Louise Ehlers is a Program Manager at the Open Society Foundations, working to promote people-centered public safety across the Global South. Her work focuses on supporting activism that defends human rights, challenges discrimination and impunity, and protects democratic space—particularly in justice, security, and accountability. Louise has held several roles within the OSF network, including Associate Director in Global Programs, Associate Director in the Human Rights Initiative and Law Program Manager at the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa. She has worked across Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eurasia. Louise holds an MPhil in Law, a Bachelor of Commerce, and a Bachelor of Social Science, and was a visiting scholar at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Throughout her working life, as a practitioner and later in philanthropy, she has remained committed to upholding the rights of the most marginalized, and challenging discrimination and exclusion in all aspects of public life.