Dena Bunnel
Dena is the associate director for research and international initiatives for the College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension at Kansas State University. She is a seasoned development professional with extensive experience in research for development and conflict-affected communities. She is currently a PhD candidate studying at the nexus of agricultural development and conflict, with a focus on resilience building through agriculture market systems development in fragile communities and regions. Dena previously served as a strategic advisor in Northeast Nigeria with Nuru International from July 2020-Dec 2022. Before that, she spent four years with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for the Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss at Kansas State University. Dena holds master’s degrees in agricultural and resource economics and in international agricultural development from the University of California, Davis. Prior to her master’s program, Dena worked for the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan for nearly two years, from 2012-2014. She has a B.S. in agricultural communications and journalism and a B.A. in political science from K-State. Dena grew up on a dairy farm in eastern Kansas.
