Kathleen Ridolfo is a regional analyst covering Iraq for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL.) Over the past five years, Ridolfo has covered political, economic, and social developments in Iraq including the emergence of insurgent groups extensively for the weekly RFE/RL Iraq Report and daily RFE/RL Newsline. Before joining RFE/RL, she worked as a research assistant at the Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, she served as Director of Programs at the Middle East Institute in Washington. From 1998-2000, Ridolfo worked as a consultant for several Palestinian NGOs and companies in the West Bank, and as Foreign Relations Officer at the Arab Thought Forum in Jerusalem. She holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of New Hampshire and attended the M.A. in Arab Studies program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.