Karen Stromgren Blanchard, PhD
A member of SIT Graduate Institute’s faculty since 1988, Karen developed and taught the institute’s first course in conflict transformation. She also has directed a training program for Southeast Asian development professionals in the US and in Southeast Asia and has been an academic director in Nepal. Karen was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia, and a Peace Corps trainer in Thailand. She also has managed programs for the Peace Corps and for the Intergovernmental Organization for Migration in Switzerland and Eastern Europe, has consulted on a project in Bosnia for the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding, and is currently working on an educational project in Asella, Ethiopia.
Karen teaches the Journeys of Forgiveness course at SIT Graduate Institute, is the faculty advisor for the on-campus spirituality exploration group, and teaches courses in intercultural communication, both on campus and abroad. She has language skills in Spanish, French, Amharic, Thai, and Nepalese. She has lived in Switzerland and feels at home in several Asian countries. Karen is engaged in the local community by serving on two boards, one focused on arts activism and the other on environmental education.
Education
- PhD, California Institute of Integral Studies
- MIA, School for International Training
- BA, University of Connecticut