Swanee Hunt

Swanee Hunt’s mission is to achieve gender parity, especially as a means to end war and rebuild societies, as well as to alleviate poverty and other human suffering. Dr. Hunt, Eleanor Roosevelt Lecturer in Public Policy, was the Founding Director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she also teaches “Inclusive Security”, exploring why women are systematically excluded from peace processes and the policy steps needed to rectify the problem. She is currently core faculty at the Center for Public Leadership. An expert on domestic policy and foreign affairs, Hunt is president of Hunt Alternatives Fund, through which she has committed more than $120 million in endowments and grants to provoking social change at local, national, and global levels. The Fund operates out of Cambridge, Massachusetts and is focused on strengthening youth arts organizations, supporting leaders of social movements, bolstering women’s leadership in conflict regions, combating sexual trafficking, and increasing philanthropy. Ambassador Hunt also chairs the Washington-based Institute for Inclusive Security (including the Women Waging Peace Network), which advocates for the full participation of all stakeholders, particularly women, in peace processes. She has conducted research, training, and consultations for women leaders in some 60 countries.