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Leisha Beardmore

Research Fellow
Head shot for Leisha Beardmore
Department:
Center for Human Rights and International Justice

Leisha Beardmore (they/she) has over 15 years of experience in Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), and International Human Rights Law. They are the Global Lead for MHPSS and GBV at the International Medical Corps and the Founder of Cadre, a non-profit focused on advancing trauma recovery and healing for survivors of human rights violations.

At Stanford University, Leisha is a Research Fellow and Senior Researcher, working across the Department for Psychiatry and the Center for Human Rights and International Justice. Their work focuses on reducing re-traumatization and prioritizing the wellbeing of survivors and witnesses during human rights investigations, scaling culturally grounded trauma interventions, and fostering equitable partnerships that prioritize local expertise. They currently lead initiatives addressing trauma recovery for older persons, LatinX communities in California, and women and girls in communities, hospitals and settings of incarceration in Singapore, as well as the integration of mental health into the documentation of war crimes.

Leisha holds advanced degrees in Clinical Psychology and International Law from Columbia University, Harvard Medical School, and the London School of Economics. They have worked in diverse humanitarian and human rights contexts, including Afghanistan, Syria, Ethiopia, Haiti, and Cambodia, managing complex programs and teams with organizations such as the United Nations, International Rescue Committee, Amnesty International, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

In addition to their professional roles, Leisha is a visiting lecturer on human rights, global health, and clinical and community psychology to PhD, DClinPsy and MD students in the UK and US. They are in training as a volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), volunteer clinically with LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers and survivors of torture, and serves as an Expert Witness in national and international courts on Countering Trafficking in Persons (CTIP).

As an artist, Leisha runs a sliding scale residency program through the Art House Collective, with its first location in Athens, Greece. They are a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and are dedicated to advancing justice and healing through collaborative, community-driven approaches that integrate mental health and human rights in meaningful, contextualized ways.