WASHINGTON (Aug. 9, 2011) -- The German Marshall Fund (GMF) announces today the hiring of Kevin Cottrell as its new Director of Transatlantic Leadership Initiatives.  Cottrell, a 2008 participant in GMF’s Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF) program, comes to GMF from Los Angeles, where he currently serves as Executive Director of the Southern California Leadership Network (SCLN) and Vice President of Leadership Programs for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.Cottrell will be assuming a new position at GMF that will oversee all of GMF’s leadership and networking programs, including the MMF Program and the Manfred Wörner Seminar.

“Leadership development has long been a core component of GMF’s programming,” said GMF President Craig Kennedy. “Kevin’s experience in this type of programming and first-hand knowledge of GMF and our networks will be tremendous assets to us. We look forward to his ideas, energy, and leadership in making our leadership development programs stronger and more connected with the transatlantic relationship.”

Under Cottrell’s leadership, SCLN grew in programs and participants, including California Connections, a first-of-its-kind statewide, issues-based leadership development program that facilitates much-needed civic engagement and building of new relationships among leaders from greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Central California, and the San Diego border region to help propel California in a positive direction. He also led the development of Global Connections and the New American Leaders Fellowship, programs that explore Southern California’s immigrant community resources and global competitiveness.

Over his career, Cottrell has held leadership positions in the nonprofit sector and academia, including LEAD San Diego, University of California San Diego, and San Diego State University. Cottrell is a past recipient of the Senator Margaret Chase Smith Fellowship in public policy and a visiting scholar at Universidad de las Américas in Mexico City.

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting better understanding and cooperation between North America and Europe on transatlantic and global issues. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship.

In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has seven offices in Europe: Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, Bucharest, and Warsaw. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm.