Peter Schechter is the first Director of the Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. The Council's new Latin America effort started operations in October 2013 to study, educate, and strengthen the trends transforming Latin America into a strong Western partner. An international consultant who has advised many heads of state and business leaders around the globe, Schechter's specialty and passion remain anchored in Latin America. He has more than twenty years of communications and political experience and is a sought-out voice on Latin American political issues. Fluent in six languages, Schechter specializes in reducing reputational risk in increasingly adversarial political and communications environments. Schechter previously served as the lead consultant on a host of high-stakes elections—overseeing polling, campaign management, advertising, and media relations—in nearly every country in Latin America. He is an expert on US-Cuban Relations, Mexico Energy Reform and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In 1993, Schechter founded Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter, and Associates (CLS) with two partners. Within a few years it became one of Washington's premier strategic communications consulting firms. A graduate of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, he was previously Deputy Staff Director for the House Subcommittee on International Development Institutions and Finance and worked at National Public Radio and the Inter-American Development Bank.