Kellie Leeson
RSRI Co-Founder
Deputy Vice President for New Initiatives, Women’s Refugee Commission
Kellie C. Leeson has over fifteen years of experience working in East and West Africa, Latin America, and Russia. She has designed, led, and managed large-scale health, education, and livelihoods programs for the displaced. She served as Country Director for Kenya and Regional Deputy Director for the Horn and East Africa with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), as well as Managing Director of New York University’s Development Research Institute. In addition, Kellie has held advisory and management positions with American Institutes for Research, Concern Worldwide, InterAction, and the International Institute for Environment and Development. Kellie was the initiator and architect of IRC’s urban refugee initiative. Kellie’s work with urban refugees led to her current interest in self-reliance, including co-creating the Well-Being and Adjustment Index and co-founding the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative.
She holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University.
