Colleen Striegel of St. Paul, Minnesota, began her international work with her husband, Jerry, when they were Peace Corps volunteers in Peru in the early 1970s.

Colleen went on to work for a number of years in human resources leadership positions for hospitals and universities in Colorado and Minnesota, before returning to international work with the American Refugee Committee (ARC), a humanitarian aid and development organization.

Two years into her job at ARC, a scandal erupted in 2002 involving sexual exploitation of refugees in West Africa by members of western aid organizations. Colleen was asked to head up the investigative effort in Guinea that revealed the extent of sexual exploitation and abuse among aid organizations.

Colleen’s experience in Guinea became a turning point in her career. In 2018 she founded HumanitarianHR in St. Paul. With 25 consultants from around the world, it works to safeguard at-risk populations from sexual exploitation and abuse.

Guineans were instrumental in Colleen’s early years of work, and she learned more about their challenges as parents, especially women heads of households and their children. While at ARC, she made Oury Diallo’s acquaintance, and he asked her to join Guinnovation’s board, which she considers a great honor.

Colleen has a BS in business and economics from Regis University in Colorado and an MA in Human Development from St. Mary’s University in Minneapolis.