Summer Lopez *08 SPIA
Advocate, Reader, Traveler
Interim Co-CEO, PEN America
Summer Lopez is PEN America’s interim co-CEO and chief program officer for free expression. She has been with the organization since November 2017 and has led PEN America’s advocacy, research and programming in defense of free expression in the U.S. and globally. Lopez has worked to advance democracy and human rights in the nonprofit and government sectors, including eight years with the U.S. Agency for International Development and three years with The AjA Project, a San Diego-based nonprofit providing participatory media programming for immigrant and refugee youth. Her commentary on free expression issues has been cited widely, and her writing has appeared in outlets including The Washington Post, TIME, The Daily Beast and the New York Daily News. She has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, Egypt, Nepal, India and Ghana, and holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a master’s in public affairs from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.