Shannon Hiller

Shannon Hiller is Executive Director of the Bridging Divides Initiative. She most recently served for two years as Co-Director of BDI, following nearly a decade of work in international development and foreign policy.

Shannon previously served as Assistant Director for International Affairs and Operations at Princeton University and as an advisor at USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI). At OTI she supported country programs across the response to political crisis or transition, and as Program Manager for a $30M peace and conflict prevention program in Burma. Prior to joining government, Shannon led the creation of an intensive leadership, education, and soccer program for girls at-risk of human trafficking in Northwest Cambodia. She has also worked with women’s rights NGO WomenWin, USAID Uganda, the National Democratic Institute, The Carter Center, Aspen Strategy Group, the Center for International Trade and Security, and as a lead researcher for Pact Cambodia.

Shannon is a Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project, 2017 CNAS Brimley Next Gen Security Leaders Fellow, and trustee and co-founder of the non-profit Mitra Network. She holds an MPA from Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs and a BA in International Relations and Political Science from the University of Georgia, where she was a Foundation Fellow.