Liz Schrayer

Liz Schrayer, President & CEO

@LizSchrayer

Liz serves as President & CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), a broad-based coalition of over 500 businesses and NGOs that advocates for strong U.S. global leadership through development and diplomacy. Under her leadership, the USGLC has grown to a nationwide network of advocates in all 50 states and boasts a bipartisan Advisory Council that includes virtually every living former Secretary of State, and a National Security Advisory Council consisting of nearly 200 retired three and four-star generals and admirals.

Ms. Schrayer currently serves on the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s Development Advisory Council, USAID’s Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACFVA), as well as several advisory boards and committees for the University of Michigan, including the Ford School of Public Policy. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

In addition to running the USGLC, Ms. Schrayer serves as President of Schrayer & Associates, Inc., a nationwide consulting firm founded in 1995, which works on a wide range of domestic and international issues.

Prior to starting her own firm, Ms. Schrayer served as the national Political Director of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) for more than a decade. She worked on Capitol Hill, founding the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and in state government. She has traveled across the country organizing citizen advocates in every state. Ms. Schrayer has been published in TIME, Newsweek, USA Today, and The Hill, among other outlets. She has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and resides in Maryland with her husband Jeff Schwaber, an attorney who helped launch the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.

Posts by Liz Schrayer

  • January 17, 2024
    Blog

    8 Numbers to Watch in 2024

    Liz Schrayer | January 17, 2024

    4 BILLION PEOPLE That’s half the planet’s population and half the world’s economy going to the ballot box this year – the most in human history. With more than 70 countries slated for electoral contests in 2024, the stakes are incredibly...

  • January 30, 2023
    Blog

    7 Numbers to Watch in 2023

    Liz Schrayer | January 30, 2023

    I’ve been reading the multitude of global risk reports released at the beginning of this year, and you won’t be surprised that each of the numbers below will dramatically impact global stability – which directly impacts American stability here...

  • April 19, 2022
    Blog

    Technology, Diplomacy & Development: Time to Up Our Game

    Liz Schrayer | April 19, 2022

    I still remember when then Secretary of State Colin Powell would travel around the world, and sneak into an office at one of our embassies overseas to see if he could access his computer at the State Department – and lo and behold he could not...

  • March 30, 2022
    Blog

    Top 7 Takeaways from the Administration’s Latest Budget for International Affairs

    Liz Schrayer | March 30, 2022

    With no shortage of crises on the global stage, there is much to unpack from the Administration’s budget request this week. We took a close look at the national security implications of what I see as a significant and serious call for America’s...

  • February 28, 2022
    Blog

    A Conversation with Aaron Williams in Honor of Black History Month

    Liz Schrayer | February 28, 2022

    When I decided to join the Peace Corps, it was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life. I was the first college graduate in my working-class family, and they were fearful for me, taking this step into the “unknown,” plus as...

  • January 13, 2022
    Blog

    6 Numbers to Watch in 2022

    Liz Schrayer | January 13, 2022

    In 2022, USGLC is watching six numbers that will drive global challenges – and depending on how the U.S. responds, it will shape the impact on every American family’s health, security, and economic interests. And no surprise – the tools of diplomacy and global development are going to once again be front and center.

  • July 10, 2020
    Blog

    Top 6 Takeaways from Exercise of Power by Secretary Bob Gates

    Liz Schrayer in Diplomacy, Economic Prosperity, Global Development, National Security | July 10, 2020

    In his new book, Exercise of Power, Secretary Gates reflects on the successes and shortcomings of the U.S. on the global stage, and offers his perspective on a new path forward to confront today’s greatest global challenges.

  • September 15, 2016
    Blog

    A Surprising Success Story in Congress: American Aid

    Liz Schrayer in Congress, Global Development | September 15, 2016

    “Washington is broken, nothing is getting done” is a mantra we hear often these days. Yet there is one issue that has continuously broken through in this Congress with bipartisan support: America’s foreign assistance programs. Five major pieces of bipartisan legislation on global development have been signed into law in less than two years—on food security, energy, rights for women and girls, water and sanitation, and aid transparency—all in an effort to advance America’s interests in the world.

  • February 9, 2016
    Blog

    Is our budget keeping up with a dangerous world? 6 takeaways from the FY17 budget request

    Liz Schrayer in Congress, Economic Prosperity, Global Development, National Security | February 9, 2016

    With all eyes on New Hampshire today and the 2016 presidential horserace, it’s pretty easy to miss a relatively wonky, but actually important moment in Washington: the kickoff to the budget season with the Administration’s release of its proposal to Congress. The good news is that the two-year budget deal reached by Congress and the Administration last November spared international affairs programs from dangerous cuts from sequestration. Here are my 6 key takeaways on what the budget proposal means for America’s global leadership.

  • August 25, 2015
    Blog

    Fried Twinkies and Foreign Policy?

    Liz Schrayer in Diplomacy, Global Development | August 25, 2015

    As we continue to see headlines from ISIS to Putin, our nation’s role in the world is a hot topic for the candidates with polls showing that national security and foreign policy are among the top issues for voters. I’m very pleased to see so many of the candidates from both sides of the aisle sharing their views on global development and diplomacy — and why it matters for America’s national interests.