Senior Strategist: Karen Walch

Photo Dr. Karen Walch is an Associate Professor of International Studies at Thunderbird — The Garvin School of International Management and is consultant and advisor to Navigate International. Dr. Walch is a specialist in the fields of conflict resolution, negotiation, international political economy and Caribbean Basin trade and investment. Dr. Walch’s primary areas of research are international political economy, policy studies, public administration, negotiation, international commercial mediation, and Caribbean Basin foreign economic policy making.

Prior to her career in academia, Dr. Walch assisted in civil litigation court cases concerning product liability, personal injury, and malpractice. She has commercial private sector experience in the tourism and aquaculture sectors and has lived or worked in the U.S., Honduras, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Germany, Japan, and Cuba.

Dr. Walch earned a B.S. in Social Change and Development, with a minor in Public Administration and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She earned her Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has received additional training through Harvard's program on Negotiation and International Conflict Analysis and Resolution at the Centre for Dispute Resolution in London. Dr. Walch graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin and is a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Honor Society for Political Science.