Lisa J. Peterson (born 1964)[1] is an American diplomat who has served United States Ambassador to Burundi since June 27, 2024.

[6] Peterson is a 1986 graduate of the University of Rochester, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

After college graduation Peterson accepted a position at the University of Rochester's Carlson Mathematics and Sciences Library.

Peterson then returned to the U.S. an analyst for Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.

In 1996 she began a series of international assignments to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Lusaka, Zambia, and Nairobi, Kenya.