Lauren Skompinski '14

Lauren spent her first-year summer with the United Nations’ Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, Division of Political Affairs, in New York City. CTITF's mandate is to enhance the coordination and coherence of counterterrorism efforts in the United Nations system. This includes both states' domestic efforts to build counterterrorism capacity and enhancing international best practices to combat terrorism globally.

Lauren contributed to these efforts by providing policy guidance and drafting memos on the legal avenues of redress for victims of terrorist attacks, and coordinating conferences for senior-level policy officials. Lauren also spent most of her summer organizing the 2012 Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review, a weeklong gathering held every two years at the Secretariat to address problems of member states' counterterrorism strategies. The Strategy Review also highlights aspects of counterterrorism efforts that are working. Lauren learned the intricate workings of one of the most influential non-governmental international organizations and helped author the official report to come out of the 2012 Strategy Review.