Kasey Kinnard joined the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) in August 2014, and has played a major role in TraCCC’s expansion and development in the years since. She provides fiscal support and oversight for TraCCC’s research and programs on corruption and organized crime, and coordinates TraCCC’s educational and outreach activities for scholars, policymakers and public sector clients. She was program manager for TraCCC’s CINA/DHS funded research project, Understanding Illicit Gold Trade Routes and their US linkages, and served as researcher and grant administrator for TraCCC projects on wildlife crime in South Africa and Tanzania, and on illicit antiquities trade from Iraq and Syria. She was one of the principal developers of the DAC Fellowship Program and currently serves as its chief program manager.
Her research interests include human trafficking, wildlife crime, corruption and their effects on international development. She was co-author on the chapter “The Convergence of Illicit Wildlife Trade with Other Forms of Criminality.” In Wildlife Crime: From Theory to Practice, and the paper, “Proper Methodology and Methods of Collecting and Analyzing Slavery Data: An Examination of the Global Slavery Index.”
Kasey holds a M.A. from George Mason University in International Commerce and Policy and B.S. from Indiana State University. She served in the U.S. Peace Corps in South Africa as a community and education resource volunteer, conducting teacher training and community development. She remains involved and connected to the region through multiple projects and the non-profit she runs, focused on girls’ health and empowerment. Kasey speaks English and some IsiZulu.