Dr. Roudabeh Kishi is the Chief Research Officer at the Bridging Divides Initiative. Her expertise is in data methodologies and measuring the risk of political violence. 

Previously, she was the Director of Research & Innovation at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), where she oversaw global data collection and analysis tracking political violence and protests around the world. While there, she spearheaded the establishment of ACLED’s US portfolio — as part of the US Crisis Monitor project, in conjunction with BDI — and served as lead researcher for ACLED’s US programming, which resulted in widespread media coverage and policy impact. Her work appears in various outlets, ranging from scholarly journals and academic books, to policy briefs and white papers, to op-eds and mainstream blogs, and has been cited widely, including by media outlets around the world. 

She received her Ph.D. in Government and Politics, with an emphasis on quantitative methodology, from the University of Maryland, College Park, and she regularly serves as an expert consultant on a range of projects around conflict data for clients, including governments, INGOs, humanitarian organizations, and research centers. Dr. Kishi is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Videre Est Credere, which focuses on supporting local communities around the world to document human rights violations, to demand accountability and secure justice.