Kate Almquist Knopf

Director Emeritus

Kate Almquist KnopfKate Almquist Knopf served as director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution within the U.S. Department of Defense, from July 2014 to December 2021. Established by the U.S. Congress for the study of security issues relating to Africa, the Center serves as a forum for bilateral and multilateral research, communication, and the exchange of ideas. It aims to be an objective source of strategic analysis on contemporary and over-the-horizon security issues for African security sector professionals, policymakers, scholars, media, and civil society, as well as international partners.

Ms. Knopf has spent most of her career focused on the intersection of security and development in Africa. From 2001 to 2009, she held several senior positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development, including as assistant administrator for Africa, Sudan mission director, deputy assistant administrator for Africa, and special assistant and senior policy advisor to the administrator.

Ms. Knopf has also been a senior advisor for the Crisis Management Initiative, a conflict mediation organization founded by former Finnish President and Nobel Laureate Martti Ahtisaari, and a visiting policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. Prior to federal service, she was chief of staff for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and for the Executive Office for Administration and Finance of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She began her career at World Vision, an international nongovernmental organization.

Ms. Knopf holds an M.A. in international relations with concentrations in African studies and conflict management from Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and a B.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

Areas of Expertise

Peace Processes, Conflict-Affected Areas, U.S.-Africa Relations, U.S. Foreign Assistance, Humanitarian Assistance, Sudan, South Sudan

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