Today 30th July 2015, the RDFCSC received Dr Jessica Piombo, an Associate Professor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in California – USA. Dr Piombo was accompanied by a team of 2 US military officers and 1 staff from the US Embassy in Rwanda. At her arrival at the college, she was received by the Commandant, Brig Gen Charles Karamba and after their meeting; the delegation was given a tour of the college. Dr Kiambo teaches courses on African politics, U.S. Foreign Policy, comparative politics, and ethnic politics and conflicts.

Her teaching and research specializes on political transitions, transitional regimes and post-conflict governance; institutional ways to channel and shape political identities; mechanisms to manage ethnic conflict; terrorism and countering terrorism in Africa; and the U.S. military’s role in reconstruction and stabilization. Piombo has lectured extensively within the Department of Defense and U.S. government civilian communities about various security issues in Africa, particularly focusing on civil-military interactions in humanitarian and civic assistance programs, and on terrorism and counter-terrorism in Africa. She joined NPS in 2003 after completing her Ph.D. at the Department of Political Science of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.