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On Tuesday, February 15, the 2010 class of American Marshall Memorial Fellows (MMF) in southern California, in conjunction with the Southern California Leadership Network, hosted a welcome reception for the 2011 class of Marshall Memorial Fellows.   The Honorable Wolfgang Drautz, German Consul General in Los Angeles, delivered keynote remarks for the evening.  The evening also served as an opportunity for German Marshall Fund (GMF) trustee and MMF alumna Nike Irvin to thank the German government for its generous support of GMF’s programming as well as to welcome Linda Griego, president and CEO of the Los Angeles-based Griego Enterprises, Inc, to the GMF Board of Trustees.

GMF Trustee and MMF alumna Nike Irvin with German Consul General Wolfgang Drautz. Photo by Alex Pampalone

Consul General Drautz enthusiastically stated that “AMMFs are the champions of transatlantic relations!”  His remarks highlighted the areas of overlapping interest between Germany and the United States, including the high amount of commerce and job creation supported by American and European multinational corporations, international intellectual property protections, and the harmonization global agriculture subsidy policy.  In addition, he cited statistics showing that European foreign direct investment (FDI) is higher in California alone than all of China; an estimated 340,000 jobs in California are a direct result of European FDI.  In spite of this close economic partnership, the consul general noted that US-German relations do have cultural and social challenges to overcome, saying “…in light of the reduced American G.I. presence in Germany, it has become more difficult to retain strong cultural ties between the United States and Germany, so more must be done to promote exchange between students and members of the media to maintain important relationships between our two countries.”

Southern California is a key city within the Marshall Memorial Fellowship program.  The region is home to more than 40 Marshall Memorial Fellowship alumni, all of whom have spent 24 days traveling in Europe to learn about the transatlantic relationship and to build professional networks.  In addition, nearly 200 European Marshall Memorial Fellows have visited southern California in the last ten years alone.   The region’s MMF alumni hosted the Marshall Forum on Transatlantic Affairs in Los Angeles in September 2008.  Please click here for a summary of the event.

Class of 2011 honorees at the dinner included Gilbert V. Gonzales, senior director of the office of economic and business policy for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Sam Morrissey, principal transportation engineer for the city of Santa Monica; David Roberts, associate director of local government relations for the University of Southern California; and Ref Rodriguez, president and CEO of Partners for Developing Futures.

Class of 2010 hosts for the evening included Marcus Castain, founder and CEO of

MMF alumnus Marcus Castain served as emcee for the evening. Photo by Alex Pampalone

Infrastructure Academy; Colleen Haggerty, senior vice president for media relations at the Bank of America; Alma Vivian Marquez, community engagement officer for Del Sol Group; and Angela Reddock, attorney and managing partner at Reddock, Wells & Griggs, LLP.

Other MMF alumni participating in the dinner were Kevin Cottrell, vice president for leadership programs for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; Camilla Eng, general counsel at JM Eagle; Kim Freeman, regional director of community partnerships for Sempra Energy; Jamie Hilao, director of digital media for Fox Network Groups; Nike Irvin, principal of Consulting by Nike Irvin; Norberta Noguera, assistant vice president for operations of the Customer Service Design Center at AT&T; and Lucy Okumu, senior strategist at Strategic Counsel PLC.  The event was held at a local German biergarten, The Red Lion.   

GMF would like to thank the Southern California Leadership Network, the MMF regional selection and coordination partner, and in particular Kevin Cottrell and Alex Pampalone, as well as the German Consulate General for the organization of this timely transatlantic event.  In addition, GMF would like to acknowledge the numerous MMF alumni participants, including GMF Trustee Nike Irvin.

MMF alumni with German Consul General Wolfgang Drautz. Photo by Alex Pampalone