Bede Sheppard is a senior researcher in the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, where he specializes in the issues of attacks on schools and teachers, the occupation of schools by security forces, and child domestic workers. During his time with Human Rights Watch, he has conducted research and advocacy on India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Yemen. He has previously worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Croatia, and as an attorney with a Washington DC law firm, conducting field investigations into human rights abuses in Indonesia and South Africa. He holds a bachelors degree from Harvard College, a masters degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a law degree from Columbia University.