Lia McCord

Born in Dallas, Texas Lia is the second of six children. She grew up loving the movies. As they got old enough to handle it, her parents took them to the theater to see all the movies in one day before getting picked up after the last show that night. OR as often happened, to be picked up when the manager recognized them and kicked them out. Her childhood was a dichotomy of strong religious teaching and appalling abuse. Eager to get away, Lia's Texas bred confidence and 18 year old suburban naivete led to the choice for which she is now internationally infamous. Upon being pardoned, Lia returned home and went to college and university immediately, graduating in 2001 with multiple honors including Philosophy, Economics and cum laude from the University of Saint Thomas in Houston. The impact of her time in Dhaka and the incredible support of the foreign service officers from the embassy inspired her to major in International Studies with a goal of joining the foreign service. She worked at the Johnson Space Center while pursuing her degrees. Unfortunately, her hopes of becoming a civil servant at NASA fizzled. She took and failed the exam to become a foreign service officer - twice and eventually moved to Washington, DC where she spent years as a consultant at Capital One. She met her husband in DC and their son was born in 2014. Her time in the Capitol allowed her to spend time with several of the FSO's she met during her imprisonment in Dhaka - including the first ever Special Envoy for LGBTI Rights. Though her character was omitted from the episode about her ordeal in Dhaka, Lia remains very close to the wife of a then missionary that befriended and supported her during the last few years there. Mitali Perkins is an award winning young adult writer whose book Rickshaw Girl has been made into a movie. Since the airing of her story on Locked Up Abroad, Lia has an unexpected fan base for which she wishes she could do more. She makes a point to share even more of her childhood experiences on friends podcasts and in her own Facebook videos. She is eager to uplift and empower those who might have similar histories by being open about what led her to make the drastic choices she did. She is passionate about the Younique Foundation and their work through the Haven Retreat for adult survivors of childhood sexual assault. She participated in the retreat in 2018 and continues to benefit from that experience and the friendships born there. Lia's love of movies and movie stars continues to color her conversation and inspire her imagination as her everyday conversations are sprinkled with quotes from just about any movie she has ever seen. Her brain is a mini-IMDB database that spits out random connections and tidbits about actors and movies. She loves sending people to check her random trivia on imdb.com! Indeed, she dreams of doing something that is beneficially impactful enough to earn an invitation to the Golden Globes where her favorite actors and actresses will want to get to know her. Until then, she is making her mark in the residential solar world as a consultant with Sunrun and trying to discipline herself to finish any of the drafts of her autobiography or the children's book she started for her niece. Stay tuned and ask questions!