Meet Beverly Kirk, 1996 Alum

Beverly Kirk was destined to be a Wildcat. She is a sixth-generation Kentuckian who completed her undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from Western Kentucky University. Kirk went on to pursue a career in television making stops at news organizations including NBC, NPR and CBS. She was awarded a fellowship to attend the Patterson School while working in Lexington in the 1990s, creating a launching pad for her later career in international relations. For over a decade Kirk was a Fellow and Director for Outreach in the CSIS International Security Program and the Director for the CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative. Now she is a Professor of Practice at Syracuse and the Director of Washington Programs there.

She founded her own media consulting company in 2009 and has taught writing for communication classes as an adjunct faculty member at American University. Kirk’s role at CSIS has developed in many unexpected ways this year. The Center for Strategic and International Studies creates presentations that allow the general public an opportunity to interact with and ask questions of professionals from across the globe. By shifting these discussions to a virtual platform, the number of individuals able to attend increased. Kirk stated that Smart Women, Smart Power talks alone are bringing in 500-700 attendees which is a significant rise from the 150-400 who would usually attend in person. The Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative includes a speaker series and a podcast. According to Kirk, the goal of the initiative is the “normalization of women as experts and leaders in all fields” particularly male-dominated ones such as hard security. She emphasized how important it is to give women a platform and dispel this myth. Referring to the podcast series as “a beast that is always hungry,” Kirk noted that being able to bring on women and girls of all ages gives her more room to work with. 

Stories of women doing unique and innovative things are widespread and common in society. Kirk showcased this by telling a story from a lunchtime stroll through Old Town Alexandria. She came across a group of young women who were selling samosas and lemonade. The group was raising money to ship computers, books, backpacks and other school supplies to their home village in Nepal that had been hit hard by an earthquake. Kirk featured them on the podcast and helped to share their story. While they “may not be household names yet, they need a spotlight too.”  

Her biggest piece of advice for young professionals and students is to “not be afraid to take opportunities regardless of where you see yourself ending up.” During her undergrad years she worked for the athletics department with no intention of becoming a sports writer after graduation. However, the job allowed her to practice writing clear, concise articles which has proven valuable throughout her international relations career.  Kirk remains active in her connection with the Patterson School. In 2019, CSIS hosted students for a meeting during their annual trip to Washington, D.C. and, in Fall 2020, Kirk was a featured speaker.