Dr. William M. LeoGrande is Associate Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs and Professor of Government in the School of Public Affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. From 2002 to 2012, he was Dean of the School of Public Affairs. In 1982-1983, Dr. LeoGrande was an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, and worked on staff at the Democratic Policy Committee of the United States Senate. In 1985 and 1986, he served on the staff of the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Central America of the United States House of Representatives. Professor LeoGrande specializes in Comparative Politics and U.S. Foreign Policy. He has written widely in the field of Latin American politics and U.S. policy toward Latin America, with a particular emphasis on Central America and Cuba. Most recently, he is the co-author of Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana (University of North Carolina Press, 2014). He is also the author of Our Own Backyard: The United States in Central America, 1977-1992 (University of North Carolina Press, 1998), and Cuba’s Policy in Africa (University of California, 1980). His articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Newsweek, The New Republic, Atlantic, The Nation, the National Interest, the American Conservative, LeMonde Diplomatique and other journals and newspapers.