Cecily McLeod, Esq. is a Visiting Senior Fellow for Cities and Democracy on the City and State Diplomacy team at the Truman Center for National Policy.  A certified Arbitrator and Mediator through the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, Cecily is also a Senior Counsel in the Atlanta office of Gordon & Rees LLP. 

Cecily helps local communities build the capacity to engage internationally and works to foster and create local activities that support U.S. foreign policy goals. She has often organized programs and conferences designed to engage local, national, and international government officials and educate local communities about their multicultural and international ecosystems and diplomatic infrastructure. At Truman, she is working to determine how cities and local governments around the world can foster solidarity and shared advocacy for democratic values. 

Cecily is earning a Ph.D. at Georgia State University in History. Her current research sits at the interdisciplinary intersection of history, political science, diplomacy, international relations, and law and employs legal, foreign affairs, and urban history to explore the rise of sub-national diplomacy in the American South.  Through an Assistantship, she teaches U.S. History at GSU.

Cecily earned a B.A. in Political Science and a Certificate in International Relations from the University of Florida and earned a Juris Doctorate and Certificate in International and Comparative Law from The University of Florida Levin College of Law. Cecily is also a contributing writer for the Atlanta History Center and frequently serves as a speaker, panelist, and moderator.