Board

Colin Fenton is the head of commodities research at 22V Research, which received the #1 ranking in the independent macro category in Institutional Investor’s latest annual poll. Previously, he was the global head of commodities research and chief commodities strategist for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. There, he was a member of the management committee that supervised the work of about one thousand research analysts worldwide across all asset classes and sectors. He has served as a managing director at Duquesne Capital Management, the chief intelligence officer of Ospraie Management, and the founder and managing partner of Curium Capital Advisers. Fenton began his Wall Street career as an original member of the commodities research group at Goldman Sachs.

After serving in Spain’s various branches of military, he has played a very active role in the promotion of Spain’s economic and commercial interests and of Spanish language and culture in foreign countries.

Brendan is a founder of Forward Risk, a corporate investigations, intelligence, and risk advisory firm that was acquired by Paris-headquartered Avisa Partners in late 2022. He specializes in contests for corporate control, and advises activist investors and issuers in proxy battles, hostile takeovers, and other shareholder activism situations. Brendan also serves as a Director-at-Large at the Capital Rowing Club in Washington, DC.

Kaia Miller Goldstein is a consultant advising private and public sector organizations in developing economies on competitiveness and economic development. She worked with the Cambridge-based consulting firm the Monitor Group as a leader in its Country Competitiveness Practice, and co-founded the spin-out OTF Group before founding Aslan Global, Inc. in 2001.

S. Fitzgerald Haney is a Group Partner at Viola Group, Israel’s leading technology-focused investment group with $3B AUM. From 2015 to 2017, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Costa Rica.

Marty is an entrepreneur who has founded and operated a number of ventures in the international trade services and energy technology fields including: MK Data, which was recently acquired by Descartes Systems (DSGX), MK Technology (now the “Trade Compliance Group”), Gilston Kalin Communications, the publisher of the “the Export Practitioner”, GFC Crane Consultants Inc., a gantry crane maintenance company, and SmartSenseCom (a tunnel and drone detection technology company).

Mark P. Lagon is Chief Policy Officer at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, as well as Adjunct Professor for MSFS in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, and Senior Fellow at The Trinity Forum. He was a Centennial Fellow in the SFS 2016-2017. Previously he was President of Freedom House, a renowned human rights organization founded in 1941. From 2010-2014, he was Global Politics and Security Chair at MSFS. He co-edited the volume by MSFS faculty and alumni, Human Dignity and the Future of Global Institutions. Earlier, he was CEO of the leading U.S. anti-human trafficking non-profit, Polaris, and Ambassador-At-Large to Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State.

Ambassador (ret) Deborah A. McCarthy is an expert on U.S. foreign and national security policy. Currently, she is the Lead U.S. Negotiator to the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime at the U.S. Department of State. She is also a non- resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Recently, she was a Senior Fellow at Harvard University. She served for over 30 years in the US Diplomatic service, including as the U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania. Ms. McCarthy received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and a joint M.S. in Economics and Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She serves on several Boards and Advisory Councils.

Izumi Nakamitsu is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. She has had senior roles at the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Executive Office of the Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She was Professor of International Relations at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, where she also served as a member of the Foreign Exchange Council to Japan’s Foreign Minister and was as a visiting senior adviser on peacebuilding at the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

David Oxenstierna is Lead / Managing Partner for Capco in the United States. Capco is a leading consultancy exclusively dedicated to serving the financial services industry across Capital Markets, Wealth Management, Banking, Insurance, and Energy with 7,000 consultants in 33 offices across North and South America, UK/Europe, and Asia. David has over 30 years of experience working in finance, including at Morgan Stanley where he was a Managing Director in Institutional Securities, and at Citigroup. In addition to his Georgetown degrees he holds a Masters of Finance from the London Business School, and served in the Royal Swedish Marines as a Lieutenant.

Maria Pinto Carland is a career counselor and coach, the former Associate Director and Counselor of the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) Program at Georgetown University. Pinto Carland compiled and produced four editions of the School of Foreign Service book Careers in International Affairs.

Luis Quiroga is a co-founder of Asper, a London-based private equity firm specialized in the energy transition, a sector in which he has been leading investments for over 15 years. Inspired by first-hand experiencing the crucial role of the private sector to achieve environmental goals, he has also launched OIKOS, Spain’s first think-tank to focus on market-friendly policy solutions to climate change.

Kedenard Raymond most recently served as a Director for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council for the Biden Administration. She has also previously served as the Public Affairs Chief for the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Press Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Press Officer in the State Department Bureau of Public Affairs; Political Officer for the Turkey Desk; Deputy Public Affairs Officer in Peshawar, Pakistan; and Consular Officer in Montreal, Canada. Kedenard is a term member with the Council on Foreign Relations; a 2017 Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Next Generation Fellow; a 2017 Penn Kemble Fellow; and a 2008 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellow. She is an alumna of American University and Georgetown University.

Scott Schlossel, prior to joining Trigon Global Capital, was Managing Director in Lehman Brothers’ Global Investment Banking Division in New York. Following his graduation from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Georgetown Law School in 1994, he clerked for the United States District Court in Washington D.C., and then practiced corporate, securities, and mergers and acquisitions law for two years in New York with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.

Eileen Shields-West is an accomplished journalist, author, and philanthropist with a wide range of expertise in education, international affairs, and governance. Ms. Shields-West serves as chair of The SEED Foundation, the nation’s only network of public, college preparatory boarding schools focused on underserved youth, chair emeritus of Refugees International, a member of the Advisory Council of Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, a board member of IREX and CAI (Central Asia Institute).

Nancy E. Soderberg served in the White House as Deputy National Security Advisor (1993-97) and as an Ambassador at the United Nations (1997-2001). She is currently President and CEO of Soderberg Global Solutions and Director of the Public Service Leadership Program at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL.

Princess Ghida, a holder of two honors degrees from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, is a leader in the global fight against cancer, and serves as the Chairperson of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center, based in Amman, Jordan. She also serves on the Boards of the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the Khalidi Library in Jerusalem.

Jaap is the founder of Modern Revenue, a San Francisco-based growth execution consulting firm that helps enterprise technology companies accelerate revenue growth and optimize go-to-market efficiency. He was previously a managing director at Winning by Design in Mountain View and at MG Capital in New York. Jaap began his career at J.P. Morgan in 2008 where he held roles in the Investment Bank and the firm’s Executive Office.

Pilar, CEO of Half Moon Empanadas, is an entrepreneur and community leader, focusing on the empowerment of women. Under Pilar’s leadership, Half Moon Empanadas is expanding nationally. Before joining Half Moon Empanadas, Pilar worked at The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation managing the National Programs grant process. Her previous work includes: Director of the Office of International Affairs for the state of Veracruz, Mexico; Consultant at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank; and, Marketing Director at TIYM Publishing Company, publisher of the Anuario Hispano-Hispanic Yearbook

Virginia is an ESG & impact investment and strategy professional who has 15 years of experience working directly with asset managers, financial institutions, businesses, and nonprofits. She has structured deals across asset classes and has created holistic ESG & impact strategies for multiple financial players. She has spent her career working at the nexus of profit and purpose and has achieved both positive social change for communities and strong financial returns for investors.

Ben became convinced of the power of small business to transform poor communities in Mexico, where he co-founded CityGolf Puebla, a miniature golf course and family recreation center. After working as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Office of Management and Budget, he left to attend business school and launch Agora Partnerships. Since graduating in 2005, Ben has been named a Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur, a BMW Foundation Young Leader, and an Ashoka Fellow. He was a Social Venture Network Innovation Award honoree in 2009 and named one of 2010’s top 40 under 40 development leaders in Washington, DC. He earned an MBA from Columbia University, where he was awarded the inaugural alumni social innovation award, and an MSFS with distinction from Georgetown University. Ben has a BA with high honors from Haverford College, where he co-founded Tres Nacos Quesadillas Delivery and the Lighted Fools improv troupe.

Nicole Bibbins Sedaca serves as the interim president of Freedom House. Prior, she served as Executive Vice President for three years, where she oversaw the organization’s strategy and programs. Prior to joining Freedom House, Ms. Bibbins Sedaca served as the Deputy Director of Georgetown University’s Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program, the Co-Chair for the Global Politics and Security Concentration, and a Professor in the Practice of International Affairs in MSFS. She is also the Kelly and David Pfeil Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute.

Ms. Árnadóttir served as Minister of Industry and Commerce in Iceland from 2013-2017 and was an elected Member of Parliament for the Independence Party from 2007-2016. Before being elected to Parliament, she was successively a political advisor to the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister. She also worked for the Trade Council of Iceland both in New York and in Reykjavík. A nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Centre, she was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Duty Free Iceland, and a member of the Board of Directors of Landsvirkjun (national power company).

Anna Tunkel is founder and CEO of Sustainable Impact LLC – a global advisory firm that partners with leaders of Fortune 500 companies, global foundations and international organizations on strategies and programs that bridge between business and societal impact. Mrs. Tunkel is a seasoned global public affairs and strategic communications leader with over two decades of experience across global public affairs, sustainability and strategic communications. She brings systems thinking and extensive stakeholder engagement experience spanning multiple industries, geographies and sectors. She has special expertise in developing and managing diverse, innovative multi-stakeholder partnerships and a long-standing track record in informing and shaping the global agenda through established international fora and global processes including the G20, COPs, UN General Assembly, as well as up-and-coming influential platforms from the Global South and globe-spanning technology platforms and convenings.

Stephen Lanier is a Managing Partner of Fremantle Capital, a private investment firm that provides growth capital to lower middle market companies in the U.S. He previously worked for Southern Company and its largest affiliate Georgia Power, where he developed corporate and regulatory strategies to support the company’s evolving generation portfolio, including nuclear development and the expansion of renewable resources. Before joining Southern Company, he served in the Central Intelligence Agency during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.