Dr. Lawrence is a Massachusetts native and holds a B.A. in History and French from Duke University, a 2nd level certificate in History from the University of Paris IV (Sorbonne) and a MALD and PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Formerly, he was the State Department’s officer in charge of Libyan and Tunisian Affairs, where he produced unrivalled reporting on the February 2006 political unrest and crackdown in eastern Libya and spearheaded U.S. Government efforts to increase pressure on Tunisian government over human rights and internet freedom issues.

He then served as a U.S. State Department Senior Advisor for Global Engagement, advising the White House on outreach to Muslim-majority countries and co-creating and implementing a number of programs launched by President Obama’s Cairo speech. He created the U.S. Science Envoy Program, the Global Innovation Through Science and Technology Program, and the Global Muslim Science Partnerships Program, best known for the 2007 Kuwait Conference for Women Leaders.

He is currently the Director of the North Africa Program for International Crisis Group, a leading international think tank based in Morocco. He and the Crisis Group teams he assembled observed at 70 polling stations in the Tunisian and Moroccan elections, interviewed leadership from all of the major political parties in both countries and attended the recent trial of Moroccan rapper El Haqed.