Caitlin Welsh

Director, Global Food Security Program
Caitlin Welsh

Caitlin Welsh is the director of the Global Food Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she analyzes the economic, political, social, and environmental drivers and consequences of food insecurity in the United States and around the world. Her specific areas of focus include the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine on global food security, the relationship of food security to climate change and water security, food insecurity in the U.S. military, and malnutrition in all its forms. Prior to joining CSIS, Ms. Welsh had over a decade of experience in the U.S. government, including the National Security Council and National Economic Council, where she served as director for global economic engagement with responsibility for the G7 and G20, and the Department of State’s Office of Global Food Security, where she served as acting director. Ms. Welsh served as a presidential management fellow at the U.S. African Development Foundation and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. She has testified before Congress on global food security on multiple occasions, and her analysis has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, PBS, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Financial Times, Foreign Policy, BBC, Newsweek, and other outlets. Ms. Welsh received her BA from the University of Virginia and MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and hails from Erie, Pennsylvania.

Programs & Projects

Areas of Expertise

In the News

All content by Caitlin Welsh

Filter by

1 - 10 of 82 results

Climate Change and Malnutrition: Many Channels for Impact, Many Opportunities to Act

The Global Food Security Program welcomed UNICEF's Rania Dagash-Kamara, USAID's Gillian Caldwell, GAIN's Jessica Colston, and CEO of the Eleanor Crook Foundation William Moore to examine how the global community is responding to increased malnutrition due to climate change.

Event by Caitlin Welsh , William Moore , Gillian Caldwell , Jessica Colston , and Rania Dagash-Kamara — December 7, 2022

Photo: EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP/Getty Images
Reset The Table

Reporting on Food Security and Global Diets from a Gender Perspective

Dr. Phillips explains the growing gap between food insecurity among women and men, and Dr. Herforth describes how the recent data released by the Global Diet Quality Project can be disaggregated to measure women’s dietary diversity around the world.

Podcast Episode by Caitlin Welsh — December 2, 2022

CSIS Reset The Table

Agriculture in Wartime: Threats and Opportunities for Ukraine with Farmer Kees Huizinga, Agricultural Economist Antonina Broyaka, and USAID DAA Mark Simakovsky

Please join the CSIS as we welcome award-winning farmer Kees Huizinga, Ukrainian agricultural economist Antonina Broyaka, and Mark Simakovsky, Deputy Assistant to the Administrator in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at USAID for this timely discussion.

Event by Caitlin Welsh , Kees Huizinga , Mark Simakovsky , and Antonina Broyaka — November 15, 2022

Photo: BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
Reset The Table

Reaffirming IFAD’s Priorities for COP27 with Jo Puri

The VP of the Strategy and Knowledge Department at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) sits down with us to discuss IFAD’s priorities ahead of COP27.

Podcast Episode by Caitlin Welsh — November 4, 2022

CSIS Reset The Table

Russia’s UN Grain Deal Boomerang: Implications for the Deal and Global Food Prices

Russia has rejoined the Black Sea Grain Initiative days after announcing its suspension. With the agreement set to expire on November 19, what is the likelihood of Russia agreeing to its renewal? What is the long-term outlook for Ukraine assuming the agreement is extended?

Critical Questions by Joseph Glauber , Caitlin Welsh , and David Laborde — November 4, 2022

Photo: OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Panel 3: Great Disruption in Global Food Systems

Despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, conversations around what reconstruction will look like are already taking place. The reconstruction of a free and independent Ukraine will require immense collaborative support from donor governments, various multilaterals, and strong involvement from the private sector. 

Event by Caitlin Welsh — October 13, 2022

Photo: iLab/CSIS