Guide to Specialists

Tara Sonenshine
Vice President for Planning and Outreach

Download print-quality image

Phone: (202) 457-1700

E-mail: Contact Public Affairs

Languages: Russian

Tara D. Sonenshine joined the USIP leadership team in January 2009 as Vice President for Planning and Outreach. In that capacity, Sonenshine oversees strategic planning, public outreach and publications. She also manages the planning of the Public Education Center that will be part of the Institute’s new Headquarters project on the National Mall.

Prior to joining USIP, she was a strategic communications adviser to many international organizations including USIP, the International Crisis Group, Internews Networks, CARE International, the American Academy of Diplomacy and Women of Washington.

Sonenshine has served in various White House capacities, including transition director for the National Security Council (NSC). In that position, she was responsible for coordinating an interagency process to review foreign policy goals and priorities for the Clinton administration’s second term. Before that, she served as special assistant to President Clinton and deputy director of communications for the NSC (1994–1995).

In 1998, Sonenshine was at the Brookings Institution studying foreign policy and communications. Her career began in broadcast journalism in 1982 at ABC News in New York, where she served as assistant to David Burke, the vice president of news. Sonenshine went on to become editorial producer of ABC News’ Nightline, where she worked for more than a decade. She was also an off-air reporter at the Pentagon for ABC’s World News Tonight. During her tenure at ABC News, Sonenshine earned ten News Emmy Awards for coverage of China, Iran, the Philippines, and South Africa. She also won the Columbia-DuPont Award for coverage of the Los Angeles riots. A former contributing editor for Newsweek, Sonenshine is the author of numerous articles on foreign affairs published in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other newspapers.