Laura Daniels is a special assistant to the Counselor of the U.S. Department of State, a C-suite level government official. Laura leads the Counselor’s European affairs and legislative portfolios, advising him on geopolitical developments and advancing U.S. goals through diplomacy and statecraft. Laura has broad State Department and U.S. government experience, having served in the intelligence community, the Department of Defense, as an economics officer at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, and as a conflict advisor at the U.S. embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, where she helped push through negotiations maintaining a ceasefire. Prior to government, Laura held research positions at the Brookings Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and leading think tanks in Berlin and Paris. She is an expert in European affairs, peace and security, and strategic planning, and is excited about the nexus between geopolitics and U.S. innovation and prosperity. She has a master’s in international security policy from Columbia University, a bachelor’s in fine arts from New York University, and a certificate in strategic foresight from University of Houston.