For more than seven decades, the San Diego World Affairs Council has brought ambassadors, scholars, and practitioners into rooms where San Diegans could ask the questions that don’t fit on cable news.
Mission & Vision
The San Diego World Affairs Council is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to educating and engaging San Diegans on global issues, foreign policy, international relations, and cross-cultural opportunities and challenges.
We sponsor events with international themes, host prominent speakers, and facilitate discussions on global issues. We encourage all members of the community to join us for thought-provoking conversations on the most timely topics of the day — here at home and around the world.
In an age of globalization and a rapidly shifting international order, we believe that our mission is more vital than ever.
Our Vision
Seven decades
SDWAC was founded the year that Brown v. Board was decided, the year Diên Biên Phú fell, and the year the U.S. Senate finally censured Joseph McCarthy. We have been in continuous operation, through every administration since, asking San Diego to look outward.
Leadership
A volunteer board drawn from San Diego’s civic, business, academic, and diplomatic community. The Council is entirely volunteer-run.
President
Long active in San Diego’s international civil society community, David previously served as President of SDWAC from 2013–2016. Principal at Core Global Advisory, focused on energy, commodities, political risk, and supply chains. Former President of San Diego International Sister Cities Association and the San Diego–Vladivostok Sister City Society. Has lectured for more than thirty years on energy, finance, and geopolitics.
Vice President
Founder of Bright Light Volunteers, a nonprofit global service-learning organization focused on fostering global citizenship through service, education, and cross-cultural engagement. Magna Cum Laude graduate of Southern Methodist University with a degree in International Studies and a minor in Cultural Anthropology. Holds a Master of Science in Humanitarian Action from the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego. Additionally serves as Treasurer and Board member of the United Nations Association of San Diego (UNASD). Her motto: “Learn, Serve, Lead, Repeat.”
Chief Financial Officer · Finance Chair
Former CEO of Icon Systems with extensive experience in management and finance. Chairs the SDWAC Finance Committee.
Secretary
CDBG-DR Construction Management SME at ICF. Board Secretary, with responsibility for governance documentation and Council records.
Immediate Past President
Former Foreign Service Officer with USAID for twenty-seven years. Continues to serve on the Board after completing her term as President.
Board Member
Business transaction lawyer for fifty-three years in San Diego at Gray Cary Ames & Frye, later DLA Piper (1968–2022). UCLA Law. Has traveled in more than 100 countries. Also on the Advisory Board of the San Diego Diplomacy Council.
Board Member
Event producer, consultant, and entrepreneur. Founded The Humanitarian Project in 2014 to channel events expertise toward civic and humanitarian causes.
Board Member
Adjunct faculty at the University of San Diego in the Department of Political Science and International Relations. Part-time lecturer at San Diego State University and San Diego Miramar College.
Board Member
Former Community Sponsorship Manager with the International Rescue Committee. Brings refugee-resettlement and community-engagement experience to the Council’s programming.
Board Member
Retired corporate executive with current ventures in renewable energy.
Board Member
MBA, Boston University. Consultant and founder of Spanish Tertulia, a Spanish-language conversation circle.
Board Member
President of Business Location Dynamics LLC, advising firms on site selection and regional economic strategy.
Board Member
Human Resources professional. Master’s Degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University.
Board Member
Executive Director for Classics 4 Kids, a San Diego nonprofit bringing classical music education to children across the region.
Board Member
Professor and former Navy officer. Long-time contributor to the Council’s academic programming.
Board Member
Retired FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst and former Navy officer (twenty years). Brings national-security perspective to the board.
President, North County Chapter
Leads the Council’s North County Chapter, which maintains its own programming calendar serving North San Diego County.
Distinguished service
Members recognized for sustained contribution to the international affairs community.
Senior career civil servant of the Government of India, serving with the Indian Police Service. Holds a Masters in International Affairs and an MBA, with twenty-three years of service including assignments with the United Nations and other foreign postings. Recipient of the United Nations Peace Medal and a U.S. Congressional Special Recognition. The Mayor of San Diego proclaimed July 20, 2015 as “Manish S. Sharma Day.”
Professor of Economics and Asian Studies Emeritus at San Diego State University. Recipient of a record five Fulbright Awards, with visiting appointments at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, the National Institute of Bank Management Poona, and Harvard’s Fulbright Teaching Program in Ho Chi Minh City. Has delivered more than 150 lectures across many countries and is an invited contributor of more than sixty articles to publications including The Hindu and the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Thirty-three years in the Foreign Service: U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Chief of Mission in Kosovo, Deputy Chief of Mission in Egypt. Founded the Center for Environment and National Security at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Twice awarded the Presidential Meritorious Service Award.
The next generation
Interns are a meaningful part of how the Council actually runs. Five tracks, rolling year-round — the people below are the active cohort.
Campus Liaison · UCSD
Bridges SDWAC programming with UC San Diego student organizations and faculty. Coordinates campus outreach and helps recruit attendees and prospective members from the UCSD community.
Director of Youth Engagement & Young Professionals Outreach
Matthew leads SDWAC’s Young Professionals program, connecting San Diego’s young professionals interested in international affairs, policy, and bi-national relations. Driven by a passion for geopolitics, he has fostered meaningful engagement in global diplomacy through collaboration with international delegations and organizations. Matthew holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from UC Davis and a master’s degree in International Affairs from UC San Diego.
Outreach · Track 03
Apply at get-involved / internships — résumé, cover letter, writing sample.
Communications · Track 04
Apply at get-involved / internships — résumé, cover letter, writing sample.
Affiliations & partners
A network of national, academic, and civic partners across the region.
Join the conversation
Council members receive every program invitation the moment it’s announced, reserve seats at the front of the room, and pay member rates on ticketed events. Or get in touch — we read every note.
