For Immediate Release, January 2, 2013
Contact:    David Early, 202-429-7817

(Washington) – The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) today announced the appointment of Kristin Lord as executive vice president. She will assume her new duties at USIP on January 28.

Lord joins the Institute’s executive team from the Center for a New American Security, where she served as executive vice president and director of studies for the last four years. At CNAS, she was a member of the leadership team during a period of remarkable transition and oversaw all of the Center's research.

USIP President Jim Marshall made the announcement.

“Kristin Lord is known as a dynamic institution builder and strategist, as well as a respected scholar and policy analyst who cares about real world results. Her management credentials in policy research, teaching and publishing are impeccable,” said Marshall. “The Institute will certainly benefit from her experience and judgment during this era of challenge and opportunity.”  

As the Institute’s second-ranking officer, Lord will help lead the Institute's internal management team, oversee and integrate substantive programs, and manage growth. 

"At a time when Americans seek to understand a world that grows ever more complex, and to prevent and mitigate violent conflict that is all too frequent, the mission of the United States Institute of Peace could hardly be more important,” Lord said. “It is a tremendous honor to join the Institute at this critical moment and be part of an organization that strives to represent America at its very best."

Prior to her role at CNAS, Lord was a scholar at the Brookings Institution, where she led a science and technology initiative linking U.S. and Muslim communities around the world and authored a widely read study on the future of U.S. public diplomacy. She also served as associate dean at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, where she launched numerous research centers, educational initiatives, and outreach programs.  As a member of the Elliott School’s faculty, she also taught courses on U.S. public diplomacy, U.S. foreign policy, and the causes of war. In 2005-2006, Lord served as a Council on Foreign Relations international affairs fellow and as special adviser to the under secretary of State for democracy and global affairs. In that role, she worked on a wide range of issues including international science and technology cooperation, international health, democracy and the rule of law, communications, and public diplomacy.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies from American University and master’s and doctoral degrees in government from Georgetown University.

Lord is the author of Perils and Promise of Global Transparency: Why the Information Revolution May Not Lead to Security Democracy or Peace; Power and Conflict in an Age of Transparency, edited with Bernard I. Finel; and numerous book chapters, policy papers, reports, and articles. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She will also serve as a member of the CNAS advisory board.

Robin West, chairman of USIP’s board of directors, strongly endorsed the choice of Lord, calling her “an invaluable addition to the Institute’s new leadership team. We’ve been fortunate to have extremely talented EVPs over the years, and Kristin certainly follows in that tradition.”

She succeeds Linda Jamison, who has served as acting executive vice president for external affairs since April 2012.

“I am pleased that Linda Jamison, who has done and is doing an excellent job as USIP’s interim EVP, has agreed to remain with the Institute as a senior adviser,” Marshall said. “I have valued her expertise and insights as I have made my own transition to the Institute over the last several months.”

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The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan conflict management center created by Congress to prevent and mitigate international conflict without resorting to violence. USIP saves lives, increases the government’s ability to deal with conflicts before they escalate, reduces government costs, and enhances national security. USIP is headquartered in Washington, DC. To learn more visit www.usip.org.

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