Laura Abrahams Schulz serves as a Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs, and is a member of the Senior Executive Service. She previously served as a Senior Advisor to the Agency Counselor. Ms. Schulz was a Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Development Democracy and Innovation (DDI), where she oversaw the DDI Program Office and Office of Administrative Management Services. Previously, Ms. Schulz was the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Economic Growth, Education and Environment Bureau (E3), and served as the Director of DDI’s Program Office.
Ms. Schulz served from 2014-2016 as Director of Global Engagement at the National Security Council, where she led interagency policy processes on civil society and freedom of association; religious leader engagement; and young leaders.
Before joining USAID, Ms. Schulz managed the Middle East and Africa portfolio at the Congressional Research Service. Prior to that, Ms. Schulz worked for nearly 15 years supporting civil society programs in the Middle East, including with the U.S. Department of State, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the National Democratic Institute, where she was based in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Ms. Schulz holds a Master’s Degree in Arab Studies from Georgetown University, a dual Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and International Relations from Brown University, and speaks Arabic and French.