Board of Advisors

Johns Hopkins SAIS Board of Advisors, Chair (2020-2023)

Lee Kempler is the Chief Operating Officer of Assured Investment Management. He joined Assured IM’s predecessor firm, BlueMountain Capital, in 2017 from BlackRock, where he was a Managing Director and the founding Executive Director of the BlackRock Investment Institute. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2011, Lee was a Partner at McKinsey & Company in New York. He joined McKinsey in 1986 and spent many years serving clients in the financial institutions arena on strategy, organization, and operations issues; he also served some of New York’s most important non-profit and public sector enterprises on leadership issues, including the New York Public Library and the NYPD. In addition to New York, Lee worked in McKinsey’s London and Johannesburg offices. In 2003, Lee was appointed McKinsey's Director of Knowledge, with responsibility for the people, processes, and technologies McKinsey uses to codify and disseminate what is arguably the largest collection of applied business knowledge in the world.

Lee is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned BA and BS degrees in 1986 and an MBA degree in 1990, all from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned an MA degree from SAIS in 1991.

Johns Hopkins SAIS Board of Advisors, Vice Chair (2020-2023)

Marijke Jurgens-Dupree, a 1992 graduate, is a former independent financial consultant focused on public and private fund raising. She currently sits on the boards of several organizations including International Center for Research on Women, and the Washington Home and Community Hospice and is a parent council member of Wake Forest University.

After completing her Johns Hopkins SAIS degree, Ms. Jurgens-Dupree served as the Director of Investor Relations at Iridium LLC, a global satellite communications firm. She previously held positions at Iridium as the Senior Manager, Research and Forecasting and Manager of Strategic Planning. Before and during her time at the school, she was the Senior Vice President at Intercon LTD and a senior analyst at Comsat Corporation.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Robert J. Abernethy is Chairman of American Standard Development Company, Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, and Managing Director of Metropolitan Investments. Robert received a BA from Johns Hopkins University, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, certificates in Real Estate and Construction from UCLA and was formerly the Controller of the Technology Division of Hughes Aircraft Company.

Robert is a member of the Advisory Council of the School of Advanced International Studies (Washington and Bologna) as well as Trustees of Johns Hopkins University, Davidson College and Loyola Marymount University. He serves as Vice-Chairman of the Atlantic Council and is on the executive Board of the International Refugee Assistance Project. He is also a member of the Chairman’s Forum of CFR and the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy. Bob is a member of the Board of Trustees for Brookings and serves on the Boards of RAND Center for Global Risk & Security, New Leaders Council, Truman National Security Project, Integrity Initiatives International, Los Angeles World Affairs Council as well as Center for National Policy. Bob is also a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Council with the Center for American Progress.

He serves on the UCLA Arts Board, UCLA Health Systems Board and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He is also Vice Chairman of the Music Center of Los Angeles.

Robert served as Commissioner of California Transportation Commission, Los Angeles Telecommunications Commission, and Los Angeles Planning & Zoning Commission and was Director of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Metropolitan Water District. He was a Member of the California State Board of Education and of the California Arts Council.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Jeff Bell is a member of the Executive Board of MidOcean Partners, a private equity firm focusing upon consumer and business service investments. Previously, Jeff was Chief Executive Officer and a Board member of PPLSI, the leading provider of legal and privacy management services in North America. Mr. Bell served as Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Global Marketing, Xbox. He spent 12 years at Ford Motor Company, including serving as Managing Director of Ford Spain, and 5 years at Chrysler as the Vice President and General Manager of Chrysler and Jeep Divisions. Jeff earned the 2008 Cannes Grand Prix Winner for the Halo 3 Integrated Marketing campaign. He was named AdAge “2007 Entertainment Marketer of the Year” for Gears of War, and AdAge “2005 Interactive Marketer of the Year” at Chrysler. He has served as Trustee of his alma mater, Kenyon College, and on the Board of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Bell graduated from Kenyon College Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and was honored as an Academic All-American in football. He holds Master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins and Wharton. He is married to his wife of 35 years, Colleen, and has three sons, Josh, Jon and Matt.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Mr. Bernstein is former chairman of Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and has served on the boards of trustees of the Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He is also part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles. Mr. Bernstein also serves as president for the International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores, a position he has held since his election to that office in 1982. A native of Baltimore, Mr. Bernstein began his association with the duty free industry with Samuel Meisel and Company, Inc., currently DFI's Diplomatic and Wholesale Division. After graduating from the Johns Hopkins University in 1957, he worked in a variety of positions at Meisel until his appointment as president in 1966, a position he maintained until May 1992.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Mr. Crane is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Readiness. In this role, he serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for strategic and operational readiness of the Armed Services. Mr. Crane brings nearly two decades of experience leading teams to provide decision support for National and Department of Defense leaders on critical national security and military challenges.

Most recently, he served as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness who is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for all matters related to the readiness of the Total Force.

A lifelong public servant, Mr. Crane previously led research teams supporting policy development at the Defense Business Board, Defense Innovation Board, and the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service. At the Commission, he led the first review in 40 years of national mobilization and the Selective Service System.

Prior to working at the Commission, Mr. Crane served as an Intelligence Officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), leading teams of strategic and military capability analysts focused on regional security in Asia. While at DIA, he served as the daily briefer to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia and was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan.

Mr. Crane is the recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service and multiple Joint Civilian Service Commendation medals, among other awards. He holds a Master of International Public Policy in Strategic Studies from the Johns Hopkins University – Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife and two young kids. Mr. Crane also serves on the Johns Hopkins SAIS Board of Advisors. 

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Ludovico Feoli is currently the executive director of the Center for Inter-American Policy & Research at Tulane University. He was previously the executive director of the Centro de Investigación y Adiestramiento Político Administrativo, CIAPA, in San José, Costa Rica. He is a member of the President’s Council at Tulane University, a member of the Advisory Board at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a Senior Fellow at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute.

Dr. Feoli is co-chair of the Zemurray Foundation, a Louisiana private family foundation established in 1951, and has served on several New Orleans area nonprofits. He is a past chairman of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, a community foundation for the eleven parishes comprising the greater New Orleans area. He is also on the boards of the Bureau of Governmental Research and the Audubon Commission. Dr. Feoli received his BA from Claremont McKenna College and his MA and Pd.D. from Tulane University.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Pamela P. Flaherty is the former President and CEO of the Citi Foundation, and the Director of Corporate Citizenship at Citi. During Mrs. Flaherty’s 46-year career at Citi, she held various line and staff roles, including Citicorp’s Senior Human Resources Officer, and Director of Citi’s New York Consumer Retail business.

As leader of Citi Foundation from 2007 to 2015, Mrs. Flaherty led a “more-than-philanthropy” approach to the foundation’s work. This combination of financial support, employee engagement, and innovative grant structuring increased the long-term impact of the Citi Foundation’s investments to promote economic progress focusing on youth and cities. As head of the company’s Citizenship efforts, she encouraged the development of activities where Citi’s businesses can make a difference, including sustainability and the environment. In partnership with Citi’s clients, Citi directed more than $54 billion towards renewable energy and clean technology exceeding its ten year goal two years early. Its new goal is to catalyze $100 billion in the next 10 years. Citi also reduced its greenhouse gas emissions from operations by 20 percent from a 2005 baseline.

She is the former Chair of the Board of Trustees of Johns Hopkins University, is on the board of Johns Hopkins Medicine and has been on the boards of several nonprofits, including Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Living Cities. She is currently on the board of The Nature Conservancy Long Island Chapter and World Resources Institute. She is also a member of the New York Green Bank Advisory Committee and a member of the Council on Foreign Affairs.

Mrs. Flaherty is an honors graduate of Smith College and holds a Masters in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. 

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Mr. Flaherty is Managing Director of Arcon Partners, LLC, a private investment firm, and is a Director Emeritus of McKinsey & Company, Inc., where he worked predominantly with financial institutions, as well as with media and information companies.  He chairs the board of Educators for Excellence and serves on the boards of the Foreign Policy Association, TechnoServe, the Rockefeller University and the Kenyon Review.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Peter is a graduate of Stanford University, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the Harvard Business School.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Lou Forster is a General Partner at Green Visor Capital. Prior to joining Green Visor, Forster was Senior Managing Director of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. Based in Tokyo from 1998 until 2010, Forster built and led Cerberus’s Japan office and was the senior ranking executive in Asia. From 2010 until April 2014, Forster facilitated Cerberus’s activities in Asia from New York, serving as Chairman of Cerberus Asia Pacific Advisors Ltd. and Senior Managing Director of Cerberus Capital Management. Prior to Cerberus, Lou served in senior roles at Angelo Gordon and Co, LP and the LeFrak Organization, Inc.

Forster began his career at Goldman Sachs & Co. after graduating with his Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University. Forster earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the Johns Hopkins University, where he now also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees. Lou is also a board member of the Japan Society.

Forster graduated from the Bachelor of Arts and SAIS Master of Arts Joint Degree Program 1983. He received his JD from Harvard University School of Law.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Jesse Friedlander is co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of DesVoeux Partners, an international multi-family office based in Hong Kong.   Since arriving in Asia in 2002 Mr. Friedlander has held various regional roles with JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch and Susquehanna International Group in investment research and capital markets.  Prior to graduate school he worked as a bottling operations manager for the the Coca-Cola Company in North East China. 

Mr. Friedlander served for six years as President of the Yale Club of Hong Kong, is a Presidents Circle member of the Asia Society and is also a frequent contributor to the South China Morning Post.  He is fluent in Mandarin and French and proficient in Cantonese, Indonesian and Spanish.

Mr. Friedlander graduated cum laude from Yale College in East Asian Studies and holds an MBA from Wharton and an M.A. from SAIS with concentrations in International Finance and Southeast Asian studies.  He is also a CFA charter holder.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Tim Jennison is a Partner and Managing Director at the Boston Consulting Group in Frankfurt, Germany. He joined the Firm in early 2017. He is a core member of the Financial Institutions Practice and focuses on transformational business trends and reorganization and optimization themes with respect to global markets businesses. His client base encompasses global wholesale banks, investment banks and buy-side institutions. Prior to joining BCG, Tim was with Morgan Stanley for 18 years where he held a number of management positions in the investment bank, mainly in sales and trading. He was a member of the Global Credit Operating Committee and the EMEA Fixed Income Management Committee. Mr. Jennison received his M.A. in Economics and International Relations from SAIS in 1991, and his B.A. from Rider University in 1989.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Edward P. Joseph is a non-profit leader, as well as a foreign policy lecturer, author and field practitioner. He is currently the executive director of the National Council on US-Libya Relations.

An expert on the Balkans, Edward served on the ground in each conflict-afflicted country, including arduous assignments in Bosnia during the war. He also served on shorter missions in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Haiti. Edward is credited with having averted a violent confrontation between Serbia and Kosovo in April, 2012, with his negotiating skill and experience. His standout contribution won him praise from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier.

As Executive Director of the Institute of Current World Affairs in Washington from 2014-17, Edward thoroughly revitalized a proud foundation established in 1925 to identify highly promising young Americans and send them on two-year immersion fellowships overseas. His tenure saw ICWA establish separate field partnerships with SAIS on Iran and China, among several innovations.

As the US-nominated Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, OSCE’s largest field mission comprising almost 700-staff members, Edward restored the organization’s relevance, encouraging staff to move from reporting to pro-active conflict avoidance. In April 2012, following a collapsed deal that left Kosovo and Serbia on the brink of armed confrontation, Edward negotiated an eleventh hour breakthrough in Belgrade. Edward then played a leading role in the ensuing frantic and successful preparations for Serbian elections in Kosovo – the high point in the Mission’s history.

Edward has brought his extensive field experience to SAIS Washington where he teaches conflict management, and writes and speaks extensively on foreign policy as a senior fellow with the Center for Transatlantic Relations. He has been published in most major media outlets including The New York Times, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. His article, ‘The Balkans, Interrupted’ was selected as one of Foreign Affairs ‘Best of 2015.’ Edward appears frequently on television and radio as a commentator on international events.

Edward earned a J.D. from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University and its School of Advanced International Studies, respectively. He served as a helicopter pilot in the US Army Reserve. He speaks and has worked professionally in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and French, Italian and Spanish.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Dennis Lockhart’s career includes time in the private sector, academia, and government.

He is currently a Senior Fellow in the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School.  He is also a Distinguished Professor-of-the-practice in Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech and a principal in Navigation Capital Partners, a private equity firm.

He recently stepped down from the position of president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. In this role, Lockhart served on the Federal Reserve’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Within the Federal Reserve System, he chaired the Conference of Presidents for his final two years and earlier chaired the Information Technology Oversight Committee.

Before becoming a central banker, Lockhart was a member of the faculty of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service where he chaired the Masters program’s concentrations in global commerce and finance and international business–government relations.  He taught courses focused on global business strategy, international finance and investment, project finance, and business-government relations. He also was an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Simultaneously, he was chairman of the Small Enterprise Assistance Funds, a sponsor of emerging markets venture capital/private equity funds.

Earlier he was managing partner of a boutique private investment firm with activity in Africa and Latin America and president of Heller International Group, a financial firm with activities in commercial finance in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.  In 2000, he chaired the Advisory Committee of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

At the start of his career, Lockhart held various positions, both international and domestic, with Citicorp/Citibank (now Citigroup). He worked in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Iran, Latin America and the southeast United States.  He was Citicorp’s senior corporate officer and head of corporate banking for the southeast domiciled in Atlanta.

Lockhart was born and grew up in California. He was educated at Stanford University and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He also attended the Senior Executive Program at the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Elizabeth joined the Morgan Stanley PWM Latin America team in 1998 after graduating from SAIS Johns Hopkins with a concentration in Latin American Studies and International Economics.  In 2002 she joined the Firm’s Risk Management Division as a sovereign credit analyst for the region.  She was Head of Credit for Latin America from 2007–2011 and served as the Chief Risk Officer for Latin America from 2011-2014.  In 2012 she was also named Global Head of Country Risk a position she held alongside the CRO role until transitioning to the Fixed Income Division as Head of Emerging Markets Business Development and Strategy in May of 2014.  In June of 2015 she became the Chief Operating Officer for the Firm’s Latin America businesses, the role she holds today.

Elizabeth serves on the SAIS Johns Hopkins Board of Advisors, is an Executive Committee member of SAIS Women Lead and was a Johns Hopkins Leadership Fellow (Class of 2017).  She also serves on the Board of National Sawdust and is a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Visiting Committee for the Ancient Near Eastern Art Department.  She graduated with a BA in Philosophy from SUNY Albany where she was elected Phi Beta Kappa.  She is married with three children.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Dr. Jill E. McGovern is a member of the Board of Trustees and Senior Consultant at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, a research organization in Washington affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and focused on U.S.-German relations. Between 1993 and 2007, she served as CEO of The Marrow Foundation, the partner of the National Marrow Donor Program, which maintains the national registry of unrelated blood stem cell donors.  Previously, she was Executive Director of the Baltimore International Festival and senior assistant to the President of Johns Hopkins University.  Between 1975 and 1981, she was associated with the Department of Education at the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. and chaired the Department from 1978 to 1981.  In addition, McGovern taught at the Citadel in Charleston and Tulane University in New Orleans.  She also taught in the Orleans Parish Schools for seven years, after she had spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer on Mogmog, Ulithi, Federated States of Micronesia.

McGovern has served on the Board of Trustees of Legg Mason Funds since 1989.  Between 1994 and 1999, she chaired the Board of the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore, and she continues to serve as a member of the Museum's Advisory Council.  She also served on the Boards of the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust and the International Biomedical Research Alliance.  From 2012 to 2014, she chaired the Board of the Lois Roth Endowment, a non-profit organization devoted to fostering international cultural dialogue.  In addition, she is an Army Arlington Lady.

McGovern is involved with Johns Hopkins University in a variety roles:  as a member of the Rising to the Challenge Campaign Cabinet, the Evergreen Campaign Committee, the Peabody National Advisory Council, the SAIS Europe Advisory Council, and the Hopkins-Nanjing Council; and as co-chair of the SAIS Legacy Circle.

McGovern received her BA from Northwestern University, her Master of Arts from Xavier University, and her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of New Orleans.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Richard Nijkerk is a SAIS Alumni Ambassador at Large and manages the Asian operations of Nijkerk Group. He received a B.A.S in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Economics in Finance from the Jerome Fischer Management & Technology Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and he holds an M.A. in international economics and Japan studies from SAIS.

Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh has served as the United Arab Emirates Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations since September 2013. She has also served as Assistant Minister for Political Affairs since February 2021 and non-resident Ambassador of the UAE to Grenada since November 2017. In December 2021, the late His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a Federal Decree granting her the rank of Minister. In January 2023, she was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Special Envoy to the United Nations, and the European Union.

A particular area of passion for her is the role of women in the promotion of peace and security. She was the President of the UN Women Executive Board in 2017 and led the UAE in working closely with UN Women to launch the Arab Women Military and Peacekeeping Programme in the UAE in 2019.

She served as Vice-President of the UN’s 72nd General Assembly and was a Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform in the 72nd, 73rd, and 74th sessions.

As an expression of the UAE’s commitment to multilateralism and the UN’s continued vitality and efficacy, Ambassador Nusseibeh co-facilitates and co-chairs the Friends of the Future of the UN (FFUN), a small group of Permanent Representatives who convene regularly for briefings and discussions on the most pressing issues affecting the future of the organization as part of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the UN General Assembly.

Even before her appointment as Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Nusseibeh was guided by a commitment to public service. At the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she established the Ministry’s Policy Planning Department in 2009 and served as its first Director for three years. During this time, she was also the UAE Deputy Sherpa to the G20 under France’s presidency in 2011. From 2010 – 2011, she served as the UAE Co-Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Previously, she was the Head of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Campaign Task Force at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Director of Research and Communications for the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs.

In 2017, she was awarded the UAE Prime Minister’s Government Excellence Award (the UAE Medal of Pride).

Ambassador Nusseibeh received an MA (Cantab) and BA (Hons) in History from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and an MA with Distinction in Israeli and Jewish Diaspora Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London in 2003.

She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Security Council Report (SCR), and serves on the Advisory Board of The London School of Economics’ Middle East Centre, and on the Advisory Board of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Ned S. Offit is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Offit Capital. Prior to forming Offit Capital in 2007, Mr. Offit was a Managing Director at Offit Hall Capital Management and a Managing Director at OFFITBANK. Prior to his work at OFFITBANK, Mr. Offit was a Managing Director in the Fixed Income Sales and Trading Group at Bear Stearns & Co.

Mr. Offit received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, and a M.A. in Latin American Studies and International Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Offit has previously served on the Board of Directors for Asphalt Green, the Board of Trustees at Montefiore Medical Center, and the Board of Trustees of Riverdale Country School.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Peter O'Hagan is a managing director at The Carlyle Group, based in New York. 

Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. O'Hagan served as an Executive in Residence in the Energy and Infrastructure Group at KKR and Co from 2014 to 2015.  Before this, Mr. O'Hagan spent almost 23 years at Goldman Sachs where he most recently co-headed the global commodities business and served as head of origination and structuring.   At Goldman Sachs, he became a managing director in 2000, and a partner in 2002. During 2009 and 2010, Mr. O’Hagan was the founding CEO of Goldman Sachs Bank USA, with $110 billion in assets, formed at the time that Goldman Sachs became a federally regulated bank holding company (BHC).

Mr. O'Hagan holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Toronto and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.  He serves on the board of Stillwater Mining.  Mr. O’Hagan is a director of the not for profit World Bicycle Relief.​

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Sarah O’Hagan advises non-profit organizations in the sectors of international humanitarian relief, education and media as a board member and advocate for the critical role of NGOs in the global economy.

She currently serves as Chair of The Fuller Project for International Reporting, a news organization with a global focus dedicated to investigating and reporting multimedia journalism for international publications on women in conflict and foreign policy.  As co-Chair of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) from 2010-2016, and active in IRC’s governance since 1998, Sarah has traveled frequently to visit IRC programs in the field and speak to stakeholders about the organization’s work for refugees and the displaced.

In addition Sarah is a trustee of Johns Hopkins University; and member of the Board of Advisors of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (JHU), where she and others are building SAIS Women Lead, a program for students and alumni mobilizing the SAIS and international relations communities to leverage women’s leadership as a global problem-solving tool.  She also serves on the board of Pencils of Promise.

Ms. O’Hagan is a former reporter and strategic communications consultant and holds an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a BA from Wesleyan University.

Anika Penn is an investor, entrepreneur, and global health pioneer. She currently connects innovation with capital at Baillie Gifford. Previously she served as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Jill Ker Conway Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center at Smith College and was the co-founder and CEO of Frontier Health, a marketplace for innovative frugal medical devices for the developing world. Her career has traversed medical research, international reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, health innovation, and human rights policy.

She holds an MA in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University – Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), with concentrations in International Economics and China Studies and a BA from Smith College, with time spent at Nanjing University as a part of the Duke University Study in China Program. She is the incoming President of the JHU Alumni Council, having previously served as co-chair of the Communications Committee, chair of the Key 3 Committee, and as Vice President.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Karen Poreh is a Vice President in ASG’s Europe practice, where she advises clients on market entry, political risk, and government relations. She brings extensive experience helping clients navigate complex issues across emerging markets.

Prior to joining ASG, Ms. Poreh was a Research Assistant to Ambassador Eric Edelman at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, assisting in the development of graduate-level coursework on the Iraq wars and U.S. nuclear strategy.

Before that, Ms. Poreh was a Global Communications and Public Affairs Intern and a Policy Analysis Intern at Google. In these roles, she worked on a variety of global technology issues, including free expression and internet censorship, cyber security, and internet marketing trends, among others.

Ms. Poreh holds an M.A. in International Relations and Economics, focusing on Strategic Studies and International Financial Markets, from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. A member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, she earned a B.A. in International Studies from Johns Hopkins University, with a regional focus on the Middle East.

Ms. Poreh has appeared on CNN and has been interviewed by POLITICO, Reuters, and other news outlets on U.S.-Cuba relations and other political and economic issues. She is a political risk instructor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Ms. Poreh is fluent in Spanish and Hebrew and is proficient in French.

She is based in Washington, D.C.

Sean is a partner at Kearney where he is a member of the Americas Leadership Team and leads the Global CPG Sector Team.  He has twenty-five years of consulting experience working and living in the Americas, Europe and Asia.  He has held several leadership positions within the Firm – Global Partner Selection Committee; Americas lead: Strategy, Marketing and Sales Practice. He led the establishment of Kearney’s DEI initiative: People Advocating for Real Change (PARC).

Sean’s client work focuses on growth and profitability transformation.  Active work is focused on digital platform strategy, merger integration, route to market and data management.  Sean serves global clients across multiple CPG sectors: Food & Beverage, Beverage Alcohol, Beauty and Personnel Care and Household.

He publishes and speaks at industry conferences.  He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN Money.  He is recognized by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs as one of Chicago’s emerging leaders and serves on the Advisory Board of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Selected Publications

• “How Loss Aversion and Conformity Threaten Organization Change”, Harvard Business Review
• “Death of the (Traditional) Salesperson”, Ivey Business Journal
• “Four Possible Recovery Scenarios for the Hospitality Industry", HospitalityTech
• “The Economic and National Security Rationale for Free Trade”, The Hill
• “Transformation Through M&A Integration”, Kearney White Paper
• “Principles and Practicality: Foreign Trade and the Global Supply Chain Executive”, ISM
• “Greece Has Spoken, How Will EU Leaders Respond?” LinkedIn Pulse
• “Greece’s Vote On Sunday: Between Scylla and Charybdis”, LinkedIn Pulse
• “Decision Making In A World of Uncertainty”, American Management Association

Board Memberships

• The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
• Public Sector and Defense Sector, Kearney

Education

• M.B.A.,   University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
• M.A.,      The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
• A.B.,       Boston College
• In process: Harvard University, Business Analytics and Data Science

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

George W. Siguler is a Managing Director and Founding Partner of Siguler Guff.  He is responsible for directing the Firm's private equity investment strategy and is the Firm's Chief Investment Officer.  Mr. Siguler sits on the Investment Committees for all of the Firm's funds.  Prior to founding Siguler Guff, Mr. Siguler was a Managing Director and head of PaineWebber's Private Equity Group from 1991 until Siguler Guff became independent in 1995.

Before joining PaineWebber, he was President of Associated Capital Investors (formerly Bank of America Investment Management Company). From 1985 to 1991, he served as Chief Investment Officer and oversaw the company's common stock, bond and private equity portfolios.

Mr. Siguler was a Founding Partner of the Harvard Management Company in the early 1970s, and initiated and managed its venture capital, buyout and hedge fund activity.  He also served as Associate Treasurer of Harvard University.  Mr. Siguler served in the Reagan Administration from 1983 to 1984 as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, with oversight responsibility for a $300 billion budget and 150,000 employees.

In 1988, Mr. Siguler was instrumental in setting up Commonfund Capital, the private equity arm of The Common Fund, and for many years served as one of its directors.  He has served as a director of numerous public and private companies.

Mr. Siguler is a Non-Executive Director of Preqin and a member of the Board of Directors of MSCI. He is a member of the Pension Advisory Committee of the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Siguler is on the Executive Committee of the Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Board of Advisors of Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and the advisory board of the Center for Asia Pacific Policy at the RAND Corporation. He is also a member of RAND's Business Leaders Forum, the Russell 20/20 Group and the Pacific Pension Institute. Mr. Siguler is a past Director of the Investor Responsibility Research Center, The Perkins School for the Blind and the New England Aquarium. He has been a Director of the Harvard Community Health Plan (the largest HMO in New England), a member of the Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Health Professional Education and a member of the White House Task Force on Medicare Prospective Payments.

Mr. Siguler holds an A.B. in History from Amherst College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Gary M. Talarico is Managing Partner at Cora Street Partners, a family office that invests in private equity transactions including real estate. Prior to this, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Gordon Brothers Group, an investment firm focused on distressed situations.

Mr. Talarico has over 25 years of broad global experiences in investment banking and private equity. Prior to joining Gordon Brothers Group in 2011, he spent five years as a Managing Director of Sun Capital responsible for the NY and Tokyo investment teams. Prior to Sun Capital, he was a managing director of the Deutsche Bank Group and head of Global Corporate Finance in Japan. Mr. Talarico began his career in investment banking in 1983 with Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb where he worked for 15 years. He was a founding member of Lehman Brothers' Japan Investment Banking Division and was instrumental in establishing the debt and equity capital markets, derivatives and private placement businesses in Japan, and starting the Japan Financial Institutions Group.

Mr. Talarico received a bachelor's degree from Illinois State University and a master's degree from SAIS.

SAIS Board of Advisors, Member

Mike White was a Ford Foundation fellow at Leningrad State University and received his BA in 1974 from Boston College. Mr. White joined DIRECTV in January 2010 and is also a member of the company’s Board of Directors. As president, chairman and CEO of DIRECTV, he oversees the operations and strategic direction of DIRECTV, Inc. in the U.S. and DIRECTV Latin America. Before joining DIRECTV, Mr. White led PepsiCo International as chief executive officer and as vice chairman of PepsiCo from 2003 to 2009. Prior to that role, he served as president and chief executive officer of Frito-Lay’s Europe, Africa and Middle East division. He also served as chief executive officer of Snack Ventures Europe, PepsiCo’s partnership with General Mills International.

From 1998 to 2000, Mr. White served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of PepsiCo. Before this, he held several senior level positions throughout the company including executive vice president and chief financial officer for Pepsi-Cola Company worldwide, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Frito-Lay International, and chief financial officer of Frito-Lay North America. He joined Frito-Lay in 1990 as vice president of planning.

Before joining PepsiCo, Mr. White was senior vice president and general manager for Avon Products, Inc. He also worked as a management consultant for Bain & Company and Arthur Andersen & Co.