Bhavani Castro is the Research Desk Coordinator at ACLED, having previously managed the South America Research desk, and has been with the organization since 2018. She oversees the collection of data on political violence and demonstrations in the South America region and is responsible for managing the team members. She holds an MA in International Security from the Institut d´Études Politiques de Paris – Sciences Po Paris, and a BA in International Relations from the University of São Paulo. Her research interests include ethno-nationalist conflicts, communal violence, organized crime groups, and non-state armed groups and gender. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, and French.