Kelly Walsh is a principal policy associate in the Research to Action Lab and the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute. She is the managing director of the Pay for Success Initiative and leads other projects designed to improve the use of science and technology at the local level. Walsh conducts research on the impact of forensic science practices on criminal justice outcomes and the causes of wrongful convictions. In addition, she directs technical assistance efforts designed to help local governments and service providers participate in innovative financing mechanisms, like pay for success, that link payment to improved outcomes for communities.

Before joining Urban, Walsh was an instructor in the science department at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Walsh earned a BS in chemistry from the University of Scranton and a PhD in criminal justice, with a specialization in forensic science, from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.