Liz J. van Zyl
Liz van Zyl serves as Director of External Affairs at Arnold Ventures, where she oversees the organization’s efforts to build and strengthen relationships with policymakers, stakeholders, and external partners. With a career spanning public policy, advocacy, and social justice issues, Liz brings a deep understanding of how policy and advocacy create impact, and plays a key role in advancing Arnold Ventures’ mission to champion evidence-based, nonpartisan solutions that improve the lives of all Americans.
Before joining Arnold Ventures, Liz served as Vice President of Government Affairs at Bethany Christian Services, where she led the organization’s public policy, advocacy, and government affairs agenda. In this role, she collaborated with members of Congress, the White House, USAID, and the Department of State to advance evidence-based policy solutions in support of vulnerable children and families both domestically and abroad. Prior to that, she served as Director of Government Affairs at Food for the Hungry, where she spearheaded global development and humanitarian policy initiatives focused on climate, nutrition, food security, global health, education, and gender equity.
Liz’s experience extends to international human rights law and foreign law. She has held legal and policy roles at the American Red Cross, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, where she worked on cases involving international humanitarian law, refugee rights, and prisoners’ rights, and has conducted human rights investigations in Jamaica and South Africa. She also served as a federal judicial fellow to the Honorable Philip M. Pro at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.
Liz holds a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law, where she specialized in international human rights law, and a B.A. in Political Science from Gonzaga University. She is licensed to practice law in California and Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth lives in Fairfax Station, Virginia, with her family. She enjoys hiking, snowboarding, yoga, global cuisine, and chasing her animated and energetic young son.
