Dr. Lee Schwartz: Geographic Perspectives on Global Hot Spots – Views from the U.S. Geographer

Lee Schwartz is the State Department’s 8^th Geographer, a position that bears the statutory responsibility for providing guidance to all federal agencies on questions of international boundaries and sovereignty claims.  His recent focus has been on projects related to geographic information documentation and coordination related to participatory mapping, complex emergencies, and sustainability.  Lee was the State Department’s 2005 winner of the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs, the 2012 recipient of the Association of American Geographers’ Anderson Medal of Honor in Applied Geography, and was awarded the 2014 James Cullum Medal from the American Geographical Society – in recognition of his distinguished service to the profession of geography. Dr. Schwartz earned his Ph.D. in geography from Columbia University.