Laura Liswood co-founded the Council of Women World Leaders in 1996 with President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland and serves as its secretary general. Composed of women presidents and prime ministers, the council is a Policy Program at the Aspen Institute. In 2001, Liswood was named managing director, Global Leadership and Diversity for Goldman Sachs. She is now a senior advisor to the firm.

In the 1990s, Liswood interviewed 19 current and former women presidents and prime ministers, which she chronicled in her book and video documentary, Women World Leaders (1996, 2007 and 2009, Harper Collins). In 1997, Liswood co-founded The White House Project, which is dedicated to electing a woman President of the United States. After the events of September 11, 2001, Liswood became a reserve police officer in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and is now a Sergeant.

Liswood’s latest book, The Loudest Duck, is a business guide that explores workplace diversity and uses practical stories to offer an alternate, nuanced approach to diversity to create a truly effective workplace for all. (Wiley & Sons, November 2009). She holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law.