In 1989 she relocated to Washington, DC where she became a visiting professor at American University and director of the Development Studies Program sponsored by USAID and the U.S. Department of State.
[1] Not only steering that institution through the difficult COVID-19 pandemic, but President Ensign also launched a number of new initiatives that were interdisciplinary and global, stressing ethics, sustainability, and community engagement.
She also oversaw the creation of Dickinson's first post-graduate program in conjunction with the Army War College in human security and humanitarian response.
She is the author and editor of six books, including Rwanda: History and Hope, and Confronting Genocide: Dehumanization, Denial, and Strategies for Prevention.
Ensign has been interviewed multiple times by the BBC and CNN, and her writings have been published in The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Hill, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, The Army Times, The Huffington Post, and Hechinger Report, among others.