The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, an internationalist who sought to address the challenges posed by the growing economic and political interdependence between the U.S. and its allies in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. The leadership of the organization has since focused on returning to "our roots as a group of countries sharing common values and a commitment to the rule of law, open economies and societies, and democratic principles".
The George Washington University is a private federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress and is the first university founded under Washington, D.C.'s jurisdiction. It is one of the nation's six federally chartered universities.
Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli is an American political scientist who also served in the Department of State. In 2006, she was appointed as the first Ambassador for women's empowerment by the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as well as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State on United Nations Reform. She was sworn in as the First American Muslim Ambassador in July 1990. Dr. Tahir-Kheli was the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights and International Operations at the White House National Security Council, from 2003-2005. She has served three Republican presidential administrations since 1980.
Robert Dean Blackwill is a retired American diplomat, author, senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, and lobbyist. Blackwill served as the United States Ambassador to India under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003 and as United States National Security Council Deputy for Iraq from 2003 to 2004, where he was a liaison between Paul Bremer and Condoleezza Rice.
Husain Haqqani is a Pakistani journalist, academic, political activist, and former ambassador of Pakistan to Sri Lanka and the United States.
The Elliott School of International Affairs is the professional school of international relations, foreign policy, and international development of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. It is highly ranked in international affairs and is the largest school of international relations in the United States.
Frank Sesno is an American journalist, former CNN correspondent, anchor, and Washington bureau chief. He is also author, and former director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. Sesno is the creator and host of Planet Forward, a web-to-television show on PBS. Sesno is a professor of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University. Sesno assumed the Director's role at the School of Media and Public Affairs in September 2009 and stepped down from the role in June 2020. In 2020, Sesno announced he would serve as the school's director of strategic initiatives.
Vali Reza Nasr is an Iranian-American academic and author, specializing in the Middle East and the Islamic world. He is Majid Khaddouri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. He served as the eighth dean of the school from 2012 to 2019. Nasr is also a Non-Resident Fellow in South Asia at Atlantic Council and is described by The Economist as "a leading world authority on Shia Islam".
Karl Frederick Inderfurth is an American diplomat. He was the assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs from August 1997 to January 2001. In his capacity as assistant secretary, Inderfurth was responsible for US policy regarding Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Prior to his appointment as assistant secretary, Inderfurth served as the U.S. representative for special political affairs to the United Nations, with the rank of ambassador. In this capacity, he dealt with issues such as UN peacekeeping, disarmament, nuclear proliferation and security affairs. Inderfurth also served as deputy U.S. representative on the United Nations Security Council.
The World Affairs Council of Washington, DC, founded in 1980, was a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in Washington, DC. The group aimed at informing and educating the public about contemporary international affairs. Its corporate sponsors included Aramco Service Company, AIG, Raytheon, and ExxonMobil, and it relied primarily on dues from individual and corporate members. On December 31, 2018, after 38 years in the community, the World Affairs Council - Washington, DC ceased operations.
The School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, a school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism and political and international communication. The School's director is Frank Sesno, former CNN correspondent, creator of PBS's Planet Forward and professor.
Shamila N. Chaudhary is an American foreign policy expert and academic who is the Senior South Asia Fellow at New America and senior advisor to Dean Vali Nasr at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. She specializes in U.S. counterterrorism and national security issues, U.S.-Pakistan relations, Pakistan internal politics, and regional issues in South Asia.
Michael E. Brown is an American academic. He formerly served as Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs of the George Washington University, where he currently serves as Professor of International Affairs, Political Science, and Gender Studies.
Selig Seidenman Harrison was a scholar and journalist, who specialized in South Asia and East Asia. He was the Director of the Asia Program and a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, and a senior scholar of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He was also a member of the Afghanistan Study Group. He wrote five books on Asian affairs and U.S. relations with Asia. His last book, Korean Endgame: A Strategy for Reunification and U.S. Disengagement, won the 2002 award of the Association of American Publishers for the best Professional/Scholarly Book in Government and Political Science.
David Shambaugh is the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & International Affairs, and director of the China Policy Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington DC. He is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Reuben E. Brigety II is an American diplomat and academic who had served as the United States ambassador to South Africa. He was the vice-chancellor and president of the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee, from 2020 to 2021. Previously, Brigety served as dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. Prior to that, Brigety has served as United States ambassador to the African Union, as a deputy assistant secretary of state, and as permanent representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Elizabeth C. Economy is an American political scientist, foreign policy analyst, and expert on China's politics and foreign policy. She was a Senior Advisor for China to the Secretary of Commerce in the Biden administration and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
