Andrea Burniske has a BA from U.C. Berkeley in Russian language and literature, and an MA from University of Oregon in Journalism and Communication, focusing on communication tools and concepts to promote social change. She has more than 20 years’ of experience in international development, 15 of which were spent developing and leading programs and projects outside of the US in countries such as Tajikistan, Peru, Colombia and Russia for various international development agencies. Her work has centered on environmentally sustainable economic and business development, emergency response and early recovery, and women’s empowerment, among other areas. Ms. Burniske has focused on gender-related programming since 2002, including : a World Bank-funded women’s empowerment project in post-conflict Tajikistan; a gender-based violence (and the root causes of this) technical advisor consultancy with the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development also in Tajikistan; multiple projects funded by the US Department of Labor, the US Department of State, and the European Commission focused on gender-based violence, child sexual exploitation, and transformation of masculinities in conflict environments in Colombia; and on gender mainstreaming, and girls’ empowerment for Nike Foundation/Save the Children USA in Washington DC. During her work at Purdue, Ms. Burniske has lectured widely about girls’ empowerment issues, as well as gendered considerations for health, food security, and other sectors.
