Kate Almquist Knopf has served as director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution within the U.S. Department of Defense, since July 2014. Established by the U.S. Congress for the study of security issues relating to Africa, the center serves as a forum for bilateral and multilateral research, communication, and the exchange of ideas. Knopf has spent most of her career focused on the intersection of security and development in Africa. From 2001-09, she held several senior positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development, including as assistant administrator for Africa, Sudan mission director, deputy assistant administrator for Africa, and special assistant and senior policy advisor to the administrator. Knopf has also been a senior advisor for the Crisis Management Initiative, a conflict mediation organization founded by former Finnish President and Nobel Laureate Martti Ahtisaari, and a visiting policy fellow at the Center for Global Development. Prior to federal service, she was chief of staff for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Executive Office for Administration and Finance of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She began her career at World Vision, an international nongovernmental organization. Knopf holds an MA in international relations with concentrations in African studies and conflict management from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and a BA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.