Lauren Woods is Director of the Security Assistance Monitor at the Center for International Policy. Her expertise includes rule of law and human rights issues in the Middle East. She spent seven years at the State Department, where she focused on the Middle East and criminal justice reform, including police and justice systems. She was a Brookings Legis Fellow in 2015, working as a National Security Fellow in the U.S. Senate. Lauren has lived for periods of time in Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco and traveled through most of the region. She was an Egypt Desk Officer at the State Department focused on human rights during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Before that, she worked for the nonprofit Human Rights First as part of a team working to oppose the practices of torture, extraordinary rendition, and indefinite detention during the George W. Bush administration.

Her articles and opinion pieces have appeared in the Washington Post, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, The Hill, and elsewhere. Lauren holds an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas.

Fun Fact: After living in Austin, Texas, she has very strong opinions about both music and barbecue.