Dr. Katharine Derderian has extensive background in humanitarian aid operations and analysis, working at both field and headquarters levels as well as conducting regular training for humanitarian personnel. She is particularly interested in the interface between humanitarian and human rights work, and in optimising responses to human rights and humanitarian crises, two key issues on which she has published regularly. Today, she is engaged in human rights advocacy toward the European institutions and looks forward to continuing to challenge received notions in the search for greater positive impact for people in crisis situations. She draws on a background in academia, including work on the shift from oral to written literature in ancient Greece and on sexual and gender violence in the Armenian genocide. It is her conviction that the drive to make a concrete difference for people in need can lead us all to work lives that unite professional challenge with a sense of purpose. She is led by enthusiasm for seeing others engage in the work that is meaningful to them.

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