Fellows Cohort 2020-2021

The 2020-2021 World Affairs Council Fellows Program cohort brought 29 business and community leaders together from a variety of professional backgrounds. The Fellows convened once a month for a virtual Zoom meeting with a range of high-caliber international experts and informal staff-led and Fellows-led virtual networking events.

2020-2021 Speakers

Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense
Jeh Johnson, former Secretary of Homeland Security
Lieutenant General Nina Armagno, U.S. Space Force's director of staff for headquarters
Jacob Lew, former Secretary of the Treasury
Ambassador Mike McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia
Rose Gottemoeller, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO
Leila Zerrougui, former Special Representative of the Secretary-General and former Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ambassador Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross
Ambassador Ronald Kirk, former U.S. Trade Representative
Susan Thornton, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Deputy Director for Strategic Planning & Engagement, Gates Foundation

Wealth Management Advisor, Goldman Sachs

Principal and Founder, High Peak Strategy LLC

Partner, Act of Giving Foundation; formerly Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Quest Software

Senior Client Relationship Managers, Wells Fargo

Jonathan Forman

Science and Technology Advisor, PNNL

Vice President, Wealth Management, UBS Financial

Sr. Policy Analyst, Consulate General of Canada

Hannah Hochkeppel

Program Director, Seeds of Peace

Director of Partnerships & Planning, Northeastern University

Chief of Staff, Zeacon

Director of Innovation, Weyerhaeuser

Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Navy

Vice President, Global Access, Bryant Christie Inc.

Director, Public Policy, Merck

Program Manager, External Relations and Executive Communications, Microsoft

Regional Director, International Strategy & Business Development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Community Member

Richard Rhinehart

CO, Naval Base Kitsap

Director, Sustainable Northwest

Vice President Marketing and Strategy, Formative

Former President and CEO

Formerly Amazon, AWS SOC

VP, Global Security & Resilience (CSO), Starbucks

Regional Director, Marketing and Strategy, The Boeing Company

Oliver Thomassen

Senior Manager, Global Government Affairs, Microsoft

Chair, Citizens’ Elections Oversight Committee, King County

Marketing Manager, Online Strategy, Gates Ventures

Pippa Zainoeddin

Senior Officer, Philanthropic Partnerships, BMGF