Dr. Kathy Powers, Ph.D
Biography
Dr. Powers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of New Mexico. She also holds appointments in the UNM Program of Africana Studies, the School of Law, and the Center for Social Policy as well as the Department of Government at Georgetown University. She has been recently named a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. Her international politics research focuses on the role of institutions and law in trade, human rights, and war. Her recent research specifically focuses on the role of politics and law in reparations efforts for mass atrocities globally and in the U.S. Professor Powers has published her research in diverse venues such as the Diverse Issues in Higher Education, NAACP Special Edition, Transmissions, Journal of Conflict Resolution, the Journal of Peace Research, International Interactions,
Foreign Policy Analysis, the Review of International Studies. She has also co-authored policy briefs for the New Mexico State Office of African-American Affairs on racial and health disparities of African-Americans in New Mexico. Professor Powers is the 2013 recipient of the UNM OSET New Faculty University Teaching Award and the 2010 recipient of the Faculty of Color Teaching Award from The Project for New Mexico Graduates of Color (PNMGC). Prof. Powers has also consulted universities on dealing with their legacies of human rights violations including the University of New Mexico and Georgetown University on how to use the classroom as a site of truth, reconciliation and restorative justice. She has served as a diversity consultant for the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. Prof. Powers has also served as a data scientist for the Community Coalition in political brutality cases. She is part of the Interdisciplinary Working Group on Algorithmic Justice for the Santa Fe Institute. Prof. Powers has consulted the Criminal Justice Reform Committee of the New Mexico State legislature on the human rights implications of algorithms.
