Prior to joining the Pell Center as a Visiting Fellow, Peter Corsell spent eight months serving as the staff aide to the principal officer (equivalent of US ambassador) of the US Interests Section in Havana, Cuba. A class of 2000 graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, Mr. Corsell spent the last two years of his undergraduate life as a political analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency, rising to become one of their senior analysts for Cuba and receiving the Agency's Exceptional Performance Award for superior accomplishment and analytic expertise.
As staff aide to the U.S. Government's principal officer in Havana, Mr. Corsell revitalized the U.S. Agency for International Development's project in Havana to distribute independent information to the Cuban people and developed innovative program initiatives to prepare for a peaceful, democratic transition in Cuba.
During his residence at the Pell Center, Mr. Corsell assisted the Center in planning for the Spring 2002 conference on Cuba and completing a monograph on U.S. Cuba policy for the Brookings Institution. He is currently serving as the special assistant to the U.S. government's principal officer in Havana.