Laura Liswood, director of the Women's Leadership Project, has joined the Kennedy School of Government as founder and executive director of the Council of Women World Leaders, Dean Joseph S. Nye Jr. announced this week.

Liswood will help establish the Council of Women World Leaders, composed of women presidents, prime ministers, chiefs of state, and heads of government. The work of the Council will expand the understanding of leadership, establish a network of resources for high-level women leaders, and provide a forum for the group to provide input and shape the international issues important to all people. Individual leaders will also be an important resource to the students pursuing public service degrees at the School.

"The Kennedy School is interested in serious research into policy issues affected by gender," said Nye. "With her vision of expanding women's leadership roles and women's participation in government and the community, Ms. Liswood will, without question, build a Council that will be recognized worldwide as helping to contribute to the development of women leaders."

"I am delighted to bring the Council of Women World Leaders to Harvard and the Kennedy School," said Liswood. "There is strong resonance between the goals of the Kennedy School and the goals of the Council. Both seek to advance women to positions of national and global leadership. Just as important, both seek to expand paradigms of leadership to include styles and values often associated with women. We plan to take full advantage of the School's established network of leaders and will work with them to expand and enrich the definition and purpose of leadership."

Liswood, a nationally recognized speaker, author, and adviser, has contributed to leadership in the women's community for more than 20 years as a member of the International Women's Forum, Leadership America, the board of the First Women's Bank of California, and the Washington Women's Political Caucus. Former commissioner of the city of Seattle Women's Commission, Liswood was the owner/publisher of Seattle Woman and is the founder of May's List, a bipartisan political donor network emphasizing women's leadership in the political arena.

As director of the Women's Leadership Project, which identifies global-leadership contributions of women heads of state, Liswood has interviewed 15 current and former women presidents and prime ministers which is chronicled in her most recent book, Women World Leaders.

Liswood's experience includes executive-level consulting to Fortune 500 and international companies with the Liswood Marketing Group. Previously, she was the senior vice president/director of marketing and customer service for Rainier National Bank. Prior to her experience at Rainier National Bank, Liswood spent four years as a district manager for Group W Cable, a subsidiary of Westinghouse Broadcasting and Cable, where she was responsible for a 250,000-subscriber cable TV district. She received the Westinghouse Award of Excellence for her contribution to women and minorities in the work place.

Liswood has also held management positions in the airline industry, including general manager for the Pacific Northwest for TWA and was a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. She currently holds the position of visiting research scholar at Mt. Vernon College in Washington, D.C., and is a senior consultant at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Liswood holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from California State University, San Diego. She also holds a J.D. degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Law and is admitted to practice law in California and Massachusetts.