Joanne Richards is a visiting scholar with the Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding Program at the NYU Center on International Cooperation.
Her current research focuses on local, national, and international efforts to end armed conflicts, including the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants.
Previously, Joanne worked for the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies as a senior researcher and technical advisor. During this time, she was seconded to the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa and the United Nations Department of Peace Operations in New York City. Joanne has also worked with Adam Smith International (UK) on the rehabilitation program for former members of al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Joanne holds a B.A. in Geography from the University of Oxford, an M.A. in Comparative and International Studies from ETH Zurich, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Her Ph.D. examined armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, focusing on dynamics of recruitment and desertion.