants were dealt with after the wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa, through the programmes for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR).

Edward K. Mulbah

Mr Mulbah is National Executive Director for the Liberia Peacebuilding Office, located within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Liberia. His responsibilities include overall management and supervision; providing policy advice; designing programs and strategies related to peace and reconciliation; and ensuring central coordination of peacebuilding actors and programmes. He is an expert in peacebuilding and social development, with a deep interest in post-conflict recovery, and experience working across government, civil society and the UN system.

Col (retired) Dr Theophilia Shaanika

Col (ret'd) Dr Shaanika's has many years of military experience in security management, civil-military relations, and in gender in multidimensional peace and support operations. She is a part-time lecturer at the University of Namibia, School of Military Science. Areas of her research interests include gender and professionalism, and the implementation of women peace and security agenda in peace and security processes at all levels.

support

The Gendered Dimensions of Hunger and Peacebuilding project is jointly funded by the Irish Research Council and the Department of Foreign Affairs through a COALESCE grant.

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