Anne-Marie Slaughter, a highly accomplished foreign policy analyst, political scientist, and public commentator, will deliver the keynote address at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs’ 2018 commencement ceremony on May 12.

Slaughter's career in government and academia has been focused primarily on international relations and international law. From 2009-2011 she served as the director of policy planning for the United States Department of State, the first woman to hold that position. Prior to her government service, Slaughter was the dean of Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs from 2002 to 2009, and the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign, and Comparative Law at Harvard Law School from 1994 to 2002.

Slaughter may be best known for sparking a nationwide debate over gender equity with her 2012 article in The Atlantic, titled "Why Women Still Can’t Have It All," which addressed the difficulties women face in finding a balance between a fulfilling career and family life.

She is currently the president and CEO of New America, a think tank based in Washington, DC, dedicated to addressing the challenges caused by technological and social change in the digital age. The organization researches issues ranging from cybersecurity to education policy, from political reform to social impact investing.

Among the organization’s programs is the Better Life Lab, which seeks to restructure the American workplace, promote family-supportive policies, and advance gender equity—topics that Slaughter is  passionate about.

Slaughter wrote The Atlantic article shortly after she stepped down from her State Department position so she could spend more time with her husband and two sons.

She expanded on those themes in her 2015 book, Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family, in which she argues that all working parents face challenges in balancing work and family life. It was named one of the best books of 2015 by the Washington Post, the Economist, and NPR.

Slaughter has published or edited seven books and written numerous articles on international law and foreign policy. She is a frequent contributor to a number of publications, including The Atlantic, Financial Times, and Project Syndicate.

She earned degrees from Princeton, Harvard Law School, and Oxford University. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with her husband and sons.