Summer Lopez joined PEN America in 2017, and serves as the co-Chief Executive Officer. She previously served as chief program officer, free expression; in that role she oversaw PEN America’s advocacy, research, and programming in defense of free expression in the U.S. and globally.
Lopez previously worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for eight years as a democracy specialist, spending a year and a half in Zimbabwe and over six years at USAID headquarters in the Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance. In that position, she played a leading role in advocating for effective integration and promotion of democratic and human rights principles in U.S. policy, strategy, and programming in the Middle East and Asia, including during the period of the Arab Spring. She also represented USAID in the development of the first U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, issued in 2011.
Before entering government, Lopez was the vice president of operations at The AjA Project, a nonprofit organization that provides media-based programs for refugee, displaced, and immigrant youth in the U.S. and internationally. In addition to Zimbabwe, she has lived and worked in Egypt, Ghana, India, and Nepal. She holds a BA in English and American literature and language from Harvard University and a master in public affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
(Image credit: Beowulf Sheehan for PEN America. High res download).
Publications
Writers’ Voices Increasingly Missing in Iran Protests As Regime Targets Democracy Advocates (Just Security)
Trump’s lawsuit against book publisher is a dangerous escalation (Los Angeles Times)
We are all Invested in the Freedom to Read (Concord Monitor)
The Extreme New Tactic in the Crusade to Ban Books (Time)
Why SCOTUS’ Abortion Ruling Is a Disaster for Free Expression (Daily Beast)
Journalists are First Responders, Too (Daily News)
Kamala Harris wants to boot Trump from Twitter. It wouldn’t work. (Washington Post)
Is Putin Going to Let This Ukrainian Protestor Die? (Washington Post)
