Guide to Specialists

Ian D. Larsen
Director, Public Affairs and Communications and Special Adviser, Media, Conflict and Peacebuilding Center of Innovation

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Phone: (202) 429-3870

E-mail: ilarsen@usip.org

Ian Larsen is an international communication consultant and policy analyst whose career has included work in the U.S. Congress, government relations, and international media.

Prior to joining the USIP, he was vice president of Hoffman and Hoffman Worldwide, an international communication and public relations firm specializing in international development.

While at Hoffman and Hoffman, he designed and implemented global communication plans for multilateral organizations, governments, international non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations. He coordinated global media coverage for such international conferences as the Second and Third World Water Forums in The Hague and Kyoto, respectively.

Larsen’s communication work has examined diverse issues in international development and international affairs, from microcredit to global environmental issues to HIV/AIDS. He has worked extensively throughout Europe, Latin America, East Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Prior to joining Hoffman and Hoffman, Larsen worked at Manatos and Manatos, a Washington, D.C., government relations firm that represents the governments of Greece and Cyprus—including work on the ongoing conflict in northern Cyprus—and as a legislative aide to Congressman Rick Boucher (D-Va.) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Larsen’s graduate studies at American University’s School of International Service were in international communication with a secondary specialization in international economic policy. His research interests include the political economy of international communication, mass media influence on international affairs, cross-cultural communication, economic privatization, and the preservation of the public sphere in liberalized economies.