Dr. Laura Dawson is one of North America’s leading experts in U.S-Canada economic relations. She leads the Future Borders Coalition, an organization dedicated to business and government cooperation on trade and travel between the U.S. and Canada. In recognition of this work, she received the 2025 King Charles Coronation medal and was named one of Canada’s Top 50 Foreign Policy Influencers by the Hill Times.

She is a frequent media commentator and advises governments in both countries. Previously, Dawson was director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington DC, senior economist at U.S. Embassy Ottawa, and ran a think tank on government digital transformation for Amazon Web Services. She has taught graduate courses in international economic policy in universities around the world.

At a practical level, she has advised on NAFTA/USMCA trade negotiations, helped to resolve international trade disputes, advanced new initiatives such as border preclearance at airports, and helped launched new digital technologies for secure and efficient movement between countries. Dawson holds a PhD in political science and is married to U.S. Ambassador (ret) Charles Shapiro. They live in Atlanta, GA.