Mark P. Lagon

Mark P. Lagon is a specialist on global health, human rights, human trafficking, and global institutions, as well as the role of Congress, the executive branch and ideologically diverse, multistakeholder coalitions in U.S. foreign policy.

He is Chief Policy Officer at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria — where he coordinates the non-profit’s Administration and congressional policy advocacy; research content; and partnerships with civil society in donor and low- and middle- income countries, the private sector, and the faith community. He is also currently Adjunct Professor in the Masters of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) Program at Georgetown University and adjunct Senior Fellow at the faith-bas ed Trinity Forum.

In the executive branch of the U.S. government, he served as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large directing the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons; Deputy Assistant Secretary of International Organization Affairs; and member of the Secretary of State Colin Powell's Policy Planning Staff at the Department of State under President George W. Bush.

Earlier, in the legislative branch, he was senior staffer at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee responsible for international organizations and human rights; and served as senior staff for the House leadership in the Gingrich-Gephardt era.

In the non-governmental organization world, in addition to now at Friends, he served as President of Freedom House. Previously, he was Executive Director and CEO of the leading anti-human trafficking nonprofit, Polaris.

In academia and the think tank world, he was Global Politics and Security Chair for Georgetown’s MSFS Program. He was also at the same time Adjunct Senior Fellow for Human Rights at the Council on Foreign Relations.

He won Louis B. Sohn Award for career contributions in human rights from the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area in 2015, and earlier, three Superior Honor Awards and one Meritorious Honor Award at the Department of State.

He is co-editor with Anthony Clark Arend of the 2014 book, Human Dignity and the Future of Global Institutions. He also authored the 1994 book, The Reagan Doctrine: Sources of American Conduct in the Cold War’s Last Chapter.

He received his Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University, and A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard University.

Lagon is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on governing Boards of the Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking (which he co-founded) and the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; and on advisory boards of Georgetown University’s MSFS Program, Foreign Policy for America, and Refugees International. And for several years until recently rotating off, the Advisory Council of the United Nations Association’s National Capital Area Chapter (UNA-NCA).