Patricia T. Morris is a leader in women’s empowerment and development, and a gender-mainstreaming expert with a career spanning more than 25 years that has taken her to various continents. She previously held position of President at Women Thrive Worldwide, and is an adjunct professor at American University’s School of International Service.
Dr. Morris has served as the Director of the Gender and Social Inclusion Practice at Development and Training Services where she oversaw gender integration technical assistance for a range of sectors and managed a global portfolio of projects. She also founded Creative Associate’s Center for Women’s Leadership in International Development, and held executive positions on the Board of Directors of the Afghan Women’s Writing Project, and as Executive Director at Peace X Peace. At Women for Women International, Dr. Morris managed offices in several conflict-affected countries with a budget of over $12 million and responsibility for over 450 overseas staff. She was Deputy Director of the Commission on the Advancement of Women at InterAction, where she led technical assistance for members on mainstreaming gender equality in programs and organizational structures.
Dr. Morris has worked as a team leader for the USAID-funded GBV Strategy Research Agenda Project and Project Director for the State Department’s assessment of programs with marginalized populations. She developed InterAction’s Gender Audit, an organizational self-assessment and gender action planning tool used by international development organizations and by several USAID Missions. Dr. Morris has served as Project Director of the Ford Foundation funded African Women Leadership Development Project at the Clark Atlanta University School of International Affairs and Development and Faculty Advisor for the Mellon Migration Seminars Project - a program aimed at increasing the number of underrepresented students interested in careers in refugee and migration affairs. She also served on the faculty of the Department of Political Science at Purdue University and as coordinator for the university’s Women in Development Network. She holds a doctorate degree from Florida State University, and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from Bowling Green State University and Jacksonville University, respectively.