Grant Gordon

Grant Gordon is the Associate Director of R&D at the International Rescue Committee where he manages a broad portfolio of innovative humanitarian products. Prior to joining the IRC, Grant worked at the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations where he developed and directed a global, inter-agency mine action monitoring and evaluation mechanism to oversee 175 million USD in annual operations. Grant has worked for multiple UN agencies, donors and governments, re-structuring business processes to integrate evidence into strategic planning and decision-making.  

Grant holds a PhD in political science from Columbia University where he specialized in the political economy of conflict, foreign policy, and statistical methods. He has embedded with the Congolese military to examine the institutional causes of violence against civilians; assessed the impact of satellite technologies used to deter genocidal violence in Darfur; and researched patterns of rebel behavior in Aceh. He served as an Exchange Scholar in the Department of Political Science at Stanford as well as a Resident Fellow at the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation. Grant holds a BA in Public Policy and African Studies from the University of Chicago.  

Grant has worked and lived in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, West Africa, and Somalia and Haiti. He speaks French and Swahili, enjoys triathlons, and is an avid fan of pasta making.