RCA's Staci Lynch Selected for Fellowship

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 Contact: Emily Robichaux 202/683-2654

 GMF selects 53 American Marshall Memorial Fellows for 2009

  Washington, D.C. — The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) announced today that 53 emerging American leaders representing 15 states and the District of Columbia have been awarded the prestigious Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF) for 2009.  During the 24-day traveling program, fellows will develop extensive knowledge of political, economic, and social institutions and issues facing the United States and Europe. 

  “The selection of this year’s Marshall Memorial Fellows comes at a particularly auspicious time in the transatlantic relationship,” said Craig Kennedy, GMF’s President.  “This year we are especially happy to welcome a strong contingent of American fellows from the private sector.  And work by our Belgrade office is helping send American fellows to new countries in the Western Balkans in 2009.”

  The MMF Program educates the next generation of American and European leaders on the importance of the transatlantic relationship and encourages them to work with each other on a range of international and domestic policy challenges.  Fellows are selected through competitive nationwide and regional processes and come from politics, government, media, business, and the non-profit sector. American fellows spend 24 days traveling to five cities across Europe, learning about the institutions and people that drive Europe’s cities, regions, countries, and multilateral systems through meetings with local counterparts.

  The program began in 1982, when the inaugural group of German MMFs visited the United States.  Now entering its 27th year, the program currently includes fellows from 22 European countries and the United States.  GMF and its partner institutions have been instrumental in developing and maintaining a vital network on both sides of the Atlantic committed to transatlantic relations.

  GMF works with partners across the United States to identify and select the American Marshall Memorial Fellows.  Partners include the Cleveland Foundation, the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington, the Citizens League of Minnesota, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, the International Affairs Council of North Carolina, the Institute for Public Policy Studies at the University of Denver, and the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta.  National partners include the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the Council of State Governments, and the National League of Cities.

  Also in 2009, MMF alumni in the Washington, DC area will lead the coordination of the annual Marshall Forum on Transatlantic Affairs. This conference, to be held in May, is a gathering of MMF alumni from the United States and Europe to discuss current events affecting the transatlantic relationship. Alumni of the MMF program are a vital component of the program’s success. In 2008, American alumni helped coordinate programs for their counterpart group of European fellows, organize selection processes around the United States, and manage the 2008 Marshall Forum in Los Angeles, CA.*** 

  The Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF) was created by the German Marshall Fund in 1982 to introduce a new generation of European leaders to America’s institutions, politics, and people.   In 1999, GMF launched a companion program to expose future U.S. leaders to a changing and expanding Europe.   The program attracts the best and brightest from all sectors, including politics, media, business, and nongovernmental organizations.  Fellows come from across the United States and from 22 European countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, and Turkey).  GMF works closely with partners in more than 60 cities on both sides of the Atlantic to make the MMF program possible. 

  The German Marshall Fund of the United States (www.gmfus.org) is a nonpartisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting greater cooperation and understanding between the United States and Europe. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to the Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has seven offices in Europe: Berlin, Bratislava, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest.  ###   


 2009 American Marshall Memorial Fellows 

 Alabama

Mr. Adam Snyder, Conservation Alabama

 Arizona

Ms. Diandra Benally, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation

 California

Mr. Troy Brashear, U.S. Air ForceMr.

Mike Fernandez, BTI Group

Mr. Raymon Hales, Intel Corporation

Ms. Jamie Hilao, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Ms. Dena Montague, University of California, Los Angeles

Ms. Lucy Okumu, Strategic Counsel PLC

 Colorado

Mr. Jeb Freeman, Clear Channel

Mr. Franciso Gonima, Topline Associates, Inc.

Ms. Christine Staberg, The Capstone Group, LLC

Ms. Jamie Torres, Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations 

Washington, DC Region

Ms. Abby Benson, U.S. Coast GuardMs.

Lisa Epifani, U.S. Department of Energy

Ms. Dora Hughes, Office of Senator Barack Obama

Mr. Lonnie McAllister, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Mr. Daniel Prieto, IBM Global Leadership Initiative 

Florida

Ms. Wendi Adelson, Center for the Advancement of Human Rights

Georgia

Ms. Melissa Carter, Office of the Child Advocate, State of Georgia

Dr. Jamila Davison, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Mr. Charlie Henn, Kilpatrick Stockton

Mrs. Staci W. Lynch, The Ron Clark Academy

Illinois

Ms. Mara Sovey, Deere and Company

Mr. Richard Rodriguez, City of Chicago

Mr. Matthew Summy, Office of the Governor, State of Illinois

Mr. Barton Taylor, Chicago Public Schools  
 

Minnesota

Ms. Chas Anderson, Minnesota Department of Education

Ms. Amalia Anderson-Deloney, Main Street Project

Ms. Brenda Elmer, Office of Senator Norm Coleman

Rep. Tony Sertich, Minnesota House of Representatives

Mr. Bjorn Skogquist, Anoka Technical College

New York

Dr. Chandak Ghosh, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Mr. Marc Alessi, New York State Assembly 

North Carolina

Ms. Jennifer Algire, Community Health Services of Mecklenburg County

Mr. Kevin Hicks, RBC Bank USA

Mr. David Howard, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership

Mr. Brooks Raiford, Balfour Beatty Construction 

Ohio

Mr. Michael DeAloia, FIT Technologies

Mr. James DeRosa, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Ms. Sonya Pryor-Jones, Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM

Ms. Francis Valencheck, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Mr. Chad Readler, Jones Day

Mr. Michael Dovilla, The Dovilla Group 

Oregon

Mr. James Honey, Sustainable Northwest

Mr. Edmund Sherman, National Indian Child Welfare Association 

Tennesee

Mr. Jeff Cannon, green|spaces

Mr. Josh McManus, CreateHere 

Texas

Ms. Natalie Jenkins, Employees’ Retirement Fund, City of Dallas

Mr. Paul Schulze, Hunt Consolidated

Mr. Daniel Smith, Perot Systems Corporation

Mr. Scott Sullivan, Flowserve Corporation 

Washington

Ms. Autumn Lerner, World Affairs Council of Seattle

Ms. Vanessa Power, Stoel Rives