Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., is a sociologist and the Outreach Coordinator at the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota.  She promotes Holocaust and genocide education in Minnesota with middle and secondary school teachers through conferences and special programs.  She works with faculty at colleges and universities in Minnesota and neighboring states to integrate issues of past and recent genocides into their curricula and she develops events and conferences that involve CHGS.

 

 In 2003 Kennedy traveled to Rwanda, where she saw the brutal legacy of that country’s 1994 genocide in the lives of orphaned children survivors.  In response to her students’ questions about what they could do regarding genocide, she founded a chapter of the Genocide Intervention Network at the University of St. Thomas, where she taught for nearly twenty years. She now directs the Genocide Intervention Network’s work in Minnesota, focusing on education about genocide with special attention on Darfur; legislative advocacy for conflict resolution; and fund-raising to enhance both security and humanitarian aid in crisis situations. 

Kennedy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and doctorate degrees in both sociology and business from the University of Minnesota.  Her area of academic specialization is immigration.

She currently serves on the boards of the Southdale YMCA, the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest, and the Edina Rotary Club.  Kennedy is also a member of Congregation Shir Tikvah, where she has served on the Board of Trustees and chairs the Genocide Intervention Action Group.