Ron Bee (IV) contributed the article, “Nuclear Negotiations: Back to the Future?” to the 2019 Great Decisions Volume of the Foreign Policy Association. This briefing book gets distributed to all world affairs councils across the country and to interested citizens. Ron also directs the Hansen Summer Institute on Leadership and International Cooperation, based at the University of San Diego. The Institute, now in its tenth year, was awarded as one of the top ten international summer fellowships in the United States for the second year in a row by ProFellow.
Sarah Kimmerle (XXXIII) is now working as a fundraiser at the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten.
Christina Tsafoulias (XXX) started a new job as Legislative Director for freshman Congressman David Trone (D-MD) in January. She feels very lucky to serve as the Congressman’s chief policy advisor and to have responsibility for his work as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Working for a new Member of Congress has been quite a challenge, and Christina would especially like to thank her fellow RBFAA Co-President Cristina Gonzalez (Bosch XXXII) for her steady leadership during this period of transition.
Madeleine Schwartz’s (XXXIV) writing on transatlanticism has been shortlisted for the 2019 European Press Prize.
Elizabath Johnson (XXX) started a new job at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as Director for Europe. In this capacity she will be supporting the lead negotiator in formulating and maintaining US trade policy with the European Union, taking the lead on Germany, Austria and the Baltic states.
Markos Kounalakis’s (V) latest book, “Spin Wars & Spy Games: Global Media and Intelligence Gathering” continues to go strong, with an eclectic book tour that of late has included the University of Oregon, University of Southern California, University of California, Berkeley, and a handful of Washington, DC venues. In the meantime, his weekly McClatchy foreign affairs column continues to run in 29 newspapers nationwide including the Miami Herald, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Kansas City Star, Charlottesville Observer, and Sacramento Bee. You may subscribe to his quarterly newsletter at MarkosKounalakis.com. He has also fully taken on the role of California’s Second Partner following his wife Eleni’s January 7th swearing-in as Lt. Governor.
The German-language edition of Peter Laufer’s (V) book, Dreaming in Turtle: A Journey Through the Passion, Profit, and Peril of Our Most Coveted Prehistoric Creatures has been published by Terra Mater. Terra Mater magazine also rececntly published an excerpt of Peter’s upcoming book, Up Against the Wall in German.
Emily Schultheis (XXXIV) has been appointed a 2019-2021 fellow in Germany with the Institute of Current World Affairs, where she’ll continue to focus my reporting on the rise of right-wing populism in the region.
The exhibition used different artistic approaches to give voice to people who have been uprooted from their homes. In the January 24th opening reception we heard from several of the artists: some refugees themselves, others had worked with refugees fleeing dire situations. For the January 25th Symposium there were two panels: one of professionals who work in refugee resettlement, the other made up of some of the artists, who discussed their work, and art as a medium for expression of trauma. The exhibition and events shared the lives of those in some of the worst circumstances of the modern world.
Cristina Gonzalez (XXXII) recently launched a podcast series for POLITICO Europe. The XX Factor is about women, power and the upcoming EU election. She’s also finishing her thesis on the European Commission’s approach to fake news and disinformation.
Dr. Robert J. Devine (Bosch III) was exalted to the rank of Knight Commander in the Order of Rizal by Supreme Commander, Sir Reynato S. Puno, Sr. KGCR. The Order of the Knights of Rizal is the sole order of knighthood in the Philippines. The Order was created to honor and uphold the ideals of Philippine national hero José Rizal. Its ranks and insignia are recognized in the Honors Code of the Philippines as official awards of the Republic and is the Eighth Class Rank in the order of precedence of civilian decorations of the orders, decorations and medals of the Philippines. The Order was established in 1911 by Colonel Antonio C. Torres, who later served as the first Filipino chief of police of Manila. The Order was granted a legislative charter by President Elpidio Quirino as a non-sectarian, non-partisan, non-racial, civic, patriotic, and cultural organization under Republic Act 646 on June 14, 1951. The Order’s insignia has since been approved to be worn by the Philippine diplomatic corps. Some notable members of the Order have included Dr. Henry Kissinger and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Dr. José Rizal was fluent in German and had very close ties to Germany. He completed his ophthalmological specialization at the University of Heidelberg under the tutelage of renowned professor Otto Becker. In Berlin, he was inducted as a member of the Berlin Ethnological Society and the Berlin Anthropological Society under the patronage of the famous pathologist Rudolf Virchow. Following custom, he delivered an address in German in April 1887 before the Anthropological Society on the orthography and structure of the Tagalog language. Robert has been appointed the Commander of a new Chapter of the Order of Rizal in Dallas, Texas. In other news, Robert was inducted into the Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club in Dublin, the National Society of Americans of Royal Descent, the Scottish Arts Club in Edinburgh and the Colonial Society of Pennsylvania.
Emily Olman (Bosch XXV) This summer marks five years since Emily and her family moved back from Berlin to test out living in the US again, and slowly but surely have adjusted to life in California. Their oldest child Talea, born in Berlin, will turn nine in May and their son Bennett, also born in Berlin, has just turned five. Both kids will attend the German immersion summer camp in Berkeley again this year and they get a lot of „Nein, Mama“ around the house. Jason is working at the California Jazz Conservatory as an Associate Professor, teaching music composition and a few other courses. He is also teaching a class at the East Bay German International School (EBGIS) this semester – teaching Ableton to the middle school students (DJs in training!). Emily is keeping very busy still running my company Hopscotch Interactive, but has also co-founded a new start-up called Spatial First, Inc. which is building a leasing tool for commercial real estate using augmented reality and spatial computing. They are working out of the Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, which is a great resource at this early stage. You can see what they are up to at www.spatialfirst.com.
Vox Media has acquired publisher and producer Epic Magazine, where Bosch Alum Melis Tusiray (Bosch XXVIII) is Chief of Staff. Melis is being promoted to Chief of Staff and Head of Operations, Epic as part of the transition.