The World Affairs Council is governed by a highly dedicated Board of Trustees. These committed volunteers choose to make a contribution to the community through service on the Board of the World Affairs Council.

Chris Ajemian is a specialist in U.S. foreign policy and Northeast Asian political military affairs. He co-directed the John Kerry presidential campaign’s Asia task force in which a team of more than 40 policy experts developed policy positions on China’s economy and Taiwan Straits conflict, the conflict on the Korean Peninsula, and the U.S.-Japan security treaty. He also has expertise in nuclear non-proliferation, homeland security, and U.S. election law. Chris practiced corporate and securities law after serving as a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was a Congressional Fellow on the House International Relations Committee and covered the White House and Congress as a correspondent for the Kyodo News Service. He has traveled widely and speaks Japanese and Spanish. He currently serves on the executive committee of the World Affairs Council Board and on the board for the National Council of International Visitors.

Alicia Austin grew up in Seattle with a passion for the outdoors and an interest in environmental issues. After the birth of her children, she and her husband began a series of moves to Eastern Washington, California and New York before returning to the Northwest. During this time she learned to fly small planes (currently inactive) and worked for Hewlett-Packard in their corporate offices.

After two-years of telecommuting, Alicia returned to school and earned her teaching certificate. She has been teaching for the past five and a half years, earning her Masters in Education in 2005. Alicia enjoys traveling internationally and gaining an understanding of how people in other countries view the U.S.

Kristi Branch, who served as the interim director of the Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security of Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, is an internationally recognized expert on social impact assessment, public involvement, and institutional analysis. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia, and has worked on community and natural resource development in a variety of countries in Africa and Asia. She has played an active role in the application of social impact assessment techniques to the identification and evaluation of environmental policies and implementation strategies and in the incorporation of public involvement into program and community decision-making and regional cooperative efforts. She is a specialist in helping organizations achieve effective involvement of interested and affected parties to achieve transparency, build confidence, and reduce tensions. Her principal areas of interest are environmental and energy security, regional stability, and the role of nonproliferation and human security in international development.

Aaron Brown is an attorney by training, who left the full-time practice of law to dedicate much of his time to various endeavors in the non-profit sector. Aaron graduated from Brigham Young University in 1997 with a degree in Russian and International Relations, and from Harvard Law School in 2000, where he was President of the Harvard Latin American Law Society. Aaron spent several years practicing law in Los Angeles , until he relocated to Seattle 4 years ago. He now spends his time working as an independent consultant/trustee overseeing asset management and legal trust work, serving as a board member and advisor for various non-profit organizations, and handling political asylum cases. Aaron has lived in Argentina and Russia , and has traveled widely throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia . He is a fluent Spanish-speaker, and has some proficiency in Russian. Aaron lives in Magnolia with his wife and daughter.

Beth Carter is currently a Consultant for the Mercer Island Group, a boutique marketing and business strategy consultancy. She became involved in the World Affairs Council as a graduate student, when she worked part time in the Global Classroom program. Prior to working at the WAC, Beth earned a degree in Sociology at the University of Puget Sound. After graduating, she spent four years working in mainland China, where she worked as a teacher in a rural town with the Amity Foundation for two years before moving to Beijing and opening a restaurant. Beth earned an MA in International Studies at the University of Washington in 2006, and continues to be actively involved in the World Affairs Council through YPIN.

Barbara Charlton holds a Ph.D. at Northwestern University in Human Learning, went on for post-doctoral training in Physiological Psychology, working on effects of drugs and sensory stimulation on lower organisms. She taught at the university level, and then went into university administration. This choice led her through several institutions from deanships, to a provost position, and finally to two chancellor positions, the first at the University of Missouri, Columbia and the second, at the University of California, Santa Barbara. At Missouri, a medical school and hospital, a major sports program, and significant budget cuts added some particular challenges. Her publications include scientific articles and articles on administration, governance, planning, finance, and international education. She has served on the Meredith Corporation Board of Directors, the Mercantile Bancorp Board in St. Louis and a number of non-profit boards among which were the Boards of the American Council on Education, The National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and on the Advisory Board to the Comptroller Accounting Office. She was also a Presidential appointee to the National Council on Educational Research. She moved to Seattle with her husband, Ric Charlton, in January, a base from which they both do some consulting.

Bill Christopher holds a Doctor of Arts in Biology from Idaho State University. He has been involved in community college education for the past 31 years. Dr. Christopher currently serves as President of Cascadia Community College in Bothell WA. At Cascadia, he is working with faculty, staff and the community to expand the college’s role in enhancing global awareness on the Eastside. Prior to coming to Cascadia in 2005, he served as Campus President at Portland Community College. As Campus President, he was instrumental in the development of the college’s International Education Program, initiated several international training contracts and was a member of the Portland World Affairs Council. Prior to going to Portland he spent 18 years in the Washington Community College System as Dean of Instruction at Whatcom Community College and Division Director at Olympic College. He began his community college career in 1976 as a faculty member and Science Department Chair at Southern Nevada Community College. Dr. Christopher serves on the boards of the Bothell Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Eastside and is a member of the Eastside Business Round Table. He has completed a Fulbright Scholar program in Germany, worked with the Education Commission of Changchun, China to develop a two-year technical institute and regularly takes students to Costa Rica in a language and culture immersion program. Dr. Christopher also serves as a member of the American Association of Community College’s Commission on Global Education.

Mark H. Dawson serves as a senior portfolio manager and equity research analyst. He began his investment career in 1985 with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (New York), managing equity and balanced portfolios for foreign clients. In 1991 he joined Badgley, Phelps and Bell, Inc. in Seattle, where he served as a portfolio manager and director of research. Since joining Rainier Investment Management in 1996, he has been profiled by Investor's Business Daily and has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNNfn and KCTS-TV's Serious Money. Mark holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Washington and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He is a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research.

Consul General John Gokcen has represented the Republic of Turkey in Washington State as an Honorary Consul General since 2002. He is a member of the Washington State Consular Association, and sponsor of the Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle International Children's Festival, City of Seattle FESTAL, Garfield High School-Global Technology Academy Computer Aid & Cultural Exchange, Children's Gathering for Peace, and World Affairs Council's Passport to World & Educators Tour projects.

He has initiated many disaster relief drives to help the Turkish, Indian, Pakistani, and Indonesian communities affected by earthquakes; organized inter-community and inter-faith events to promote peace, friendship and better understanding amongst many communities in the Pacific Northwest region.
John also initiated the annual Turkish Cultural Festival-Turkfest celebrations at the Seattle Center and the Turkish Film Festival that have become part of the FESTAL project, and is an executive board member of the festival organization. He organized the first Turkish Trade Delegation visit to the Washington State in 2002, and is working on a WA trade and goodwill delegation visit to Turkey. Advisory Board Member of the University of Washington’s Near Eastern Languages & Civilization Department, and led the project to establish a Turkish Studies Endowment Fund at the University of Washington. He is a founding member of the nation-wide Turkish American Scientists & Scholars Association (TASSA) network.

He is a founding member of the Boeing Engineering & Manufacturing Diversity Council, and his 28 years of diversified aviation experience have resulted in more than 20 awards for technical achievements and community and customer services. He is married and has one son.

Kevin Gruben is a corporate securities and mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Preston Gates & Ellis in Seattle, where he focuses on transactional work that includes international business transactions. He has a BA in Government and International Relations from the University of Notre Dame, and a law degree from Seattle University. During his time at Notre Dame, Kevin studied abroad in Innsbruck, Austria and worked in Moscow, Russia for an English language business publication. He lives in Renton with his wife Ann, who is finishing her final year of law school as well. Kevin enjoys hiking and skiing, and recently returned from a trip to New Zealand where he and his wife did a three day hike through New Zealand’s Southern Alps.

Charles Gust is founder and president of Equality Network Foundation. Since 1991, he has been a volunteer activist with RESULTS Seattle which, as part of an international network of activists, lobbies elected officials to create the political power to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. He has visited anti-poverty efforts in Bangladesh and El Salvador, including a trip to research the possibilities of what is now the Grameen Technology Center. Since 1998, he has served on the board of Washington CASH.

Mark Hansen has been co-managing director, Americas, for Russell Investments since 2007. In addition Mark is a member of Russell’s executive and management committees. Prior to this, Mark was chief executive officer and president for Russell’s Japan business in March of 2005. Mark was responsible for all aspects of Russell’s operations based in Tokyo, including strategic direction, institutional and retail investment management, and consulting services. Previously, as managing director of client service for Russell’s U.S.-based investment business, Mark oversaw asset allocation, investment objective setting, investment performance reviews, trustee, custody, and investor communications services to the company’s direct investment management clients. Prior to that, as director of U.S. institutional sales for Russell, Mark managed the sales effort for Russell’s transition management group by helping clients improve their net investment returns by providing commission recapture, transition management and policy implementation services. Earlier, Mark held the position of managing director of global sales and service for Russell/Mellon Analytical Services, a leading provider of investment information services and systems to fund sponsors, investment managers and consultants. Mark currently sits on the board of Russell/Mellon Analytical services. Mark joined Russell in 1996 as a client executive for Russell’s analytical services division and was appointed director for U.S. sales in 1997. He was a recipient of the Russell Leadership Award in 1999. Prior to his work with Russell, Mark was with Xerox Corporation for 10 years and was honored as sales manager of the year in 1994.

Doug Kemper has recently served as Director of Trade Services for the Commerce Bank of Washington. He has been involved with international business and banking his entire career while residing in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and London. Doug is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle and is either presently serving or has served on the boards of the Washington Council for International Trade, the Japan-America Society, the Washington State China Relations Council, the World Trade Center Tacoma, the American Red Cross for Pierce County and Seattle University’s Global Business Advisory Board. He holds a degree in International Business from Oregon State University and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.

John A. Kennedy was born and raised in the Northwest and in college developed an interest in seeing the rest of the world. His first experience outside the US was a summer abroad with the Experiment in International Living in Pakistan followed by five weeks of travel on the cheap through Asia. Two years later he was assigned to the Far East with the military. At the end of his tour he and his wife decided to leave the Army in Okinawa and travel east to west for three months on the way home – again on the cheap. After these experiences he joined the international training program of Bank of America. After a year of training and two years of financing importers and exporters he was assigned as advisor to an affiliate, The Foreign Trade Bank of Iran in Tehran for two and a half years. Subsequently he worked in San Francisco and New York for several banks dealing with import/export companies and multi-nationals. In 1983 he returned to the Northwest to manage the Seattle branch of Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC). Since returning he has been continuously involved in trade and finance with primary emphasis on Asia. In addition to his involvement with WAC he has served as Chairman and as Treasurer of the Washington State International Trade Fair and as a board member of WCIT, WSCRC and World Trade Center Tacoma as well as an advisory board member of North Seattle Community College’s International Studies Program and Pacific Lutheran University’s China Studies Program.

Gary Konop is Director of VIP Visitor Relations for The Boeing Company, where he is responsible for planning and executing company visits in the Puget Sound area from over 2,500 VIPs annually. He was named to this position in September 2008. Previously, Konop was the director of government relations for Boeing International Corporation in Tokyo, Japan, where he oversaw Boeing’s public policy efforts in the Japanese market. He assumed that assignment in December 2002. Before joining Boeing, Konop served as the commercial consul at the U.S. Consulate in Nagoya, Japan, 1999-2002, responsible for managing U.S. Commerce Department programs and activities in central Japan. Prior to joining the federal government, Konop held several private and public sector positions in international business development, focusing on East Asia. He earned a B.A. in political science and Japanese language from the University of Pittsburgh and later did graduate work in Japanese studies at the University of Washington’s Jackson School.

Rebecca Lenaburg is Associate General Counsel at Microsoft. Rebecca leads the Government and Industry Affairs team which acts as an internal think tank and is responsible for policy and strategy development, as well as outreach to Government and industry in areas including IP, interoperability, competition and innovation. From 1997-2004 she was based in Sydney Australia and was responsible for leading a diverse team of lawyers, corporate affairs professionals and communications specialists located in six countries in support of 10 Microsoft subsidiaries across Asia Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and India). Before joining Microsoft in 1997, Becky was a partner in the law firm of McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enerson (as it was known then, now Bingham McCutchen) in San Francisco California. At McCutchen, she served on the firm’s executive committee and was the first woman to do so. Becky is a Trustee of the Seattle Repertory. Becky obtained her BA in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and her JD from Hastings College of the Law.

Greg Magee is an executive at Paccar, Inc. Greg attended the University of Puget Sound, majoring in History, Political Science and German. He later went on to the American Graduate School to study International Business/Finance. He is very active in the community and has served on the Board of the University of Puget Sound, where he also served as the Alumni Board President. He also served as Treasurer of the Board of Trustees to the World Trade Center –Tacoma.

Consul H. Ronald Masnik a native born American, lived and worked in Europe for over fifteen years. During that period, he resided in Great Britain, Luxembourg and Belgium. He relocated to Seattle in 1978 to continue his career in International Banking management, and was appointed Honorary Consul by King Baudouin of Belgium in 1981. His consular jurisdiction is the State of Washington. His duties include passport and visa assistance, and trade/investment promotion. In 1996, King Albert II decorated him as a knight in the Order of the Crown, Belgium's second oldest decoration. In 2006, the King further decorated him as a knight in the Order of Leopold, Belgium’s oldest decoration.

Ron holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the College of William & Mary in Virginia. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Banking Studies of the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. He is presently on the Board of the European Union Center at the University of Washington and currently serves as the President of the Consular Association of Washington State.

Pam McKulka Since adolescence, Pam McKulka’s life has been centered on bridging international understanding and creating international dialogue, highlighted by living in Montreal, Canada in the early years of the Quebecois Separatist movement, traveling throughout Europe as a college student, living and teaching in Germany, hosting corporate colleagues and international visitors to the United States for 25 years (Pam and her husband served as Home Hospitality Hosts for the International Visitors Council of Detroit and for the Council in Seattle) and traveling to more than 40 countries, including China, Russia, Vietnam, Morocco, Israel, Jordan and Sudan.

Professionally, Pam’s 35-year career followed two concurrent paths. She has been an educator in various settings, including junior high teacher, parent and community educator, college instructor, curriculum consultant and teacher trainer. Her second career path was in the non-profit sector, as Executive Director of the first rural Domestic Violence Prevention Program in Michigan, Project Director for the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority, and co-Director of Development for the largest mental health Agency for urban children and youth in Detroit.

After moving to the Seattle area in January, 2005, Pam made a conscious choice to focus her volunteer service in two life-long passions; international understanding and interfaith dialogue. Currently, she serves as Chairperson of the Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry Ambassadors Committee and as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board.

Chris NeVan has made an impact throughout the world, working for such diverse organizations like the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG - 2000), driving international support for children with facial deformities as vice president of global development for Operation Smile, support for higher education as vice president of regional development for WSU in Seattle and CIO and co-founder of A-Juice, Inc. Sydney, Australia. He has raised investment capital and provided development services to Australia-based LTD Network, The Body Shop, The Cascade Land Conservancy, Portland, OR-based Pivotal-Investments (green venture fund) , AquaSeed Corporation, the first MBA super green designated farm-raised Salmon operation in Rochester, WA, and Bellingham-based Trillium Corporation.

Since 2002, Chris has served as Principal of BAJ Capital, LLC, an investment and holding company that specializes in short and mid-term investments world-wide. Chris has a long standing commitment to community service through active roles with Washington State University College of Liberal Arts Dean's Advisory Board, the Cascade Land Conservancy's Cascade Agenda Cabinet, the World Affairs Council and Operation Smile, as well as the downtown Seattle Rotary. Chris also has a personal passion for independent theatre and film in the PNW, as both an investor and exhibitor. Chris is a Washington State University alumnus.

Brent Olson is a part-time consultant and community activist, who retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 1992 and now lives on Bainbridge Island, WA. In the Foreign Service, Brent held management officer positions in various Embassies in Latin America and Asia, including Bangladesh, Honduras, Trinidad, and Mexico. In Washington, he was an intelligence analyst for Central America, a designer of human resource systems, the chief of a computer systems staff, the regional manager of all U.S. Foreign Buildings in the East Asia region, and the Deputy Director of the State Department’s International Narcotics Control Programs. He concluded his career as a senior management inspector with the Foreign Service Inspection Corps. In the 1960s, Brent was a U.S. Navy Officer on a new Destroyer and a Management Instructor at the Navy Supply CorpsSchool in Athens, GA. Brent has completed graduate work at Harvard’s Kennedy School, George Washington University and the University of Washington. He is a 1985 graduate of the National War College.

He is involved in the Bainbridge Island, Kitsap County and Greater Seattle Communities. He is a past president of a highly successful Rotary club and still very active in Rotary’s international work; the County Chair of Boy Scouts after years as a youth leader; an elder and very active in his church, and has worked on many community and school initiatives, including leading fund-raising, school levy and political campaigns. He enjoys working with youth and often shares his experiences with college, high school and middle school groups. Brent has been married for 37 years to Madeline Yentz Olson, of Fall River, MA. Their two grown sons are Chris, a manager at a local computer firm, and Darren, a junior in business at the University of Washington.

Nathan Rosenbaum left Microsoft in 2009, after working with the company for 13 years in the Treasury, Operations, Online Services and Windows Live business units. Prior to Microsoft, Nathan served as a financial consultant in Sri Lanka under a project funded by USAID. From 1986 to 1994, Nathan worked with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Houston, where he marketed and structured corporate finance products with enterprise accounts, directing a $200M portfolio. Nathan interned with Chase Manhattan Bank in Paris, France.

Nathan is a tournament bridge player, avid scuba diver, and former member of Houston and Seattle Symphony Choruses. Nathan is an active member of Pangea, a Seattle-based donors circle that makes grants to small community development groups in rural areas in East Africa, Central America, and Southeast Asia. He has an MBA in Finance from The University of Chicago and a BA in History from Cornell University. Nathan and his wife, Sabrina, live with their daughter, Julianna, and two energetic dogs in the Madrona neighborhood.

Kanwarjit (KJ) Singh is a native of Punjab, India, who completed his education at Oxford (M Phil- Economics), MIT (MBA) and Columbia (MD). He is board certified in Internal Medicine. He worked as a consultant at McKinsey and has had extensive experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors at GSK, Amgen and Bayer. At the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation he is part of the Business Strategic Planning group within Global Health as a Senior Program Officer.

Eva Wahl was born in the Czech Republic and was raised in Argentina. She received her undergraduate degree in Economics and her MBA in International Business from the University of Washington. She is also a Certified Public Translator from the University of Buenos Aires. From 1973 to 1975 she worked for the Port of Seattle as an International Economist. She continued her work as an International Economist for the Rainier National Bank in Seattle and London from 1975 to 1979. In 1980 she became a Commercial Real Estate Broker for Colliers International. She left in 1985 to become Vice-President and Broker for Wahl and Associates. She stayed there until 2000 and was involved in sales, leasing and development of retail, industrial and office properties.

Eva’s community involvement has included being a Trustee for the University Child Development School (1990-1993) and Parent Council (1997-2007) and Annual Fund Chair (1999-2001) for the University Preparatory Academy. She is currently on the Grant Committee of the Impact Assessment Committee for the Washington Women’s Foundation. Eva is a member of the Washington Athletic Club, the Broadmoor Golf Club, and the Seattle Tennis Club. She is a volunteer translator and interpreter for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and is fluent in Spanish and English, has a good working knowledge of Czech and French, and knows some Italian and German.

John Walsh is currently Vice President for U.S. Bank’s International Banking Division. His responsibilities include risk assessment of emerging markets and analysis of both corporations and foreign banks. He publishes a monthly newsletter entitled “Global Markets Update,” which is available through an email distribution list or found on U.S. Bank’s Web site. He also gives presentations to corporate clients to inform them of current events in emerging markets and to develop appropriate international strategies. Walsh received his MBA from the University of Washington in 1981, concentrating in Finance and International Business. Prior to joining U.S. Bank, he served as an International Lending Officer at Seattle First National Bank and as the Chief Financial Officer for Cruising Equipment Company, a high-growth, high-tech company in Seattle.

Mimi Warner concentrates her practice in employee benefits. She has advised employers on a wide range of human resource issues including designing and drafting all types of benefit plans and related trusts, assisting employers with plan implementation and operational compliance issues, assisting employers in mergers and acquisitions with due diligence relating to compensation and benefits programs, plan redesign and integration, and assisting employers with spin-offs and reductions-in-force including severance programs and early retirement windows. Qualified retirement plan experience includes drafting and design of traditional defined benefit plans, cash balance plans, money purchase plans, 401(k) and profit sharing plans, Forms 5300 applications, Model QDROs and related administration manuals, IRC 7805(b) relief and ERISA 404(c) compliance. Ms. Warner also has experience in executive compensation including SERPs, deferred compensation plans and stock-based compensation and incentive plans. Her work in the area of health and welfare plans includes cafeteria plans, domestic partner issues, VEBAs, COBRA, MEWAs, retiree medical plan design and funding alternatives, dependent care plans, FMLA, ADA and reporting and disclosure.

Anand Yang is Golub Chair of International Studies and Director of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. Prior to joining the University of Washington in 2002, Yang taught at the University of Utah and Sweet Briar College. At Utah he was chair of the History Department for five years and, subsequently, Director of its Asian Studies Program for six years.

Yang received his B.A. from Swarthmore College and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia in 1976. He is the author of two books, The Limited Raj: Agrarian Relations in Colonial India and Bazaar India: Peasants, Traders, Markets and the Colonial State in Gangetic Bihar; numerous articles in journals in Asian Studies, History, and the Social Sciences; and editor of a volume on Crime and Criminality in British India. Currently, he is working on a book on Indian convicts in Southeast Asia and a number of other projects relating to South Asian and world history.

Yang is the former editor of The Journal of Asian Studies and Peasant Studies, and has been and is a member of the editorial boards of several journals in Asian and South Asian Studies and in the discipline of History. He is actively engaged in world history projects at the collegiate and precollegiate levels that are aimed at enhancing our historical understanding of our contemporary world.

A member of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Learned Societies and of the Executive Committee of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, he is also active in local community organizations, including the World Affairs Council of Seattle/Tacoma.

Born in Shantineketan, India, of Chinese parents, he grew up and attended school for much of his early years in New Delhi. From there he moved to Mexico City, where he finished high school before moving to the United States to attend college.

Soon Beng Yeap has more than 20 years experience in reputation management, brand communications and social marketing. In addition to his current role as the Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Seattle University, he was also the Founding Director and Professor at the Center of Strategic Communications. Before joining Seattle University, Soon Beng served as Senior Vice President at global communications agency, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, and prior to that, he headed reputation management and strategic communications in 36 countries for Starbucks Coffee Company. Soon Beng started his career as a journalist in London, United Kingdom, and Malaysia before joining academia as Assistant Dean for the School of Communication Studies in Singapore and Head of the Journalism in Monash University, Australia. He is also is also well-published in the areas of communications, media globalization and politics of culture.

Note: not all members are represented by a photo or personal statement at this time. Updates coming soon!