FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR

Kelly Bishop

Professional Experience

since 2025

Founder and Director at TRANSVERSAL Consulting

04/2019 – 09/2024

Consultant at Ximpulse GmbH

  • Substantive and organisational support for the team in consulting and process facilitation work on various projects

  • Co-edited and co-authored several publications on participation in relation to the LoGov Project as part of an international, multi-disciplinary research team with research visits in Ethiopia and South Africa

  • Delivered high-quality background papers and analysis related to diverse country contexts focusing on governance, gender, civil society, participation, and human rights

07/2017 – 02/2024

Research Assistant at University of Bern, Switzerland, Institute of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr. iur. Jörg Künzli

  • Engaged in research and teaching on constitutional law, international law and international human rights protection

  • Conducted advisory work for the Council of Europe on human rights standards and administrative detention of migrants

  • Managed multiple teams of students at the Human Rights Law Clinic, overseeing casework related to human rights, migration, detention and the criminal justice system reform

  • Developed course materials and reviewed academic theses and examinations, fostering the growth of future human rights leaders

  • Elected representative of the junior faculty staff in the Department of Public Law, the Faculty of Law and on the Commission for Gender Equality and the Promotion of Young Researchers (KGN), advocating for gender equality and development of early-career scholars

07/2017 – 08/2022  

 Research Fellow at Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights (SKMR) for the Police and Justice Cluster 

  • Conducted practice-oriented research on the implementation of human rights standards in Switzerland, including migration detention and human rights responses to pandemics

  • Co-authored studies and policy briefs that informed government policies on Police and Justice

  • Led stakeholder engagement and facilitated cross-sectoral discussions, dialogue and learning to drive policy development and legal reforms

 

04/2017 – 10/2018

Scientific Collaborator at National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) 

  • Developed and managed the NCPT’s advocacy strategies, monitoring activities and reporting on the human rights situation in the federal asylum centres in Switzerland

  • Led reporting and fact-finding missions, engaging with government and civil society stakeholders to ensure alignment with international human rights frameworks

  • Drafted statements in the Swiss national consultation process and alternative reports within the framework of UN reporting procedures (e.g. Universal Periodic Review)

  

04/2016 – 03/2017

Academic Trainee at National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT)

  • Supported monitoring visits and fact-finding missions, collecting data and conducting interviews to inform the Commission’s reporting in German, French and English

  • Drafted reports and statements on legislative amendments affecting human rights and deprivation of liberty

 

09/2015 – 03/2016

 Junior Consultant at Ximpulse GmbH

  • Researched and analysed information related to development co-operation (e.g., governance, gender, and human rights)

  • Provided technical and conceptual support as well as evaluated study tours for delegations from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe on democracy, decentralization, and power-sharing

Academic Experience

PhD in Law (Dr. iur.) from the University of Bern, Bern, Institute of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Switzerland

Thesis: Human Rights and Gender-Based Poverty in Urban Areas – An analysis with a focus on the Right to Adequate Housing 

  • Latin honors: summa cum laude

  • Supervisors: Prof. Dr. iur. Jörg Künzli and Prof. Dr. iur. Judith Wyttenbach

  • Led high-impact research that informs international development policies on socio-economic rights, gender and urban housing, with actionable recommendations for policymakers

  • Awarded the Doc.Mobility Grant of the University of Bern to conduct a fully funded year-long international research visit to South Africa

 

03/2019 – 12/2024 

Participant in Graduate School Gender Studies University of Bern, Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies, Switzerland 

  • Engaged in interdisciplinary research focusing on gender, discrimination and intersectionality  

03/2024 – 08/2024

Visiting Researcher University of the Western Cape, Dullah Omar Institute, South Africa, LoGov Project 

  • Conducted research on Local Government and the Changing Urban-Rural Interplay (LoGov) funded through the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (MSCA-RISE) programme (LoGov Project)

  • Guest edited two special issues of the ESR Review on Gender-Based Poverty, Women and Housing in Urban Areas published by the Socio-Economic Rights Project at the Dullah Omar Institute

 

 09/2022 – 08/2023

Visiting Researcher University of the Western Cape, Dullah Omar Institute, South Africa, Socio-Economic Rights Project

  • Recipient of the Doc.Mobility Grant of the University of Bern

  • Conducted research on human rights, social justice, and gender-sensitive policies within the context of the global South

  • Collaborated with local stakeholders to develop innovative solutions to address challenges in the realisation of human rights for women living in informal housing

 01/2020 – 03/2020

Visiting Researcher at University of Addis Ababa, Centre for Governance and Federalism, Ethiopia, LoGov Project

  • Conducted research on governance and federalism, with a specific focus on women’s participation in development projects at local government level in Addis Ababa

  • Led interviews with local stakeholders, including government officials and civil society representatives, to gather information on gender-inclusive development projects

  • Engaged in discussions with local academics and exchanged knowledge, deepening understanding of local governance challenges and how they relate to international development frameworks

 

03/2014 – 02/2016

Master of Law (MLaw) University of Bern, Switzerland 

  • Latin honors: summa cum laude

  • Specialised in International and European Law

  • Thesis: Can Australia be held responsible for the alleged human rights violations of asylum seekers detained on Manus Island (Papua New Guinea) and the Republic of Nauru? supervised by Prof. Dr. iur. Walter Kälin

Publications

  • Reflections on the Urban Land Justice Gathering, TRANSVERSAL- Insights, published August 2025 (Insights)

  • Access to Justice and Gender-Based Poverty, TRANSVERSAL - Insights, published August 2025 (Insights)

  • Editorials, ESR Review special issue on gender-based poverty, women and housing in urban areas, ESR Review No. 2 Vol 25 of 2024, 20 November 2024 (ESR Review) and ESR Review No. 1 Vol 25 of 2024, 18 November 2024 (ESR Review)

  • Where Rainbows Meet: Addressing, Community Challenges and Inspiring Change, Interview with Mymoena Scholtz, Kelly Bishop, ESR Review No. 1 Vol 25 of 2024, 18 November 2024 (ESR Review)

  • Can CEDAW address the issue of Gender-based Poverty in Urban Areas?, Kelly Jane Bishop, Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog Post, 13 May 2024 (Blog Post)

  • SKMR, Grund- und Menschenrechte in der Pandemie, verfasst von Egli Sandra/ Bishop Kelly/ Belser Eva-Maria/ Künzli Jörg, Bern 2022 (Study). (SCHR, Fundamental and human rights in the pandemic, authored by Egli Sandra/ Bishop Kelly/ Belser Eva-Maria/ Künzli Jörg, Bern 2022)

  • Felder Flavien/ Belser Eva-Maria/ Schläppi Erika/ Bishop Kelly (ed.), Local Government in Switzerland. Responses to Urban-Rural Challenges, 2021 (Report)

  • SKMR, Ausländerrechtliche Administrativhaft in der Schweiz, Menschenrechtliche Standards und ihre Umsetzung in der Schweiz, verfasst von Künzli Jörg/ Bishop Kelly, Bern 2020 (Study). (SCHR, Administrative detention under migration law in Switzerland, Human rights standards and their implementation in Switzerland, authored by Künzli Jörg/ Bishop Kelly, Bern 2020)

Selected Presentations

  • Seminar on “Substantive equality, a tool to address the challenges in connection to the right to housing and gender-based poverty in urban areas”, Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape.

  • Presentation on “Human Rights and Gender-based Poverty; What are the Legal Obligations of States within the United Nations Human Rights System in relation to Gender-based Poverty in Urban Areas?”, Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape.

  • Input at Community Leaders Training Workshop on “Human Rights and Post-Covid-19 Situations in Informal Settlements with a focus on gender-based poverty”, facilitated by the Socio-Economic Rights Project, Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape.

  • Presentation on “Feminist Approaches to International Law” at Seminar Contemporary Approaches to international Law, Dr. iur. Barbara von Rütte, online, University of Basel.

  • Panel participation “Strengthening Participation and Civil Society, KDZ, Danube Governance Conference, Towards European integration with the SDGs, online (Programme).

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