As Director of International Crisis Group’s Asia Program, Laurel leads the organization’s research, analysis, and policy advocacy about and in the region. Prior to joining Crisis Group, Laurel was a senior foreign policy expert at the RAND Corporation, where her work covered a wide range of subjects including conflict resolution, democratization, institution-building, and anti-corruption in countries throughout the world. She has served in several positions in the U.S. government, including as deputy and then acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan; Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs; Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues; and Director for western hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council. Laurel is a graduate of Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the University of Chicago Law School.