Bio

Rachel B. Vogelstein is a senior fellow and director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington, DC, and a professor of gender and U.S. foreign policy at Georgetown Law School. At CFR, Vogelstein's research focuses on the relationship between women's advancement and prosperity, stability, and security. She is the author of Ending Child Marriage (2013) and How Women’s Participation in Conflict Prevention and Resolution Advances U.S. Interests (2016).

From 2015 to 2016, Vogelstein served as senior advisor on women’s issues for the Hillary for America campaign, developing domestic and global policy and leading a coalition of over 200 women’s leaders and organizations. She also served as an advisor to the Clinton-Kaine transition team.  

From 2009 to 2012, Vogelstein was director of policy and senior advisor in the Office of Global Women's Issues within the Office of the Secretary of State at the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, she advised Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ambassador Melanne Verveer, the first-ever U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, on a range of foreign policy issues related to the advancement of women. She also represented the U.S. Department of State as a member of the White House Council on Women and Girls.  Following her tenure in government, from 2013 to 2015, Vogelstein served as the director of Women’s and Girls’ Programs in the Office of Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Clinton Foundation, where she oversaw the development of the No Ceilings initiative and provided guidance on domestic and global women’s issues. 

Vogelstein is an attorney by training with expertise on gender equality. Prior to joining the State Department, she was senior counsel at the National Women's Law Center in Washington, DC, where she specialized in women's health and reproductive rights. In 2004, she was awarded an Equal Justice Works Fellowship to work on women's health policy. She also served as assistant counsel to then-Senator Clinton's first presidential campaign and on the staff of her 2000 U.S. Senate campaign.  She has lectured widely on the rights of women and girls, including at the U.S. Congressional Women's Caucus, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Foreign Service Institute, the World Bank, the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Harvard Law School, and Yale University.

Vogelstein graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University and cum laude from Georgetown Law School, where she was executive editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. Following law school, Vogelstein clerked for the Honorable Thomas L. Ambro on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a recipient of the Secretary of State's Superior Honor Award and a National Association of Women Lawyers Award, and serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Child Research Center. 

Ending Child Marriage

Every day, girls around the world are forced to leave their families, marry against their will, endure sexual and physical abuse, and bear children while still in childhood themselves. Yet, child marriage is not simply a human rights violation; it is also a threat to the prosperity and stability of the countries in which it is prevalent and undermines U.S. development and foreign policy priorities. Child marriage perpetuates poverty over generations and is linked to poor health, curtailed education, violence, instability, and disregard for the rule of law. Its effects are harmful not only to girls, but also to families, communities, and economies—and to U.S. interests—around the globe. My working paper, Ending Child Marriage, argues that this practice merits a higher place on the U.S. and international agendas. In op-eds, interviews, and roundtable meetings, I further explore the available data on child marriage and the approaches that best work to combat it.

Advancing Girls' Education

The education of girls has long been considered one of the single most effective development investments that can be made. Providing girls with quality education not only empowers them throughout their lives, but also has ripple effects across generations. Studies have shown that educated mothers are more likely to immunize their children and protect them from chronic disease. Research also suggests a relationship between increases in girls' secondary education and economic growth. However, too many girls lack access to a safe, quality education, particularly at the secondary level, despite the development gains correlated with girls' education. Through roundtable meetings, panel discussions, and op-eds, I discuss how girls' education advances U.S. interests and highlight strategies to reduce barriers to girls' education.

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