Lauren Burke

Lauren Burke is the program manager and research associate for the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, she spent four years as the senior program coordinator for the German Marshall Fund (GMF) Cities program, where she played a critical role in managing the Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) and launching the Cities Fortifying Democracy project. Before joining the GMF, Ms. Burke worked as a program assistant on the Middle East and North Africa team at the Center for International Private Enterprise, where her portfolio included business association development in Jordan and Palestine, business advocacy in Lebanon, and promoting enterprise ecosystems in Syria. She also interned at Management Systems International, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, and the Irish parliament. Ms. Burke holds a master of arts in democracy and governance from Georgetown University and a bachelor of arts in political science from Illinois Wesleyan University.