Lara M. Brown, Ph.D., is a political scientist and the former director of the Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) at The George Washington University.
An expert on American national politics, she is the author of Amateur Hour: Presidential Character and the Question of Leadership (Routledge, 2020) and Jockeying for the American Presidency: The Political Opportunism of Aspirants (Cambria Press, 2010). Along with publishing peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals, she has written multiple book chapters in edited volumes, such as The Presidency and the Political System (CQ Press, edited by, Michael Nelson) and Hatred of American Presidents: Personal Attacks on the White House from Washington to Trump (ABC/CLIO, 2018).
A frequent presence in the media, Lara appears on dozens of television and radio programs and regularly serves as an analyst on partisan strategies, political scandals, and presidential leadership for scores of print publications. She has also written more than one hundred op-eds and blogs for media outlets such as, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, U.S. News and World Report, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Huffington Post.
Prior to joining GW, Lara worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Villanova University. She also served as a political appointee in President William J. Clinton’s administration at the U.S. Department of Education.
Born and raised in California, Lara earned her B.A., M.A., and Ph. D. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a M.A. in American politics and public policy from the University of Arizona.
Having written her doctoral dissertation on the electoral fortunes of congressional incumbents embroiled in scandal, Lara is currently working on a book about sex scandals.