Dr. Laurie Trautman is the Director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University, where she engages in a range of research activities focused on the U.S. – Canada border, and the ’Cascadia’ region between Washington State and British Columbia. In addition to working with faculty and students, she collaborates with the private sector and government agencies to inform policy solutions and advance cross-border collaboration. Laurie actively serves on a number of working groups that are engaged in the U.S. – Canada relationship, and co-chairs committees for the Pacific Northwest Economic Region and the Future Borders Coalition. Dr. Trautman is also on the steering committee for the Cascadia Innovation Corridor. She is a Global Fellow with the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Canada Institute and a Fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Oregon.