Susan Marx was appointed Director of the Human Rights Program for the Carter Center in May 2022. Prior to this, she worked as Project Director for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, combating anti-human trafficking in the Southern Africa Development Community and implementing women’s economic empowerment and gender-based violence reduction initiatives in Eswatini.
Previously, Susan spent 10 years with The Asia Foundation, most recently as the Country Representative in Timor-Leste, managing a diverse portfolio including gender-based violence, police reform, and sustainable economic development programs. She first joined the Foundation in Afghanistan as a Program Manager for women’s rights programs in Afghanistan. Susan started her career with USAID in Iraq.
Susan is an expert in human rights, the rule of law, access to justice, gender-based violence, climate rights and environmental justice, and anti-human trafficking. She is a strategic leader specializing in organizational change management, program design, and implementation. She has spent most of her career in the field. She has experience in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the United States, specifically focusing on conflict, post-conflict, and least-developed environments.
Susan holds an MS in International Human Rights Law from Oxford University, an MA in African studies from UCLA, and a BA from the University of Southern California. She is also a Yale School of Management Women’s Leadership Course graduate.