Seda Gunes is an Associate Consultant at AMENA Strategies. Gunes also serves as a Research and Data Consultant for the Mapping Militants Project, supported by Rice University and the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence.

Her expertise lies at the intersection of emerging technology, insurgency, security, and geopolitics in the Middle East and Africa. Gunes has experience managing a range of projects related to political risk, political violence, and the role of technology in shaping conflict and governance. Gunes has also contributed to initiatives on U.S. foreign policy and national security at the National Security Studies Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Gunes holds an M.A. in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and an M.A. in International Relations from Istanbul University. She is fluent in Turkish.