Madeline has spent more than a decade analyzing political dynamics and regional trends across the African continent in support of public and private sector priorities. Having lived and worked in major regional hubs, she has conducted extensive field research across both urban and rural areas in fragile and conflict-affected states. Her work integrates granular political analysis with a high-level understanding of how governance trajectories, security dynamics, and external engagement intersect to shape regional outcomes.
Theaters of previous substantive work include:
Sahel & The Maghreb
Coastal West Africa
Lake Chad Basin
Central Africa & the Sudans
Horn of Africa
African Great Lakes
African Geopolitics
Madeline’s work in natural resource management (NRM) focuses on the intersection of resource governance, local identity, and political stability—critical factors for private sector actors operating in complex markets. She specializes in identifying how the management of land, water, and extractive industries can impact the "Social" and "Governance" pillars of ESG. By examining how resource policies and economic pressures shift local power dynamics, she helps partners mitigate operational risks and build sustainable community resilience.
Featured experience includes:
Critical minerals
Livestock and agriculture
Climate resilience
Natural Resource Management
Madeline provides sustained analysis of violent extremist organizations (VEOs) with a specific focus on the "human geography" of conflict. She examines how local governance failures, political marginalization, and security sector behavior drive patterns of violence. Her work is dedicated to developing policy-relevant frameworks that strengthen counterterrorism efforts while proactively mitigating risks to civilian populations.
Featured experience includes:
Civilian protection and harm reduction/mitigation
Security sector assistance and training
Geospatial trends and open-source analysis
Countering Violent Extremism
Madeline leads strategic analytical efforts to identify early-warning indicators of identity-based violence and translates those findings into actionable prevention and intervention strategies. Her work goes beyond risk identification to support the design of policy responses centered on protection, institutional resilience, and accountability. She provides decision-makers with the frameworks necessary to navigate national and multilateral structures, ensuring that prevention efforts are both strategically sound and operationally feasible.
Identity-based violence
Freedom of religion or belief
Multilateralism and peacekeeping