Alisa Laufer

A native of Acton, Massachusetts, Alisa moved to Washington, D.C., to study international affairs and Arabic studies at The George Washington University. While at GW, she conducted research on the ISIS territory-terrorism relationship, sparking her interest in insurgency and irregular warfare. Outside of class, she interned for Senator Ed Markey and the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Alisa was excited to return to the Department’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation after graduation. There, she supported the Office of WMD Terrorism by leading a multilateral exercise series on crisis response for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) events. She also advised the Department’s operational responses to real-world CBRN crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Port of Beirut explosion. She completed her 2022 summer internship at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, as a Harold W. Rosenthal Fellow. At SPIA, Alisa is excited to return to studying armed conflict – in particular, how the evolving dynamics, technologies, and geographies of conflicts impact civilians. A public servant at heart, she plans to return to government after completing her studies. In her free time, Alisa enjoys traveling, live music, everything bagels, and playing fetch with her dog, Duncan.