Announcement – Elliott360

September 6, 2023December 6, 2023

Meet the GW Institute for International Economic Policy Executive Circle’s New Chairs

Lisa Schroeter, BA ’92, and Carl Richardson, MA ’99, are stepping up to co-chair the IIEP Executive Circle, which offers strategic guidance to the GW Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP), located at the Elliott School. The global group also mentors and supports students in the Elliott School’s MA program in international economic policy.

Carl A. Richardson is a partner at Richardson Capital LLP.

Based in London, Carl jointly leads the Richardson business, a multi-generational, international investment firm with a business portfolio embedded across the world.

The independent family business was founded more than 70 years ago in the West Midlands, the heart of the United Kingdom. Current growth capital investments include an award-winning Swiss technology company, a UK financial services business, a US-based medical real estate company, and the largest avocado grower in New Zealand.

Real estate holdings encompass significant office and residential holdings, distribution centers, and leisure, and infrastructure properties.

Real estate holdings are significant in scale and content, encompassing office, residential, distribution centers, leisure, and infrastructure properties.

Carl is also Trustee of the Richardson Brothers’ Foundation, and recent past posts include Honorary Captain in the Royal Navy Reserve and Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands (representing the Royal Family in the region).

Earlier in his career Carl was an International Officer at HSBC Bank, working in London, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong. Carl was educated at King’s College London, the Sorbonne, and the George Washington University.

“As a proud alumnus of the Elliott School of International Affairs, I am delighted to now serve as co-chair of the IIEP’s Executive Circle alongside Lisa Schroeter,” Carl noted.

Lisa Schroeter, who joins Carl as co-chair, is also a passionate leader in the business world.

GW has been a formative part of Lisa’s DC experience and launched her lifelong commitment to international affairs, especially when she studied abroad in Paris and Brussels during her junior year. Living on her own in the City of Light, Lisa says, led her to “a level of independence and cultural curiosity that has been an essential part of my success, personally and professionally.”

All these experiences have contributed to Lisa’s long-standing career in trade, including the current position as Global Director of Trade & Investment Policy at Dow. In that role, Lisa sees firsthand the opportunity to bring communities together, to create development opportunities through access to innovative products and technologies, and to promote circular economy approaches for a more sustainable world.

Along with her day job, Lisa chairs the Association of Women in International Trade Trust, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a senior docent at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Her colleagues know her as an outstanding thought leader with a contagious passion for trade policy, a champion for gender equality, and a generous mentor.

“I am truly honored to co-chair the IIEP Executive Circle with Carl,” noted Lisa “We welcome the opportunity to bring our private sector perspective to the executive circle, especially engaging across the GW community – in DC and around the world. This is a unique opportunity to create dialogue for action.”

Lisa and Carl step into shoes recently worn by Deborah Lehr, MA ’89, and Frank Chi-Hong Wong, BA ’79, who, as the executive circle’s first co-chairs, established a robust dynamic for the group.

Since 2021, the executive circle’s two dozen members from around the world have become trusted advisors to IIEP’s faculty director, as well as to Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres. Through its philanthropy, the IIEP Executive Circle contributes to student employment at IIEP and student research with an emphasis on geo-economic policy.

In particular, IIEP Executive Circle members have supported six fellowships for students in the Elliott School’s MA program in international economic policy and 10 doctoral-level student research assistants to faculty, as well as thought-leadership programs in business, development, climate, and trade policy.

“With Deborah and Frank as inaugural co-chairs, the IIEP Executive Circle deepened our alumni community’s connection to IIEP, strengthening the institute and providing opportunities for student engagement – a consequential accomplishment,” Dean Ayres said. “We are immensely grateful to them.

“As we move ahead, I am delighted and excited that Lisa and Carl are the new chairs. Their inspiring leadership will help us to strengthen the IIEP Executive Circle and deepen interactions across the GW and Elliott School global community – students, faculty, alumni, parents, and other school leadership groups.”

The executive circle kicked off the year with the “GW International Economic Policy Breakfast” in New York on September 26. Lisa was instrumental in developing the program, which features a high-powered panel of senior financial leaders. “Bringing people together is a catalyst for great ideas,” Lisa said.

Carl also is focused on forging new global relationships that will enhance opportunities for members of the GW and Elliott School community. “The co-chairs will build synergies and create more international networking opportunities,” he said.

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Interested in joining or supporting the GW IIEP Executive Circle? Please contact Joe Strodel, assistant vice president for development, at jstrodel@gwu.edu .

August 25, 2023September 1, 2023

GW Elliott School Celebrates 125th Anniversary

This academic year, the Elliott School of International Affairs proudly commemorates the 125th anniversary of teaching international affairs at GW. Since 1898, the George Washington University has offered an unbroken succession of international affairs programs of study, beginning with the School of Comparative Jurisprudence and Diplomacy.

The school’s opening ceremony was an auspicious affair with U.S. President William McKinley and his Cabinet attending. Since then, the school has gone through 10 iterations before becoming the Elliott School, named in 1988 to honor former GW President Lloyd Elliott.

Then, as now, students received instruction from both leading scholars and policy practitioners, including Supreme Court justices, U.S. and foreign ambassadors, as well as officials in government, business, and nonprofit organizations.

Thanks to research conducted by Elliott alumnus Stephen Wyman, BA ’85, we know some interesting history about how the school evolved at GW. According to Wyman, “the school’s earliest graduates played a huge role in the transformation and professionalization of the U.S. State Department. It is clear that GW was the nation’s trailblazer in educating students for diplomatic and consular careers.”

The first woman to become a Foreign Service Officer (FSO), Lucile Atcherson, a Smith College graduate, prepared for the FSO exam at GW, finished third, and was appointed in December 1922. In 1937, four of the 16 ambassadors and ministers with the longest tenures in the Foreign Service were GW alumni, including U.S. Ambassador Fred Morris Dearing, who received his Master of Diplomacy degree from GW in 1904.

During its first year of existence, the school counted 90 students. Today, the Elliott School boasts more than 28,000 living alumni, representing 113 countries, with an impressive record of achievements across all career sectors. Over the past 125 years, the study of international affairs has gained stature — and the Elliott School continues to be at the forefront.

For a full history of the school, check out “Engaging the World: The Study of International Affairs at the George Washington University.” This narrative offers a comprehensive look at how the school has evolved, through its many transformative milestones.Whether you’re a student, an alum, or simply curious about the school’s journey, this reading promises a compelling glimpse into the rich tapestry of the Elliott School’s history.

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The Elliott School’s mission is to develop the next generation of international leaders: leaders with knowledge, character, and skills; to conduct research that advances understanding of important global issues and contributes to the public debate on issues to advance understanding; and to help foster solutions to the world’s most challenging problems.

January 4, 2021January 4, 2021

In Memoriam: Dr. Jerrold M. Post

Jerrold M. Post, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Political Psychology and International Affairs died on November 22, 2020 at the age of 86. The cause of death was Covid-19 following a recent decline in health.

Dr. Post devoted his entire career to the field of political psychology. He came to the George Washington University after a 21 year career with the Central Intelligence Agency where he founded and directed the Center for the Analysis of Personality and Political Behavior, an interdisciplinary behavioral science unit which provided assessments of foreign leadership and decision making for the President and other senior officials to prepare for Summit meetings and other high level negotiations and for use in crisis situations. He played the lead role in developing the “Camp David profiles” of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat for President Jimmy Carter and initiated the U.S. government program in understanding the psychology of terrorism. In recognition of his leadership of the Center, Dr. Post was awarded the Intelligence Medal of Merit in 1979, and received the Studies in Intelligence Award in 1980. He received the Nevitt Sanford Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Political Psychology in 2002.

A founding member of the International Society of Political Psychology, Dr. Post was elected Vice-President in 1994, and served on the editorial board of Political Psychology since 1987.

The entire faculty and staff of the Elliott School expresses their condolences to the Post family in their loss and gratitude for Dr. Post’s long and dedicated service to furthering the work of the intelligence community and promoting a better understanding of how events unfold in the international arena.

Read more about Dr. Jerrold M. Post’s life and career in The Washington Post.

December 1, 2020December 1, 2020

A Message from the Dean

Lisa Stephenson at the Elliott School commencement ceremony

Dear Elliott School Community,

It is with mixed emotions — pleasure, pride, sadness and regret — that I announce that Lisa Stephenson, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Student Services will be leaving the Elliott School after twenty years of service to take on a new role as Vice Provost for Student Success at the University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee.

Lisa currently manages all the Elliott School’s academic programs, undergraduate and graduate, and student services. She started her career at GW as director of the Graduate Student Career Development Center, now known as GSS.

Originally hired to scale up the graduate career center by Ed McCord, Professor Emeritus, Lisa has served under several deans at the Elliott School and presidents of the GW University during her tenure. Provost Brian Blake says, “Lisa has been a committed and inspirational leader in the Elliott School, working hard every day to enhance its academic programs and student services so that Elliott graduates are prepared to become leaders and problem-solvers in international affairs. I have valued her partnership, and I can say confidently that Elliott is well-positioned for future success in large part because of Lisa’s tireless efforts.”

Former Elliott School Dean, Michael Brown says, “The Elliott School has made great strides over the past twenty years, and Lisa has been central to our success. She has made truly extraordinary efforts on our behalf. Many of Lisa’s contributions are visible, such as her leadership in building and running our world-class undergraduate and graduate programs. Some of her most important contributions have been behind the scenes: taking on jobs that had to be done, solving problems that appeared out of nowhere, and keeping everyone pointed in the right direction. Through it all, Lisa kept us laughing, and she somehow made it fun. I have never had a better colleague. I wish her the best in her new venture!”

Lisa earned her PhD in higher education and leadership from the University of Maryland and holds an M.A. in international studies from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in French language and literature from the University of Wyoming. Her passion, developed over her long career, has been to broaden opportunities for students who have historically been marginalized. She was a guiding force behind the effort to develop the office of diversity and inclusion at the Elliott School which has since become a model for D&I offices across the campus.

Join us in wishing Lisa all the best as she takes on a new challenge at Sewanee. Her dedication and commitment to the mission of the Elliott School and to bettering the lives and opportunities of her students is a wonderful legacy she leaves to our Elliott community. You can post your well wishes to Kudoboard, or you may reach out to Lisa directly at lisastephenson123@gmail.com.

Lisa, thank you for your service, we will miss you, and we wish you all the best.

Ilana Feldman,
Interim Dean, Elliott School of International Affairs