Peter J. Quaranto and Lisa Dougan join the Invisible Children Board of Directors, bringing seasoned leadership and deep regional expertise at a pivotal time for the organization and its partners in central Africa and Sudan.

Invisible Children is thrilled to announce the appointment of Peter J. Quaranto and Lisa Dougan to its Board of Directors. Their addition marks an exciting moment of renewal and momentum for the organization as it deepens its commitment to locally-led peacebuilding and community protection across Central Africa and Sudan during a time of significant regional and global change.

“We are thrilled to welcome Peter and Lisa to Invisible Children’s Board,” said John Dautzenberg, Chair of the Invisible Children Board. “Their unique blend of policy influence, regional expertise, and deep community relationships will help guide Invisible Children through this pivotal moment as we strengthen local partnerships in places like Darfur and invest in the next generation of frontline peacebuilders.”

About Peter J. Quaranto

Peter is a leading thinker, writer, and organizer whose career has focused on shaping U.S. and global policies to promote peace and mitigate violent conflict. He currently serves as a Visiting Professor of the Practice and Distinguished Global Policy Fellow at the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, as well as a Senior Fellow for the Future of Peace and Security with the Alliance for Peacebuilding.

Peter brings two decades of experience across the U.S. Department of State, White House, Congress, and civil society, during which he has helped elevate peacebuilding and conflict prevention as essential pillars of U.S. foreign policy. In 2025, he served as Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations, helping strengthen U.S. diplomacy to anticipate, prevent, and respond to violent conflict. He was at the center of implementing the landmark Global Fragility Act law and led major initiatives to optimize foreign aid effectiveness in conflict-affected states.

Much of Peter’s work has focused on sub-Saharan Africa, including his role as the White House National Security Council’s Director for the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes regions. His tenure within the U.S. Department of State has included directing U.S. efforts during the northern Ethiopia civil war, supporting peace negotiations in Sudan, and guiding U.S. strategy to end the threat of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). In his early career as a Congressional staffer and activist, Peter partnered with Invisible Children to mobilize greater policy attention to LRA-related violence across central Africa. Peter holds master’s degrees from Oxford and Bradford as a Marshall Scholar and a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Peter lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland, and spends a lot of his spare time on the “pitch” coaching youth soccer. 

About Lisa Dougan

Lisa is a values-driven leader who brings more than 18 years of experience partnering with marginalized communities across central and East Africa to prevent violent conflict, build social cohesion, and nurture sustainable peace. She currently serves as a Strategic Advisor to Invisible Children after concluding her transformative tenure as the organization’s President and CEO in January 2025.

During her ten years as CEO, Lisa spearheaded a strategic transformation of Invisible Children that built powerful new donor partnerships and shifted substantial funding and program ownership to Invisible Children’s local partners, resulting in greater values alignment, deeper impact, and long-term sustainability.

Previously, Lisa served as Invisible Children’s Director of Advocacy, following earlier work at The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative as its Director of Civic Engagement. She played a central role in securing the passage of bipartisan U.S. legislation focused on addressing the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) crisis and more than $50 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance to central Africa communities impacted by armed group violence. Lisa also serves on the Board of Directors of Counsel to Secure Justice (CSJ), an India-based nonprofit advancing healing and justice for children affected by gender-based harm. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her pitbull, Louie. 

About Invisible Children

Invisible Children partners with local peacebuilders to build and scale community solutions to prevent violent conflict, support communal healing, and promote lasting peace across the border regions of Darfur, Sudan, CAR, DRC, and South Sudan. Through community-based early warning and early response networks, trauma healing initiatives, and social cohesion programs, Invisible Children is helping frontline peacebuilders create a safer, more just, and more peaceful future for their own communities.