Mar 21, 2022 Erin Tor Batten’s Gelsdorf Speaks with The Washington Post, NPR’s Marketplace About the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine Photo illustration by Alexandra Angelich, University Communications As Russia’s war in Ukraine closes in on a month, news outlets across the country continue to turn to Batten Professor Kirsten Gelsdorf for insight into the humanitarian side of the crisis. Gelsdorf, who is also UVA’s director of global humanitarian policy, has 20 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector, most recently serving as chief of the policy analysis and innovation section at the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This fall, she will teach LPPS: 3295 Global Humanitarian Crises Response, which is open to all UVA undergraduates. In an article for The Washington Post, Gelsdorf spoke about the history of humanitarian corridors, how such corridors are being used in Ukraine and why they should be one piece of a comprehensive civilian-protection strategy. “A risk with them is that sometimes they’re used as a diplomatic bargaining chip, rather than a way to implement all the obligations under international humanitarian law,” Gelsdorf said. “They need to be done in collaboration with negotiating for wider protection of civilians and access to populations in need.” Gelsdorf was also interviewed for NPR’s Marketplace in a segment about cash assistance as a form of humanitarian aid with a focus on Ukraine. She provided background information on the importance of cash transfers in emergency contexts and the planned scale of these interventions in Ukraine’s humanitarian response. Gelsdorf also noted that humanitarian aid organizations have utilized cash aid for over a century. “Clara Barton used it. She was the founder of the American Red Cross. She used cash relief as part of the Franco-Prussian War response in 1870.” In addition to national media appearances, Gelsdorf was featured by UVA Today in an article about the scale of the crisis in Ukraine and how people outside the country can help. Kirsten Gelsdorf Kirsten Gelsdorf is a professor of practice in public policy and Co-Director of the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Gelsdorf has 19 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector, most recently serving as the Chief of the Policy Analysis and Innovation section at the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Read full bio Related Content Kirsten Gelsdorf Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors. Dean Solomon, Professors Gelsdorf and Scholer to Meet with the Dalai Lama News Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer will travel to Dharamsala next week with leaders from UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center to spend a week with practitioners and researchers in the contemplative sciences from around the world. They will also have an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Stay Up To Date with the Latest Batten News and Events Subscribe
Kirsten Gelsdorf Kirsten Gelsdorf is a professor of practice in public policy and Co-Director of the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Gelsdorf has 19 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector, most recently serving as the Chief of the Policy Analysis and Innovation section at the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Read full bio
Compassion in Action: Contemplative Science and Practice in the Classroom and the World News In March 2024, Batten School Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer joined dozens of scholars and others from around the world in Dharamsala, India, to meet with the Dalai Lama and explore ways to bring contemplative science and practice into teaching, research, policymaking and leadership in all sectors.
Dean Solomon, Professors Gelsdorf and Scholer to Meet with the Dalai Lama News Dean Ian Solomon and professors Kirsten Gelsdorf and Abigail Scholer will travel to Dharamsala next week with leaders from UVA’s Contemplative Sciences Center to spend a week with practitioners and researchers in the contemplative sciences from around the world. They will also have an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.