Hometown: Seattle, Washington

Bio: Liesl is a first-year candidate in Latin American Studies. She was raised in the Bay Area of California and spent two-years living and working in Arequipa, Peru. She attended Brigham Young University where she graduated with honors in 2020. During her undergraduate career Liesl was a research assistant with the Department of Defense where she focused on publications for security and defense policy along with trends in US foreign aid to Latin America.

She currently works at the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies as an operations coordinator. Her focus is on multi-lateral event logistics and communications across Latin America and the Caribbean. Her current research interests include Indigenous crops and sustainable farming practices as they pertain to local economic growth in Peru and Bolivia.

Research Area – Substantive: Security and defense policy, diplomacy, foreign policy, agrarian development, sustainability policies, U.S. media portrayals of Latin America.

Research Area – Geographic: Andean Ridge