Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., is the founder and Executive Director of World without Genocide, which provides education about past and current conflicts and advocates at local, state, and national levels for policies that promote peace and justice. She is an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kennedy has received many awards for her work, including Outstanding Citizen from the Anne Frank Center in New York, Higher Education Leader of the Year from the National Society for Experiential Education, Outstanding Service Award from the Midwest Sociological Society, Community Service Award from the University of Minnesota, Human Rights Award from the United Nations Office of Church Women United, the Change-maker Award from the Minnesota Women’s Press, and in 2019 she was designated as a Prominent Minnesotan for her human rights work.
World without Genocide has received a Certificate of Merit from the State of Minnesota’s Office of the Governor. Two programs of World without Genocide have received the Minnesota Ethical Leadership Award. Kennedy is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, a board member of the FBI Minneapolis Citizens Academy Alumni Association, on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Association of Minnesota, and a past president of two Rotary clubs. She supports the work of the International Criminal Court through the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Kennedy holds a BA from the University of Michigan, three masters’ degrees, and two doctorate degrees from the University of Minnesota.