Kholood Khair is the founder and director of Confluence Advisory, a 'think and do tank' formerly based in Khartoum that works on three priority policy areas: peace and security, economy, and governance. Kholood also hosted and co-produced Spotlight 249, Sudan's first English language political discussion and debate show aimed at young Sudanese. Kholood has a career spanning the fields of research, aid programming and policy in Sudan and across the Horn of Africa. She has also written research and analysis pieces for several international publications and has provided analyses for different research and policy institutions. Kholood holds and MSc from Oxford University and an MSc from the School of Oriental and African Studies.