Elizabeth Leeds was a senior fellow advising WOLA’s work on citizen security and human rights in Brazil. She is a leading expert on police reform and other issues of citizen security in Brazil, having conducted extensive research and field work on the topics over the last four decades.
From 1989-1997 she was the Executive Director of the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As a Ford Foundation Program Officer for Governance and Civil Society in the Foundation’s Brazil Office, 1997-2003, she developed the Democratic Policing Initiative. She is the co-founder and Honorary President of the Brazilian Forum for Public Safety, begun in 2005, which is a leading independent voice on public safety policies and law enforcement in Brazil, facilitating regular dialogue with relevant actors. Currently, Ms. Leeds serves as a Research Associate at the Center for International Studies at MIT.