Lore  Alexa  Lawrence  is  a  communica1ons  professional  based  in  Washington,  D.C.,  where  she  

works  for  a  mul1lateral  development  organiza1on.  

Her  career  originally  began  as  a  freelance  journalist  in  New  York,  

where  she  covered  the  arts  and  was  published  in  Conde  Nast  and  

Murdoch  magazines,  as  well  as  local  publica1ons.  

AGer  receiving  an  M.S.  in  Journalism  from  the  Columbia  University  Graduate  School  of  Journalism,  

Lawrence  headed  to  Washington  to  take  an  internship  at  the  BBC.  

A  news  junkie  by  trade  and  passionate  about  interna1onal  events,  she  eventually  landed  in  

Eastern  Europe  where  she  reported  on  the  newly-­‐independent  Ukraine.  

She  was  based  in  Kyiv.  

Lack  of  affordable  and  effec1ve  healthcare,  corrup1on,  and  the  

survivors  of  the  Chernobyl  disaster  were  among  stories  covered.  

Lawrence’s  clients  included  the  acclaimed  San  Francisco  Chronicle  Foreign  Service,  as  well  as  other  

papers  known  for  their  interna1onal  coverage,  including  New  York  

Newsday,  the  Washington  Times,  and  the  St.  Petersburg  Times.  

At  the  Chronicle’s  request,  Lawrence’s  next  assignment  took  her  to  a  definitely  more  vola1le  

area:  the  Balkans.  

 Based  in  Belgrade,  Serbia,  she  covered  the  aGer-­‐effects  of  the  historic  Dayton  Accords  on  the  

former  Yugoslavia  and  the  Bosnian  presiden1al  elec1ons.  

Lawrence’s  feature  stories  have  showed  human  tragedy  writ  large:  

– War  refugees  from  all  ethnic  backgrounds  and  walks  of  life  struggling  to  survive  

– Ordinary  Serbian  ci1zens  scraping  out  a  living  in  a  society  living  under  interna1onal  sanc1ons  and  shunned  by  the  Western  world  

–  Communi1es  torn  by  religious  hatred  and  the  “zone  of  separa1on”  

–  Croa1an  communi1es  emp1ed  by  the  sound  of  church  bells  warning  of  the  advancing  enemy  army  and  a  family  that  ran  through  mine-­‐laced  fields  into  another,  yet  wrecked,  life  

She  spoke  with  government  officials,  aid  workers,  and  the  notorious.  

One  of  Lawrence’s  interviews  included  a  man  who  was  a  major  supporter  of  the  late  Yugoslav  

President  Slobodan  Milosevic,  who  later  died  while  on  trial  in  the  

Hague.  

During  her  1me  in  the  Balkans,  Lawrence  discovered  the  difficul1es  of  repor1ng  in  closed  society  where  free  speech  and  freedom  of  the  press  didn’t  exist,  which  included  the  frustra1on  of  having  her  phone  conversa1ons  monitored  and  her  

ability  to  turn  in  her  reports  blocked.  

AGer  returning  to  the  U.S.,  Lawrence  worked  for  the  Knight-­‐Ridder  

newspaper  chain  and  UPI  before  joining  an  interna1onal,  D.C.-­‐based  organiza1on  devoted  to  allevia1ng  global  poverty,  where  she  currently  works  as  a  communica1ons  officer.  

Lawrence  is  a  supporter  of  the  Commi^ee  to  Protect  Journalists  

and  Amnesty  Interna1onal.