Sanja Kelly

Sanja Kelly is the director for Freedom on the Net, Freedom House’s assessment of global internet freedom. In that capacity, she oversees all research, writing, and administrative operations for the project, and manages a team of over 70 international analysts. She has authored and edited numerous articles, reports, and books examining internet freedom, democratic governance, and women’s rights. She regularly briefs the private sector, government agencies, and NGOs on internet freedom trends, and is frequently interviewed by domestic and international media. Her commentary has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Guardian, Al-Jazeera, Fox New, CNN, and other outlets.

Ms. Kelly served as a member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group for the IGF between 2012-2014, and also co-chaired the Freedom Online Coalition working group that drafted the Tallinn Agenda in 2014. During her 12-year career, she has also led various international research missions and represented Freedom House at high-level meetings in over 30 countries. In addition, Ms. Kelly has worked extensively on gender issues in the Middle East and North Africa and produced one the largest studies of women’s rights in the MENA region completed to date. A native of Bosnia-Herzegovina, she holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Columbia University.