Mary Elizabeth King is a professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the United Nations affiliated University for Peace, a political scientist, and author of several publications. After graduating college, King became a staff member for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). King's participation in the Civil Rights Movement prompted her to co-write essays on women's issues with fellow activist Casey Hayden. King worked for the federal government during the Johnson and Nixon administrations under the U.S. office of economic opportunity and was appointed deputy director of the independent subcabinet federal agency under president Jimmy Carter.