Laura Farnsworth Dogu

Early life and education Dogu is a resident of Texas. Her father was a career Naval officer. Dogu earned a B.A., B.B.A. (1985) and M.B.A. (1989) from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She graduated with an M.S. from the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy in 2007.

Career Dogu began her career as a marketing representative for IBM, where she worked for five years. After joining the Foreign Service, she became a consular officer at the embassy in San Salvador in 1991. She then served as a consular and political officer at the American Embassy in Turkey. Returning to Washington, D.C., in 1996, she was assigned to the State Department operations center. A year later she became a staff assistant in the Bureau of Consular Affairs. International assignments followed in Egypt, Turkey and Mexico. When she was nominated by President Obama to become U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, she was serving as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.

Ambassador to Nicaragua On May 13, 2015, President Barack Obama nominated Dogu to be the next ambassador to Nicaragua. Hearings were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on her nomination on July 15, 2015. On July 29, 2015, the committee favorably reported the nomination to the Senate floor. Dogu was confirmed by the entire Senate via voice vote on August 5, 2015.

Ambassador to Honduras On November 5, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Dogu to be the next ambassador to Honduras. Hearings were held before the Foreign Relations Committee on February 8, 2022. The committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor on March 8, 2022. The entire Senate confirmed Dogu via voice vote on March 10, 2022. She arrived in Honduras on April 6, 2022, and presented her credentials to President of Honduras Xiomara Castro on April 12. She left Honduras on April 18, 2025, and subsequently served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine. As part of the restoration of United States-Venezuela relations, she arrived at Maiquetia International Airport on January 31. On February 2, she met with Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez at the Miraflores Palace to discuss "the work agenda between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United States of America".

Personal life Dogu and her husband, Aydin, have two children. She speaks Spanish, Turkish, and Arabic.

Writing Along with Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer, and Richard Ferri, Dogu co-authored The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning. She is one of the leaders of the online Bogleheads (www.bogleheads.org).