Liz Harper

Liz Harper is senior editor for the Institute’s public affairs and communications department.  In this capacity, she writes, edits and produces content for the Web site, such as On the Issues and special features, as well as other publications, including Peace Briefs. Additionally, Liz writes a regular blog for Americas Quarterly, a Latin American affairs journal published by the Americas Society and Council of the Americas. Her areas of specialty include Central America, Cuba and U.S. policy in Latin America.

She joined USIP in April 2009 after working for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer since September 2001.  She started writing for the Online NewsHour, covering international developments, the media industry and general assignment stories. In 2005, she moved to the broadcast as a reporter for foreign affairs and defense, with a portfolio that included the  United Nations, Latin America, Europe, Eurasia, Africa and general U.S. foreign policy developments.

Before moving to Washington, D.C., Liz worked for The Carter Center’s Americas program in Atlanta, Georgia, where she assisted with an assessment of Venezuela’s 2000 elections and an analysis of Venezuela’s newly adopted 1999 constitution under President Hugo Chavez.

She has also worked for The Tico Times, an English-language newspaper in San Jose, Costa Rica, Hoover’s Inc., an online business magazine based in Austin, Texas, various publications in Pittsburgh, Penn., and as an adjunct fellow at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs.

She completed a Master’s degree from University of California, Los Angeles in Latin America Studies, with an emphasis on political economy and national security.  She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English and History with a focus on Latin American history from Emory University.  

Liz has been awarded a Hoover Institution Media Fellowship for January 2010.  Fluent in Spanish, she’s traveled extensively through Mexico, Central America, Cuba and elsewhere in the Caribbean.