Ruth Meinzen-Dick joined IFPRI in 1989. She is Coordinator of the CGIAR program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi). Her research deals with water resource management, land, forests, property rights, collective action, and the impact of agricultural research on poverty. She leads IFPRI’s Gender Task Force and co-leads work on strengthening women’s assets. Much of her research has been in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

A citizen of the United States, Meinzen-Dick was raised in India. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in development sociology from Cornell University and her B.A. in anthropology from Washington University.