Leslie M. Schweitzer

Schweitzer founded the Friends of the American University of Afghanistan in 2008, a 501c3 that supports not-for-profit, private, co-educational, non-sectarian higher education in Afghanistan, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of AUAF. Over four decades, Schweitzer has accumulated a unique combination of founding businesses in emerging and post conflict markets and facilitating capacity-building projects throughout the world. She has amassed on-the-ground experience in over 20 countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, China, Turkey, Chile, Russia, the Caribbean, and Central America. Schweitzer pioneered U.S.-China trade beginning in 1977 as a co-founder of Noble Trading Company. After selling her company, Schweitzer served as the Senior Trade Advisor for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Schweitzer’s responsibilities included: founding a private-public partnership to promote trade between Turkey and US; creating Trade Roots, the first and only sustained national grassroots international trade education program, promote support for Congressional passage of China PNTR, TPA, trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, Australia, Morocco, CAFTA, Peru, South Korea, Panama, and Colombia; and working on the Iraq Business Initiative to re-energize U.S. investment in Iraq. Schweitzer is a member of U.S. Afghan Women’s Council, the Advisory Board of International Programs-University of Kansas, D.C.-Virginia DEC, International Stability Operations Association Advisory Council, Advisory Board Four Star Global Security, Board of Trustees of the Command and General Staff College, and IWIU.