Carla Koppell

Carla Koppell is an international affairs expert focused on development assistance and conflict resolution. Currently, Koppell is a Senior Advisor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a distinguished fellow with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. Previously, she served in government as USAID Chief Strategy Officer; inaugural USAID Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment; Deputy Assistant Secretary of International Affairs for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and USAID climate change program director. Koppell was also a Vice President with the U.S. Institute of Peace, and director of the Institute for Inclusive Security. In earlier roles, Koppell helped spearhead creation of the first U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security and the first USAID climate change strategy, in addition to convening leaders around non-traditional threats to global stability and national security, including pandemics, climate change, and economic and social disparities. She has worked directly with women and civil society leaders to foster peace building in conflict zones around the world, including in Sudan and South Sudan, Uganda, Colombia, and Iraq. Koppell received her Bachelor’s of Science from Cornell University and her Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.