Peter Laugharn is the current president and chief executive officer of the

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is an American non-profit charitable foundation, established in 1944 by hotel entrepreneur Conrad Hilton. It remained relatively small until his death on January 3, 1979, when it was named the principal beneficia ...

. He previously served as the executive director of the Firelight Foundation and the executive director of the

Bernard van Leer Foundation The Bernard van Leer Foundation funds and shares knowledge about work in early childhood development. The foundation was established in 1949 and is based in the Netherlands. It is a member of the Network of European Foundations for Innovative Coo ...

. A graduate of Stanford University,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and with a Ph.D. in education from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

, Laugharn began his career volunteering for the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John ...

and later worked for

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

Early life and education

Laugharn graduated with a bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1982. A course on

History of education in the United States The history of education in the United States covers the trends in educational formal and informal learning in America from the 17th century to the early 21st century. Colonial era New England The first American schools in the thirteen origi ...

helped convince him to join the

. The professor for the course,

David Tyack David B. Tyack (November 17, 1930 – October 27, 2016) was the Vida Jacks Professor of Education and Professor of History, Emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Tyack is known for his wide-ranging studies and interpretati ...

, had told the students in the class, "You're not a community until you have a school," which Laugharn said inspired his fascination with "education and the potential it gives people to move out of poverty." In 1982, Laugharn joined the Peace Corps and served as a volunteer in Morocco until 1984. Later in 2011, after the death of

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creatio ...

, the founder of the Peace Corps, Laugharn wrote a tribute to Shriver describing the influence he had in Laugharn's life and choice of career. After the Peace Corps, he earned a master's degree in

Arab studies Arab studies or Arabic studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Arabs and Arab World. It consists of several disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, linguistics, historiography, archaeology, cultural studies, economics, geo ...

from

. He later earned his

doctorate in education The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for a ...

from the

Career

Laugharn, after graduate school at Georgetown, began his career working for Save the Children in Mali. He was the deputy director of the organization's operations in the country, and ran the field office in Mali before becoming the education adviser for Save the Children's entire operations in Africa. In total, Laugharn worked for the organization for 11 years. In 1999, he was appointed as Director of Programme Development and Management of the Netherlands-based

. He was later made the executive director of the foundation in 2002. Laugharn left the Dutch foundation in 2008 to become director of programs and then executive director of the Santa Cruz,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

-based Firelight Foundation. For seven years, he ran the charity funding education and health programs for people in Africa grappling with the effects of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse < ...

and

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. Laugharn also co-founded the International Education Funders Group and the Coalition for Children Affected by AIDS. He is a part of the National Advisory Board of Stanford University's

Haas Center for Public Service The Haas Center for Public Service, formerly the Stanford Public Service Center, is the public service center on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. The Haas Center houses many student organizations and projects, including ...

. In May 2015, Laugharn was appointed a president and CEO of the

. He succeeded Steven Hilton (

Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton Sr. (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American businessman who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916 Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature, but became disi ...

's grandson), who went on to serve as the chairman of the board of directors for the foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laugharn, Peter Living people Development specialists Stanford University alumni Georgetown University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)