Laurel Sprague, Ph.D., is the Blachford/Cooper Distinguished Scholar and Research Director at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Her work focuses on the health, social, and political empowerment of LGBTQ people, sex workers, people who use drugs, and HIV communities. Prior to joining UCLA in 2024, Dr. Sprague served as the director of the global division of community and youth engagement for the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in Geneva. In this role, she coordinated efforts with UN Member States, community and civil society networks, and researchers to strengthen community and grassroots leadership, engagement in decision-making spaces, and health services. She has expertise in community-led participatory research, multi-country academic and community research partnerships, translation of research data into policy relevant information, survey methods, measurement of stigma and discrimination, and community leadership in health responses.

Dr. Sprague received her B.A. in English, with high distinction, from the University of Michigan, and her M.S. degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University, with a focus on resolving public conflicts and conflict transformation. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Wayne State University, with a dissertation focused on the political representation of marginalized groups in global institutions.

Dr. Sprague has publications in medical and social science journals, including BMC Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, AIDS, PLOS ONE, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, and Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship. She has led and presented reports to UN agencies on HIV-related stigma and discrimination, barriers to community engagement in the HIV response, and the right to development of people most affected by HIV (including LGBTQ people, sex workers, and people who use drugs). She is frequently invited to speak to US and international audiences, with past invitations including the UN Human Rights Council, World Health Organization, US National Institutes for Health, and the Congressional Black Caucus.