Katie Carlson-Akuno is an international gender specialist and a vocal advocate for the rights of women and girls around the world. She has been living and working in developing countries for over nine years as a gender specialist at both the grassroots and institutional level. She is also the founder of a local NGO in Rwanda, known as Paper Crown Rwanda, which works with youth to transform gender norms, foster leadership and create lasting social change, and which continues to operate today under Rwandan management. Katie works with a variety of organizations in both the public and private sector, specializing in transformative gender analysis and mainstreaming as well as participatory gender coaching and capacity building for adults and adolescents. She is distinctly passionate about gender transformative approaches that bring about positive, sustainable social change and are inclusive of men and boys as key players in shifting gender norms.

Katie has extensive experience in gender analysis, evaluation and mainstreaming across programs/projects, strategies and policies, and within and across organizational teams and country offices. She also has extensive experience with designing and facilitating gender transformative training and coaching programs for a diverse range of organizations, including local and international NGOs, UN agencies, governments, schools, social businesses and grassroots communities. Katie is adept at both collaborating with and leading diverse teams and providing hands-on technical support, guidance, and inspiration around gender and inclusion. Her areas of expertise include gender transformative approaches to equality, gender norms and power dynamics, gender analysis and mainstreaming, gender-based violence, gender and youth, gender and agriculture, gender and financial inclusion, sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender and economic empowerment, positive masculinity and engaging men and boys.