Catherine M. Gerard

Catherine M. Gerard is Director of the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, where she oversees an internationally known center for theory-building and practice in conflict analysis and management, collaborative governance, and advocacy and activism. Her research focus is the education and practice of leaders in the skills of collaborative leadership and change. She has published and co-edited articles, book chapters, journal issues, and reports on leadership style and conflict transformation and collaborative leadership in the government and nonprofit sectors.

She teaches graduate courses for Maxwell’s Department of Public Administration and International Affairs in leadership, conflict management skills, human resource management, and conflict fundamentals for traditional students and midcareer managers from public and nonprofit organizations in the United States and abroad. She conducts leadership training for government officials and consults with public and nonprofit organizations in the areas of strategic planning, leadership/management, organizational change, team-building and collaborative skills.

Before joining the Maxwell School, she served in New York State government heading a consulting and training organization that designed and implemented an award-winning statewide management training and organizational effectiveness system. Her educational background includes degrees from Syracuse University, University of Toronto, and the Rockefeller College of the State University of New York at Albany.