Sophia Kierstead is a Research Associate for Stimson’s South Asia Program and Managing Editor of South Asian Voices. Prior to joining Stimson, she worked as the South & Central Asia Analyst for the U.S. Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council, serving as a security and crisis liaison to the U.S. private sector. She has also worked for the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Opinions Research, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. Sophia graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago, where she conducted research as a Research Assistant in the Political Science Department. Sophia received a Boren Scholarship (2020-2021) to study Urdu in Lucknow, India.