Dr. Helena Kane Finn, Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the United States Embassy in Berlin, to Join the ACG

An Announcement from William M. Drozdiak, President of the American Council on Germany

I am delighted to announce that Dr. Helena Kane Finn, Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs at the United States Embassy in Berlin, will join the staff of the American Council on Germany in September 2010 as Vice President and Director of Programs, replacing Steve Sokol.

As many of you know, Steve informed us recently that he will be leaving the ACG at the end of June after more than seven years of outstanding service to become President and CEO of the World Affairs Council in Pittsburgh. We will miss Steve’s diligence, intelligence, and dedication in building up the high quality of the ACG’s programs, but we realize this is a great opportunity for him to broaden his horizons. We wish him Godspeed in his new career venture and look forward to continue working with him through our Warburg Chapter there headed by Dave Murdoch.

Despite our regret at losing Steve, we are confident that we have found a worthy successor in Helena Kane Finn. A career diplomat at the Department of State, Helena brings a bountiful array of contacts, wisdom, experience, and enthusiasm to the ACG’s work and will contribute greatly to our core mission of enhancing cooperation and understanding between the United States, Germany, and the rest of Europe.

In her current position in Berlin, Helena serves as chairperson of the German-American Fulbright academic exchange program, the largest in the world. She also chairs the RIAS journalism exchange and organizes lecture tours in Germany by more than one hundred American experts a year in the fields of security, economics, climate change, immigration, and American politics and society. She coordinates many other events in Germany, including conferences on the 2008 American elections and the embassy’s participation in the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Previously, Helena worked as counselor for public affairs at U.S. embassies in Vienna (1995-1997), in Ankara (1997-2000), and in Tel Aviv (2003-2007). As acting Assistant Secretary of State for the department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (2000-2002) Helena was responsible for its worldwide academic, professional, and youth exchange programs. She has been desk officer for Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, and served two tours in Pakistan, at the embassy in Islamabad and the consulate general in Lahore. She has written frequently on public diplomacy and foreign policy issues, and during her time in Germany actively participated in panel discussions and conferences held at various universities and think tanks.

Before joining the diplomatic service, Helena was an Assistant Professor at Bogazici University in Istanbul. She earned her BA and PhD from St. John’s University in British and American literature, and pursued post-doctoral studies at Princeton University in comparative literature. She is married to Robert P. Finn, former U.S. Ambassador to Kabul (2002-2003) and Tajikistan (1998-2001). He now teaches in the Liechtenstein Institute at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University. Their son Edward is completing his doctoral studies at Stanford University in American literature and computer science. Edward’s wife, Anna Humphreys Finn, is a graduate of Stanford Law School who is currently serving a federal clerkship in Phoenix, Arizona.

Please join me in welcoming Helena and her family to our organization. She will be a wonderful colleague and a valuable addition to our highly productive and motivated staff.

Best regards,
William M. Drozdiak

Steven E. Sokol Named Head of World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh
Steven E. Sokol, who has served as Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany since 2002, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, effective in June.

“Steve has done an exemplary job during his seven and a half years at the ACG, and we wish him well in his new capacity,” ACG President William M. Drozdiak said. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh on quality programming for the ACG’s Pittsburgh Eric M. Warburg Chapter.” 

In his new position, Mr. Sokol will oversee all operations at the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, including the development and implementation of some 175 programs that reach more than 17,000 people annually. The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh seeks to foster informed, independent, and critical thinking about important global issues as they affect the nation, the region, and Pittsburgh through these programs and through a weekly radio show and various webcasts. 

Until taking the helm at the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, Mr. Sokol will continue to oversee policy programming in New York as well as the ACG’s 19 Eric M. Warburg Chapters across the United States and manage the Young Leaders Study Group on the Future of Europe, which brings together young professionals from eastern and western Europe and the United States for a series of meetings on both sides of the Atlantic.

“As someone who has spent half his life in Europe and half in the United States, it has been a wonderful opportunity to work for an organization which was created over 50 years ago to promote greater cooperation and deeper understanding across the Atlantic on a range of policy issues,” Mr. Sokol said. He added that he will miss the German and European focus he has honed during his career, but that he is excited to “tackle new regions and issues” in his new capacity.

In addition to his work at the ACG, Mr. Sokol launched the Political Salon to bring together mid-career professionals in New York City to discuss pressing foreign policy issues and global concerns. Prior to joining the ACG, Mr. Sokol was Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin. He has also worked for a nonprofit consulting company and as a Program Officer at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

At the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, Mr. Sokol will work closely with the Council’s Board and staff to engage and inform decision-makers and opinion leaders as well as the successor generation about the importance of global affairs, with a focus on issues of relevance for the Pittsburgh community.

Mr. Sokol is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Law and Policy at Northeastern University and holds an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. Mr. Sokol has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin.

Founded in 1931, the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh encourages informed discussion of world affairs, demonstrating the growing connections between Western Pennsylvania and the rest of the world. The Council is a national leader in its extensive work with secondary school students and teachers throughout the region. The Council is a member of the World Affairs Councils of America, the largest grassroots foreign policy organization in the United States. For more information about the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, please visit www.worldaffairspittsburgh.org.