Staff
Lesley Connolly
Junior Research Fellow: Knowledge Production Department
Other information
In June 2012 Lesley Connolly joined ACCORD as a Junior Research Fellow in the Knowledge Production Department. In this role she is responsible for conducting research on matters of peace and conflict on the African continent, with the intention of writing papers for publication to contribute to the institution's knowledge about issues of conflict on the continent. In addition, she will be working on conflict mapping and tracking analysis project with the Peacemaking Unit and the African Union.
Lesley holds an MPhil in Social Justice from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Lesley's Masters thesis focused on the transition to democracy in Sierra Leone. She also holds a B.Soc.Sci in Political Science, Sociology and History and a B.Soc.Sci Honours in Transitional Justice both from the University of Cape Town.
As part of her Masters degree Lesley spent six months studying human rights issues in Africa and the Middle East in Paris at Science Po: The Paris School of International Affairs in France. Prior to joining ACCORD, she completed an internship at Amnesty International in Washington DC where she provided support and research on issues of human rights abuses, focusing mainly on Africa. Lesley's areas of interest include transitional justice, peacebuilding, post-conflict development and gender issues in both Sub-Saharan and West Africa.