GARY BURNISKE

Gary Burniske is a specialist in international relief and development, with a technical focus on food security, sustainable agriculture, forestry and natural resource management.  He is currently the Assistant Director for Program Development and the Academic Director for the Mandela Washington Fellows Program.   Burniske works with Purdue’s faculty and scientists to take a multi-disciplinary approach to tackling global challenges affecting agricultural supply chains and food security.  Burniske has 40 years of international experience covering over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Former Soviet Union.  He has held senior level technical and managerial positions with humanitarian organizations and international public institutions.  Before joining Purdue, Burniske served as Country Director for Mercy Corps in Colombia and Tajikistan, and Country Director for the Institute for Sustainable Communities in Russia.  He has directed emergency response programs to address hunger stemming from conflict and natural disasters in East Africa, South and Central America, Central Asia, Afghanistan and the Caribbean.  Burniske holds an MS in Forest Economics and a BS in Natural Resources Management, both from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.  He is fluent in Spanish, Russian, Thai and Arabic, and conversational in Portuguese.