Research and Learning Projects
Katrina is an experienced researcher and educator with a decade of global practice in human rights and peacebuilding. She is best known for navigating complex questions and translating them into accessible learning materials and dynamic teaching environments for diverse audiences.
Katrina est une chercheuse et une éducatrice expérimentée, forte d’une décennie de pratique mondiale dans les domaines des droits de la personne et de la consolidation de la paix. Elle est reconnue pour sa capacité à aborder des questions complexes et à les transformer en contenus pédagogiques accessibles et en environnements d’apprentissage dynamiques pour des publics diversifiés.
Academic Research
Katrina’s academic research explores the intersections of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas of the UN Security Council and their relationship to local peacebuilding practices and global governance systems. Her work bridges feminist, postcolonial, and critical security studies, examining themes such as meaningful participation, policy coherence, queer and intersectional approaches to peace and security, and the role of youth in challenging exclusionary power structures.
Her doctoral dissertation, “Where participation and tokenism meet: An analysis of ‘meaningful participation’ in decision-making on matters of peace and security,” investigates how young women activists conceptualize and demand substantive involvement in peace and security governance.
Katrina’s recent publications and ongoing projects address topics such as:
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Gender, inclusion, and the politics of recognition in peace and security frameworks
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Policy coherence and accountability in global WPS and YPS agendas
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Feminist perspectives on foreign policy and global security governance
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Youth-led peacebuilding and strategies for addressing polarisation in North America and globally
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Technology, power, and youth agency in contemporary peace and conflict settings
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Local ownership, agency, and innovation in implementing international peace and security agendas
As part-time professor at Saint Paul University (Ottawa, Canada) and adjunct faculty at Senghor University (Alexandria, Egypt), Katrina integrates these themes into her teaching. She designs undergraduate and graduate-level courses on gender, conflict, peacebuilding, and international human rights, fostering dynamic and critical learning environments for diverse student audiences.
Launch of research findings in collaboration with New York University Center for Global Affairs | July 2022
Research Impact Canada (RIC) Engaged Scholarship Award (Doctoral Laureate) | June 2025
Academic Collaborations and Guest Lectures
In addition to her teaching roles at Saint Paul University and Senghor University, Katrina has contributed to a number of academic and learning collaborations:
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Leading the graduate-level New York University Center For Global Affairs (NYU CGA) Research Practicum in partnership with the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
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Designing undergraduate-level modules for the Women’s Human Rights Teaching, Learning, and Advocacy Resource (WHRTLAR), as part of a consortium of experts and non-governmental organizations working on the promotion and review of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
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Contributing to curriculum development for the first "Youth Peace and Security Primer" course through the UN System Staff College in collaboration with Folke Bernadotte Academy
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Grant manager for projects on de-tokenization of young people in civic spaces, awarded by UN Women and Canada Service Corps
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Joining the Peace Professionalism Project as a Research Collaborator, affiliated with Saint-Paul University
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Training collaboration on Women, Peace and Security/gender for women peacekeepers (September-December 2014), in collaboration with the University of Winnipeg Global College and the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO)
Selected university guest lectures include:
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Hofstra University, New York (December 2024 and April 2025): Gender Justice: An International Framework for Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes
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United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), New York (October 2024): Women, Peace and Security & Mediation
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Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy (June 2022 and 2023): High-Level Course on Women, Peace & Mediation
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Université libre de géopolitique, Abidjan, Ivory Coast (July 2021 and 2022): 5th and 6th edition of the Free University of Geopolitics in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at the invitation of the Canadian Embassy in Ivory Coast, keynote lecture on Women, Peace and Security
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University of California, Los Angeles, USA (April 2021): Undergraduate course Public Affairs 10: Social Problems & Social Change, on social change and the non-profit industrial complex
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Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada (March 2021): Graduate-level course ESC 5315 Gender and Conflict, on post-conflict reconstruction
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University of Winnipeg Global College, Winnipeg, Canada (August 2017 and 2018): Undergraduate course HR-2600: Human Rights UniverCITY Summer Institute, on peace work of young women in conflict-affected areas (focused in the Democratic Republic of Congo)
Toolkits and Guides:
Leclerc, K., & Wong, S. (2024). Beyond Tokenism A Toolkit for Genuine Youth Participation in Civic Spaces. Canadian Coalition for Youth, Peace & Security. https://www.canadayps.org/more-than-tokens
Contributor: Beeckmans, R., & Hellema, M. (2024). Youth, Peace and Security: Fostering Youth-Inclusive Political Processes. United Nations Development Programme. https://www.undp.org/publications/youth-peace-and-security-fostering-youth-inclusive-political-processes
Leclerc, K., & Despain, A. (2023). Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) in Conflict, Crises and Emergencies: A Toolkit for Gender-Sensitive Crisis Response. Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. https://gnwp.org/gender-based-analysis-plus-toolkit/
Leclerc, K., & Farion, S. (2022). Exchanging Ideas, Shaping Peace: A Guide for Intergenerational and Intercommunal Peace Exchanges. Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. https://gnwp.org/peace-exchange-guide/
Contributor and Copy-Editor: Cabrera-Balleza, M., Iyer, M., & Khanal, P. (2019). Young Women & Girls Read, Lead & Build Peaceful Communities: A Toolkit for Young Women & Girls on Literacy, Leadership, Economic Empowerment, Media & Theater. Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. https://gnwp.org/ga4p-toolkit/
Veillet Chowdhury, E., Leclerc, K., & Yzique Zea, K. (2018). Our Voice Makes a Difference: A guide to civil society advocacy on Women, Peace and Security. Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. http://gnwp.org/publications/csw-toolkit/
Publication Coordinator: Fal Dutra Santos, A., & Cabrera-Balleza, M. (2018). From Best Practice to Standard Practice: A toolkit on the Localization of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security. Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. https://gnwp.org/localization-toolkit/
Publication Coordinator and Contributor: Fal Dutra Santos, A., & Cabrera-Balleza, M. (2017). No Money, No NAP: Manual for Costing and Budgeting National Action Plans on UNSCR 1325. Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. https://gnwp.org/no-money-no-nap/
Launch of "No Money, No NAP" at UN Women in New York | October 2017
Launch of "GBA+ in Conflict, Crises and Emergencies" at the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN in New York | March 2023