Board
THE COUNCIL’S CHAMPIONS: THOSE WHO SUPPORT AND SUSTAIN OUR EFFORTS
The Cleveland Council on World Affairs thanks the members of our Board. Their input and guidance provide our organization with the strength, stability, and vision necessary to extend our outreach and further our connections within the international community. We recognize the ongoing efforts of our Board of Directors.
OFFICERS FY 2022-2023
Carter E. Strang, Chair
Leader-in-Residence, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Retired Partner, Tucker Ellis, LLP
Paul Clark, Vice Chair
Regional President (retired)
PNC
David Fleshler, Vice Chair
Associate Provost for International Affairs
Case Western Reserve University
Linda F. Robertson, Ph.D., Vice Chair
Retired Director
Gerald H. Read Center of Intern’l and Intercultural Education
Kent State University
Fritz Heintel, Treasurer
Corporate Banking Centralized Underwriting
PNC
David O. Zimmer, Secretary
Attorney
DIRECTORS, FY 2022-2023
Harlin Adelman
Chief Legal Officer
University Hospitals
Raj Aggarwal, Ph.D.
Professor of Business & Finance
College of Business Administration, University of Akron
Christopher Blake
Partner & Chair – International Practice Group
Hahn Loeser & Parks, LLP
Heather Burnett
Principal, Director of Leadership Talent Management and Planning
Booz Allen Hamilton
Howard B. Edelstein
Edelstein Financial Corporation
Seda Ergun
National Director Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Principal Consultant
TRC Solutions
Hiroyuki Fujita, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO, Quality Electrodynamics; Chief Technology Officer, Canon Medical Systems Corporation, MRI Division; Honorary Consul of Japan in Cleveland
Michael Gleason
Vice Chairman
Austin Powder
Wael Khoury, M.D.
Head of Cardiology
Marymount Hospital, Cleveland Clinic
Michael Knall
President
Rincoh Investments, Inc.
Kathryn Lavelle, Ph.D
Ellen and Dixon Long Professor in World Affairs
Case Western Reserve University
Rebecca Kopp Levine
Partner
Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur
Deborah E. Morin, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Educational Leadership
Cleveland State University
N. Michael Obi
Chairman & CEO
Spectrum Global Solutions
Stephen J. Petras, Jr.
Founder and Director
NeXT1 Inc.
Richard W. Pogue
Senior Advisor
Jones Day
Elena Ray
West Territory Sales Executive, Business Banking
PNC Bank
Michael Salkind
Principal
INDUS International Inc.
Martin C. Schulz
International Growth Equity Team
Federated Investors, Inc.
Fareed Siddiq
Senior Vice President, CFP
Merrill Lynch
Donald A. Sinko
Chief Integrity Officer Cleveland Clinic
Monica Verma
Partner
Baker & Hostetler, LLP
Paul Winkeler
Chief Technology Architect
Dataserv
Mark Zannoni
Director
Smart Cities Strategy, Oracle
Nizar Zein, M.D.
Chief of Staff
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS
Barbara Hawkins
Civic Leader
Former President, League of Women Voters
HONORARY BOARD MEMBERS
Former Professor, CWRU, Simmons College and Boston University
U.S. Ambassador to Qatar (1983-1985) to Yemen (1988-1991)
Former President, CCWA
B. F. Goodrich (Chairman Emeritus)
U.S. Ambassador to Norway (2002-2005)
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Timken Family Partnership
U.S. Ambassador to Germany (2005-2008)
CCWA FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS
Cynthia Bassett
Senior Vice President, Wealth Management
UBS Financial Services
Paul Clark
Regional President (retired)
PNC
Wael Khoury, M.D.
Head of Cardiology
Marymount Hospital, Cleveland Clinic
Michael Knall
President
Rincoh Investments, Inc.
Dennis Lafferty
Vice President, Strategic Operations & Community Relations
Bernie Moreno Companies
James Meil
Principal, Industry Analysis
ACT Research
Stephen J. Petras, Jr.
Founder and Director
NeXT1 Inc.
Richard W. Pogue
Senior Advisor
Jones Day
Satricia Rice
Senior Managing Director
Clearstead
Donald A. Sinko
Chief Integrity Officer Cleveland Clinic
Carter E. Strang
Leader-in-Residence, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Retired Partner, Tucker Ellis, LLP
CCWA Staff
Ambassador Heather Hodges
Ambassador Heather Hodges became the President and Ambassador-in-Residence at the Cleveland Council on World Affairs in November 2011 after retiring from 31 years in the U.S. Foreign Service.
Ambassador Hodges did consular work in Venezuela and Guatemala. She was Consul General in Bilbao, Spain, and was deputy chief of mission in Managua, Lima, and Madrid. In Washington she was Peru desk officer and Deputy Director of Cuban Affairs, and had a fellowship to work on the Senate Subcommittee for Immigration and Refugee Affairs. She was Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Resources from 2006-2008. Ms. Hodges was Ambassador to Moldova from 2003-2006 and Ambassador to Ecuador from 2008 to April 2011.
Ambassador Hodges is a native of Westlake, Ohio and now lives in Bay Village, Ohio. She has a B.A. in Spanish from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and an M.A. from New York University. She was elected to the American Academy of Diplomacy in 2011. She is a member of the board of the Jocotoco Foundation, an Ecuadorian NGO, and is on the Advisory Council of Rainforest Trust. Both are nonprofit environmental organizations.
Phone: (216) 282-1219
E-mail: hhodges@ccwa.org
Carina Van Vliet
Carina Van Vliet joined the Cleveland Council on World Affairs in January 2019 as the Chief Executive Officer.
After moving to Cleveland in 2014, she served as a Senior Advisor to the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Forum. She was most recently a Regional Manager for Business Development and Communications at Jones Day.
Carina Van Vliet served as a Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations from 2006 to 2014, covering Latin American and Middle East issues, disarmament affairs, and women, peace and security issues. Prior to joining the U.N., she was the Director for Policy and Leadership Programs at the French-American Foundation in New York. She also co-authored an economic history textbook in French, and taught international economics in the People’s Republic of China.
Ms. Van Vliet was born and raised in Cannes, France, by American parents. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Bowdoin College, a master’s degree (diplôme) in International Relations from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), and an M.A from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University. She was also a Term Member with the Council on Foreign Relations from 2011 to 2016.
Phone: (216) 255-9004
E-mail: cvanvliet@ccwa.org
Jenni Carney
Jenni joined the Council in November 2012. As Director of Development and Marketing, Jenni brings in versatile experience in development, donor stewardship, events and database management. She is committed to strengthening and stewarding CCWA’s donor and member base, developing philanthropic strategies to secure stronger support for CCWA, and overseeing CCWA’s marketing strategy. Prior to joining the Council Jenni worked in various development roles at the Achievement Centers for Children, The Cleveland Orchestra and the American Red Cross. Jenni has a M.A. in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from Helsinki University. She is a native of Finland.
Phone: (216) 255-9005
E-mail: jcarney@ccwa.org
Amy Moniot
Amy Moniot joined the Cleveland Council on World Affairs as Manager of Programming in October 2021, and in this role she oversees the organization’s speaker forums, including the Foreign Policy Forum and Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations, and other programming. Amy has well over ten years of experience in international education programming, including Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Study Abroad, and International Student Support. Amy is passionate about access and inclusion of vulnerable international newcomers in higher education. She was selected by the State Department in 2019 as an English Fellow in Myanmar. She has also lived and worked in Mexico, Thailand, and Georgia, where she was a Peace Corps Volunteer. She holds a degree from The University of Akron (B.A.) and Cleveland State University (M.Ed.). A long-time CCWA Citizen Diplomat, she believes we all have contributions to make toward international understanding.
Email: amoniot@ccwa.org
Elizabeth Colvin
Elizabeth Colvin joined the Cleveland Council on World Affairs in June 2018. In her current role, Elizabeth is responsible for a cross-cultural communication training program, a globally-minded leadership development experience for young professionals, and professional development programming focused on supporting educators’ capabilities for teaching global issues. Prior to joining CCWA, Elizabeth worked as an elementary school English Language Arts teacher with Breakthrough Schools. Elizabeth also served as a 2015 Teach For America corps member. Elizabeth is a Georgetown University alumnus with a dual degree in Government (B.A.) and Art History (B.A.), and holds a M.S. in Education from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education.
Email: ecolvin@ccwa.org
Andrew Kovach
Andrew Kovach joined the Council in June 2015 and serves as Program Officer for the International Visitor Program. Andrew holds a M.A. of Global Interactions from Cleveland State University where he also completed his undergraduate degree in International Relations and Political Science. Andrew first joined the Council in 2015 as Development Assistant, and then assumed a role as International Visitor Program Associate, before being promoted to his current role as Program Officer. Previously, Andrew worked at CCWA as an International Visitors Leadership Program Intern, and a social media volunteer. His other professional experiences have focused on Cleveland’s refugee community through various roles at the International Services Center and Global Cleveland. Andrew is passionate about non-profits, foreign affairs, refugees, and his hometown Cleveland.
Phone: (216) 255-9008
E-mail: akovach@ccwa.org
Maria Garcia-Olalla
Maria Garcia-Olalla joined the Council in October 2021 and serves as Program Associate for International Exchanges. Maria is in the process of obtaining her M.A. in Non-profit Administration from John Carroll University where she also completed her undergraduate degree in International Relations and Political Science. From 2019-2020, Maria worked at CCWA as an International Visitors Fellow and interacted with young adults from Taiwan, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. A native of Spain, Maria has always had an interest in world cultures, but it was the fellowship experience at CCWA that truly ignited her passion for exchanges and helping people expand their global awareness.
Veronica Ruhe
Veronica Ruhe joined the Council in October 2021 and serves as Program Associate for Student Programs. She is responsible for ensuring the success of our Model UN program, building participation in our annual Academic WorldQuest competition, and engaging students in Junior World Affairs Councils (JWAC) in local middle and high schools. Veronica holds a M.A. in Gender Studies in the Middle East at University of London School of Oriental and African Studies and a B.A. in Political Science at Kent State University. Veronica was President of the Model NATO team at Kent State University. Veronica is passionate about giving students opportunities to lay the educational foundation for their own international studies, and sparking their interest in world affairs.
Email: vruhe@ccwa.org
Grace Blanchard
Grace Blanchard joined the Council in October 2021 as Office Coordinator. She is responsible for enhancing the Council’s efficiency and effectiveness by providing high-level administrative support and strengthening office operations. Prior to this, she worked as Development Coordinator for University Settlement. She is an alumna of John Carroll University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Political Science and Theology & Religious Studies. Grace has served as a social justice advocate in various capacities and worked to increase political engagement in the community. A Cleveland native, she is also passionate about human rights, diversity, and global affairs.
Email: gblanchard@ccwa.org