Dr. Claire Lucas

Dr. Claire Lucas has devoted her life to furthering human rights and equality not just in the United States but around the globe.  She is an international development expert, coalition builder, entrepreneur and philanthropist with more than 20 years of experience working to improve the welfare of individuals around the world.

She is currently the Principal of the Peasley Group which works to create innovative, profitable and inclusive communities.   Dr. Lucas is also the Chair of the LGBTQ Council at the DNC, a DNC At-Large Member and a DNC Finance Co-Chair.   In addition, she participates on many boards and she is a philanthropist and a prolific fundraiser who has provided significant support to numerous Democratic candidates and many great causes including the Human Rights Campaign, KidSave, National Democratic Institute, the LGBTQ Victory Fund and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce among others.

Most recently, Dr. Lucas was Senior Advisor for Public-Private Partnerships at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In her role, Dr. Lucas led USAID’s effort to expand the creation and implementation of strategic public‐private partnerships and facilitate the Agency’s collaboration with the private sector to achieve its development and U.S. foreign policy objectives.   At USAID she received several awards including USAID’s highest award the “Distinguished Honor Award” for her pioneering work on global LGBT equality.

Dr. Lucas has held several leadership positions at the World Bank where she was responsible for managing teams and processes which resulted in the creation of numerous, multi‐million dollar multiple stakeholder international development projects.  Prior to her joining the World Bank, Dr. Lucas worked for the Pan American Health Organization, the Harvard Institute for International Development as well as several consulting firms.  Dr. Lucas possesses a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University, an M.S. from Harvard University and a BA from Pomona College.

Claire lives with her partner Judy Dlugacz and they have a newly adopted daughter Angie, 14 years old, from Colombia.