The 2022 Board of Directors
Rob Fenstermacher, Bosch XVI, Co-President
New York, NYExperience
Rob Fenstermacher, the Chief Content Officer of the American Council on Germany in New York, helps direct the operations of the ACG’s programmatic activities on transatlantic political, economic, environmental and other social issues which include study tours, Eric M. Warburg Chapters (21 throughout the United States), policy conferences and discussions, and new programming for the next generation of transatlanticists. He was formerly CEO of Cultural Vistas (and before that, CDS International) for 14 years, the implementing partner in the United States of the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. As a Robert Bosch Fellow in 1999-2000, Rob completed professional assignments at the German Ministry of Education and at DaimlerChrysler AG, examining workforce training and skills development in Germany and Europe. Rob has a strong understanding of how the program has evolved over time, was engaged in the Fellowship Program selection for fourteen years, and maintains strong relationships with all the stakeholders involved in the program. His interest in German-American affairs dates back to his experience as a high school exchange student with AFS Intercultural Programs in West Berlin in 1987. Rob studied twice at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and spent a year working with the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Berlin.
Tony Ganzer, Bosch XXVI, Co-President
Cleveland, OHExperience
Tony Ganzer has been a writer, award-winning journalist, podcaster, and international communications professional for nearly 20 years working in the U.S. and Europe. He is an alumnus from Bosch XXVI (09/10), which laid the groundwork for his job as a correspondent with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation in Zurich from 2010-2013 where he covered Swiss banking, Parliament, refugees, the WEF meeting in Davos, and more. In January 2022, he began a global content leadership role with EY (Ernst & Young). He previously served as the afternoon host for the NPR station in Cleveland, with past journalism work published by, among others, NPR, the BBC, PRI, Deutsche Welle, and Swissinfo. Tony is a past recipient of the Arthur F. Burns fellowship from the International Center for Journalists, working with Deutsche Welle in Bonn. He was also named a NextGen Leader from the German Marshall Fund, and selected to attend the Young Professionals Summit of Brussels Forum. Since his Bosch year, German language and culture have remained integral parts of Tony’s family life, just as German bread remains part of his baking repertoire. As RBFAA Co-President, Tony looks forward to continuing to work to connect the membership with opportunities and with each other.
Melissa Yeager, Bosch XXXIV, Secretary
Phoenix, AZExperience
Melissa Yeager recently became the Senior News Editor for Lonely Planet, a position responsible for developing the trusted guidebook’s digital site into an online destination for global travel news during a turbulent time in international travel. She’s also an adjunct professor teaching multimedia journalism at Arizona State University and a volunteer mentor with Free Arts Arizona, an organization that provides art therapy and mentorship for kids who have experienced trauma. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast News from the University of Kansas’ William Allen White School of Journalism and a Master’s in International Media, a dual degree from the School of Communication and School of International Service at American University.
Justin S. Hepworth, Bosch XXXIV, Treasurer
St. George, UTExperience
Justin S. Hepworth is an attorney that defends international pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and chemical companies in high-stakes product liability, mass tort and personal injury litigation. He also regularly represents insurance companies in disputes involving coverage and bad faith claims. Justin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science after completing internships with the Utah Governor’s Office, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the United States Department of State in Leipzig, Germany. He received his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. As part of the Bosch XXXIV cohort, Justin completed stages (1) helping migrants prepare for employment with multinational corporations and (2) working for the State Development Corporation of Thuringia on trade and investment issues. While Justin will need to dust off old skills learned while working as a detail analyst at JCPenney’s accounting center and while managing finances for over 200 service missionaries in Germany in 1998, he looks forward to assisting the alumni association as Treasurer while it navigates a new course.
Brittany Ford, Bosch XXXVII, At-large Board Member
Toledo, OHExperience
Brittany Ford is a non-profit and government professional with expertise in immigrant and refugee integration, policy analysis, and workforce development. She is currently a consultant for national non-profit organizations and state and local governments on issues including language access, program development, and strategic communications. In her previous role with Lucas County, Ohio, she helped found and lead the nationally-recognized Welcome Toledo-Lucas County (TLC) initiative, a regional cross-sector effort to build a welcoming and inclusive community for immigrants and refugees. Brittany is a Bosch XXXVII alumni and has a Master of Arts in International Educational Development from Teachers College at Columbia University.
Michael Brown, Bosch XXXVI, At-large Board Member
Birmingham, ALExperience
An urban planner and designer, Michael Brown produces comprehensive land use plans, zoning laws and administers land use policies and development regulations. As a Bosch Fellow, Michael researched best practices in creating science-based land use policies and development regulations for climate adaptation and mitigation. His work placements were with the Institute of Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam and the Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik in Berlin. Michael is currently a principal planner with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) in Chicago, IL. Certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners, he is also immediate past president of the American Planning Association- National Capital Chapter with active memberships in the Urban Land Institute and Lambda Alpha International. He was recently appointed to the advisory committee for the Urban Studies and Planning Program at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Kyle Cline, Bosch XXIX, At-large Board Member
Indianapolis, INExperience
Kyle Cline currently serves as National Director of Strategic Partnerships at the National Association of Counties (NACo). His work focuses on the development and implementation of strategic partnerships and programs that help strengthen the nation’s 3,069 county governments and their communities, primarily in the areas of financial services and technology. Before joining NACo, Kyle was head of federal government relations for the Indiana Farm Bureau in Indianapolis, where he represented and advocated for 70,000 farmer members and their families in Washington, DC on all agricultural policy issues including trade, energy and immigration. Kyle was awarded the Robert Bosch Fellowship in 2012-2013, during which he completed stages with Climate-KIC and Ecologic Institute focusing on public-private partnership development in the areas of climate technologies, sustainable transportation, and cooperative ownership of renewable energy.
Michelle Fanzo, Bosch XIV, At-large Board Member
Pittsburgh, PAExperience
Michelle Fanzo currently serves as the Executive Director of AIA Pittsburgh, the western PA chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Architecture Foundation, which addresses community challenges in the built environment, like affordable housing, and supports public interest design. She has 18 years of experience in public policy and international affairs, mostly at the UN, including as a speechwriter in the Office of the Secretary-General under Kofi Annan, a policy specialist in the Department of Peacekeeping, and international development postings in Asia and Africa. She was also a fellow at the World Policy Institute. Michelle has served on a number of non-profit Boards, including the RBFAA 10 years ago, a health NGO in Nepal, and most recently as the Board President of The Global Switchboard, bridging local and global issues.
Harrison Grafos, Bosch XXX, At-large Board Member
Washington, DCExperience
Harrison Grafos, Ph.D., is a Foreign Agricultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. He previously worked as a program examiner at the White House Office of Management and Budget and as a trade policy analyst in World Trade Organization and multilateral affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He began his federal career at the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, before being named a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. From 2013 to 2014, Harrison was a Bosch Fellow (Class XXX) in Germany’s Bundestag and Federal Foreign Office. He earned a PhD (University of Pittsburgh) in international affairs, a MPA (New York University) in public policy, and a BA (Whitman College) in politics. His dissertation research on comparative public management was recognized with fellowship awards from, among others, the Fulbright Commission, the German Academic Exchange Service, and the Daimler and Benz Foundation. He is currently based in Washington, DC, where he is active in his neighborhood’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission and has served on the RBFAA Board for three terms.
Deeneaus "D" Polk, Bosch XXXVII, At-large Board Member
Berlin, GermanyExperience
Deeneaus “D” Polk has a varied experience within the political, workforce development, and public policy realm. He is currently building 3LEVATE, a workforce, economic, and community development organization helping to build capacity throughout the U.S. South, starting in his home state of Mississippi. Prior to Bosch, he completed his Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Presidential Scholar, Cheng Fellow, and Co-Chair of the German American Conference. He helped found and served as Director of the Mississippi Apprenticeship Program, a collaborative apprenticeship program styled after Germany’s Vocational Education Training system. D is a proud graduate of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and the University of Mississippi.
Elizabeth Ossowski, Bosch XXXII, At-Large Board Member
Denver, COExperience
Elizabeth Ossowski currently serves as a Program Coordinator for NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), where she manages a team of contractors through NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) with CU-Boulder to improve the collection and delivery of drought early warning information across the country. In 2015 and 2016, she served as a Robert Bosch Fellow with adephi in Berlin, Germany, conducting research on climate risk insurance, environmental conflict and state fragility, and the Water-Energy-Food nexus. Prior to NOAA and the Bosch Fellowship, she worked in Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and within the Immediate Office of the Secretary at the Department of the Interior. From 2010-2013, she served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Presidential Correspondence at the White House. She also worked on Capitol Hill as an aide in President Obama’s former Senate office.
Christina Peters, Bosch XII, At-Large Board Member
Philadelphia, PAExperience
Christina Peters has served on the RBFAA board as a Director-at-Large since 2019. A graduate of Harvard Law School, Christina practiced law for over 25 years. She spent most of her career at IBM, working internationally in the technology sector. Her practice areas included in contract negotiation; litigation, arbitration and mediation; software development and licensing, and cybersecurity, privacy (including as IBM’s Chief Privacy Officer) and AI including policy and government relations. Prior to joining IBM, she was a Robert Bosch Fellow in Germany, where she worked at the Federal Cartel Authority and Deutsche Telekom. Recently retired, she now also serves on the board of Radnor Conservancy in suburban Philadelphia.
Emily Schultheis, Bosch XXXIV, At-large Board Member
Vienna, AustriaExperience
Emily Schultheis is a freelance journalist in Vienna, where she writes about German and Austrian politics and the rise of the populist far right in Europe. Her reporting on Germany and Europe has appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Slate, Politico Europe, CNN Opinion, and others. She came to Berlin as a member of the Bosch XXXIV cohort in 2017, doing work placements with Politico Europe and Der Tagesspiegel. Before her Bosch year, Emily covered U.S. politics as a staff writer for Politico, National Journal and CBS News in Washington, D.C. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English literature, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Nationalism Studies at Central European University in Vienna.