Elizabeth Keefer is the General Counsel of Columbia University in New York City, a position she has held since 1997.
During her 20 years as a lawyer, Ms. Keefer has been deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force, a senior official in the office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. State Department, a partner in the law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, and general counsel for Teledyne.
Ms. Keefer began her legal career in Washington, D.C., initially as a trial attorney for the Federal Trade Commission and then as an associate in the law firm of Bergson, Borkland, Margolis & Adler.
While at the State Department, she helped achieve a settlement with the government of Iraq in 1988 for the families of American sailors who died in a missile attack on the USS Stark; and was part of a team sent to the Middle East to mediate the resolution of an ongoing dispute among Israel, Jordan and Syria over water and access rights to the Yarmouk River. She also headed a State Department task force to assist in and provide information to legislative and prosecutorial bodies investigating the Iran Contra affair.
From 1989 to 1992, she served as deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for international affairs. In this position, she oversaw the implementation of the Air Force's foreign military sales and assistance programs, foreign officer exchange and training programs, and technology transfer determinations.
A 1971 cum laude graduate of Barnard, Ms. Keefer earned her law degree with honors from George Washington University in 1977.
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