Dean Piedmont currently works at Creative Associates undertaking strategic business development, drives thought leadership in SSR-DDR in violent extremism (VE) and insurgency settings, and provides technical backstopping for programs and operations. Prior to joining Creative Associates Dean graduated from Denver University’s Graduate School of International Studies in 2002, now the Korbel School, with an MA in International Administration. Since then he has become a seasoned program and policy expert in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, recovery livelihoods, and reintegration specializing in DDR for 12 years including economic, political, psychosocial, social reintegration, youth and gender. He has served with government, bilateral and NGOs including 10 years with UNDP from 2004-2014. Prior to entering UNDP, Dean worked with the Research Triangle Institute in Iraq leading institutional assessments for youth government departments, directed humanitarian operations for NGOs in northern provinces of Afghanistan, as well as served in Sierra Leone as a DDR Program Manager for the Child Protection Unit with The International Rescue Committee. Upon entering UNDP, he served from 2004-2006 in Afghanistan as the DDR Deputy Senior Programme Advisor assisting in the development of the Commander Incentive Programs, SALW and Heavy Weapons Reduction Projects and the Disbandment of Illegally Armed Groups effort. While in South(ern) Sudan in 2007-2008, he held the positions of DDR Deputy Regional Coordinator under the direction of DPKO and Specific Needs Group Reintegration Manager under UNDP. In 2009, Dean joined UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) in HQ New York where he held a portfolio of 22 DDR and related stabilization programs globally. He served as the lead training coordination and facilitator partnering with DPKO, the World Bank, Folke Bernadotte Academy, Norwegian Defense College, The Monterey Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies and the KAITPC in Ghana. As the reintegration focal person for BCPR he co-chaired the Inter-Agency Working Group on DDR, marshaling several Integrated DDR Standard modules through production and validation. Dean spearheaded UNDP’s efforts in political reintegration and armed group transformation, until he left UNDP at the end of 2014 to take a position as the Managing Director for the Peacebuilding, Reintegration and Stabilization Assessment Group. In this capacity he supported DDR, Reintegration and countering violent extremism (CVE) working with US Government the UN and World Bank. Dean also designs and teaching courses as an adjunct professor in US based universities, as well as redesigns curricula for peacekeepers oriented towards CVE and asymmetric conflict environments.