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Executive Vice President
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Tara Sonenshine is Executive Vice President of the United States Institute of Peace. In addition to her broad management responsibilities, she specifically oversees public education, public outreach, and programmatic activity.
Prior to joining USIP, she was a strategic communications adviser to many international organizations including USIP, the International Crisis Group, Internews Networks, CARE International, the American Academy of Diplomacy and Women of Washington.
Sonenshine has served in various White House capacities, including transition director for the National Security Council (NSC). In that position, she was responsible for coordinating an interagency process to review foreign policy goals and priorities for the Clinton administration’s second term. Before that, she served as special assistant to President Clinton and deputy director of communications for the NSC (1994-1995).
In 1998, Sonenshine was at the Brookings Institution studying foreign policy and communications. Her career began in broadcast journalism in 1982 at ABC News in New York, where she served as assistant to David Burke, the vice president of news. Sonenshine went on to become editorial producer of ABC News’ Nightline, where she worked for more than a decade. She was also an off-air reporter at the Pentagon for ABC’s World News Tonight. During her tenure at ABC News, Sonenshine earned ten News Emmy Awards for coverage of China, Iran, the Philippines, and South Africa. She also won the Columbia-DuPont Award for coverage of the Los Angeles riots. A former contributing editor for Newsweek, Sonenshine is the author of numerous articles on foreign affairs published in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other newspapers.
Publications & Tools
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USIP's Tara Sonenshine, nominated to lead the U.S. State Department's office of Public Diplomacy, discusses how to maintain America's core values but embrace the change occuring around the world. Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Gender and Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Political Reform, Rule of Law, Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding, Security Sector Reform/Governance
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Veteran journalist and author Marvin Kalb discussed the lasting impact of the Vietnam War on U.S. policymaking at a United States Institute of Peace (USIP) meeting July 12—an event keyed to a recently released book that he co-authored with his daughter Deborah Kalb, titled Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama. Countries: Asia, United States, Vietnam
| Issue Areas: Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities
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USIP Executive Vice President Tara Sonenshine outlines how USIP's work in the field supports the United States' efforts around the world, as outlined in President Obama's May 19 speech on policy in the Arab world. Countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, South Sudan, Sudan, The Two Sudans
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Gender and Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Religion and Peacemaking, Rule of Law, Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding, Security Sector Reform/Governance, Training, WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control , Youth and Peacebuilding
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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to accept a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered plan this weekend that allows him to cede power in exchange for immunity, a government official said. Countries: Asia, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Mediation and Facilitation, Political Reform
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Key Yemeni opposition figures discussed their determination to end the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and consolidate their country’s intensifying political uprising in a rare video conference that connected them in the capital Sanaa with an audience gathered at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. The April 5 event was co-sponsored by USIP and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), with USIP Executive Vice President Tara Sonenshine and NDI’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Les Campbell, moderating. |
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USIP Executive Vice President Tara Sonenshine writes that "America does not just have a budget problem -- it has a problem with national deliberation and deadlines" in The Huffington Post. |
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It’s all about numbers these days--costs, savings, debt, deficit and spending. That’s good news for those who work in the field of international peacebuilding and conflict prevention. We’re the best bargain in town. |
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The Institute's work is not always visible because it seeks to protect the people it works with in conflict zones. USIP Executive Vice President outlines USIP's work in a few of the regions you care about. Countries: Afghanistan, Africa, Colombia, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Education, Human Rights, Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Political Reform, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Religion and Peacemaking, Rule of Law, Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding, Security Sector Reform/Governance, Training, WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control , Youth and Peacebuilding
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The U.S. Institute of Peace continues to follow the developments in Egypt and the Middle East. Read about USIP's work on Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East, work on national security issues, democratization, and more. Countries: Africa, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Political Reform, Religion and Peacemaking
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Ambassador Dennis Ross, special assistant to the President and senior director for the Central Region including the Middle East, the Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia, addressed USIP on the day it rolled out "The Iran Primer: Power, Politics and U.S. Policy," edited by USIP-Woodrow Wilson Center Fellow Robin Wright. The speech took place just a week before multilateral talks with Iran begin. Countries: Iran, United States
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Political Reform
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It would be tempting to pronounce American public diplomacy dead in the 21st century. Where government once served as a powerful middleman for information and access, shaping prevailing messages about the United States, now the Internet connects two billion people directly. The result is a brave new world for multilateral international communication, with unprecedented power to connect and divide, spread truth and rumor, and organize dispersed individuals for good, evil, and everything in between. |
Events
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July 28, 2011
Four Francophone states in West Africa have recently held elections. In three, new presidents have taken office in processes that followed protracted periods of conflict and disputed rule; in Benin, a reelected incumbent has continued a democratic tradition of 20 years' standing. Despite the fact that the outcomes of some of these elections have been disputed, they nevertheless represent steps toward strengthening democracy in the region. This USIP event takes place in the past, please view the Webcast, Audio, or photos. Countries: Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Niger
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Human Rights, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Political Reform, Rule of Law
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July 12, 2011
Former USIP writer-in-residence, renowned journalist and Edward R. Murrow Professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, Marvin Kalb visited for a roundtable discussion of his new book, Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama. Co-authored with his daughter, Deborah Kalb, this timely publication explores the lasting legacy of America’s lost war in Vietnam and how it continues to impact U.S. policymaking and U.S. foreign policy to this day. Countries: Afghanistan
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June 30, 2011
On June 30, 2011, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted an international conference on Security Sector Transformation in North Africa and the Middle East. |
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June 24, 2011
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made her third visit to USIP on Friday, June 24, 2011 for a speech that addressed key political, economic and social issues affecting her country and the region. Audio, Video and Photos are available on the event page.
Countries: Liberia
| Issue Areas: Gender and Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law
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June 14, 2011
As Southern Sudan's independence fast approaches, a fragile peace hangs in the balance. USIP has been involved in Sudan for nearly 20 years working on the ground, advising and collaborating with local organizations to find peaceful solutions to flashpoint issues. As the world looks to Sudan's leaders to resolve critical issues before July 9, the Institute was pleased to host H.E. Lt. General Dr. Riek Machar, vice president of the Government of Southern Sudan. |
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May 5, 2011
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May 6, 2011
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), Peace Research Institute-Oslo (PRIO), and Royal Norwegian Embassy hosted a book launch and international symposium on the next decade of UNSCR 1325 on the afternoon of May 5th and all day on May 6th. The symposium further examined the issues of women and war, power and protection in the 21st century, and explored the implementation of gender-sensitive policies in defense, diplomacy, development, and the role of documentary film, media and the arts in this endeavor. |
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April 27, 2011
The orientation of U.S. public diplomacy is changing from telling America’s story to direct dialogue in an interconnected world. With this shift has come a need to revitalize a core pillar of public diplomacy strategy: international exchanges. This event will explore how access to international study and cultural exchange could be broadened by combining new media with crosscultural dialogue. |
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April 19, 2011
Looking ahead to southern Sudan’s secession and the future of both resulting states, three members of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (Sudan), former South African President Thabo Mbeki, former Burundian President Pierre Buyoya, and former Nigerian President Abdulsalami Abubakar, discussed the current situation and their efforts to support two peaceful Sudans.
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April 5, 2011
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Yemen Working Group and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) hosted a video-conference with leaders of the Yemeni opposition. Countries: Asia, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Human Rights, Political Reform
| Programs: Grant Program
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January 5, 2011
Please join us as Iraqi representatives and USIP experts assess the success of efforts to establish a genuine national partnership and discuss priorities for Iraq’s new government in 2011. |
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November 3, 2010
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November 5, 2010
In October 2000, the United Nations Security Council passed landmark Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, which linked women’s experiences of conflict to the international peace and security agenda, acknowledging their peacemaking roles as well as the disproportionate impact of violent conflict on women. Ten years later, the U.S. Institute of Peace co-hosted a three-day Women and War conference focused on the varied experiences of women during wartime and how to make sustained progress toward international peace and security. The event featured an extraordinary coalition of national and international participants, including U.N. and U.S. government officials, the international diplomatic communities, military personnel, academics, civil society leaders, and practitioners in the fields of security, development, and conflict resolution. Countries: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iran, Iraq
| Issue Areas: Arts and Peacebuilding, Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Education, Gender and Peacebuilding, Human Rights, Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law, Security Sector Reform/Governance
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July 27, 2010
USIP conducted a working meeting to discuss the ten year anniversary of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, which focused on women's leadership in peacemaking and conflict prevention. Panelists discussed its history, lessons and experiences of the last ten years, why it is still relevant, and how to move forward implementing its vision. Issue Areas: Gender and Peacebuilding
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July 1, 2010
About 150 leading policymakers, scholars, diplomats, and NGO leaders participated in an all-day conference entitled "Preventing Violent Conflict: Principles, Policies and Practice," organized by the U.S. Institute of Peace's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention on July 1, 2010. |
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April 15, 2010
The new Women in International Security (WIIS) "Progress Report on Women in Peace and Security Careers: U.S. Executive Branch" is the first report to examine women's representation and career experiences in international security in the U.S. government sector. A panel of USIP and WIIS experts will discuss the report's implications and the next steps to fulfilling its recommendations.
Issue Areas: Gender and Peacebuilding
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March 2, 2010
A distinguished panel of experts discussed the current movements in Iran today, many of which are led by women, and also reflected upon the past three decades of the shifting status of women in Iran. |
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February 12, 2010
The Haitian government is leading efforts to address serious rule of law challenges brought about by the recent earthquake, including the destruction of key justice infrastructure and the loss of life within the justice system. What can be done now to provide the Haitian people with rule of law? How should the pre-existing rule of law strategy be altered to reflect the reality on the ground and to ensure long-term rule of law? |
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February 3, 2009
Distinguished panelists and citizen journalists around the world to discuss the role of media in public diplomacy. |