ABIGAIL E. RUANE
Abigail Ruane is a globally recognized advocate, thought leader, team builder, and organizer with cross-cutting experience and expertise on human rights, sustainable development, and inclusive peacemaking. A strategic visionary, she has a demonstrated track record of building and leading diverse coalitions for inclusive peace based on social justice. She works proactively to identify entry points for solving systemic challenges, and inspires and orchestrates teams to shift power and create opportunities for a more just and peaceful world.
As Political Affairs Officer in the United Nations (UN) Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) Gender, Peace and Security (GPS) Unit, Abigail works to accelerate DPPA delivery of commitments on inclusive and sustainable peacemaking and peacebuilding through strategic and technical support, capacity building, monitoring, and outreach. Before working with the UN, Abigail was the Women, Peace and Security Program Director of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the longest-standing women’s peace organization in the world. Building on advocacy with grassroots activists in 39 countries, Abigail spearheaded a campaign that contributed to the UN Secretary-General in 2020 identifying reducing military spending as one of his Five Forward-Looking Goals on Women, Peace and Security for the next decade.
As Global Organizing Partner of the Women’s Major Group in Sustainable Development, she also co-led the 1,300-member coalition in successfully advocating for the 2019 High Level Political Forum to identify inclusive decision making and policy coherence as key for integrated solutions to sustainable development.
In addition to her policy experience, Abigail has published a book on using popular culture to teach International Relations and taught human rights classes at Hunter College. She is a former board member for the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership and Intersections International. Abigail holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and a B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University.
