John Sitilides

An advisor to political leaders and business executives and a media commentator on current and global affairs who enlightens audiences on the headlines from Washington and around the world

Travels From:  DC

SPEECH TOPICS

Surfing Global Waves: Geopolitical Risk Management in the Decade Ahead
U.S. Policy in the Muslim World: Security, Values, and Geopolitics (for Civic and University audiences)

Growing Markets: Expanding Freedom and Prosperity
A policy & profit driven analysis of current American foreign policy priorities in the Middle East and the developing world that lend to increased investment and operations opportunities, through the development of democratic, free-market middle-class societies founded upon accounting transparency and independent judiciaries, anti-corruption, and World Bank microfinance and capital conversion projects.

Planning for Europe: Partners or Competitors?

ABOUT John Sitilides

John Sitilides, an advisor to political leaders and business executives and a media commentator on current and global affairs, draws on twenty years of experience in national politics, international policy, and statecraft to candidly and provocatively enlighten audiences on the headlines from Washington and around the world.

A management advisor specializing in international corporate strategy, geopolitical risk management, and government and media relations, Sitilides serves as Chairman, Board of Advisors, of the Woodrow Wilson Center Southeast Europe Project, which supports scholarly research and informed debate on U.S. interests in southeastern Europe. He has twice been formally recognized for his expertise on global affairs by the Department of State, which designated him to discuss and explain American domestic and foreign policies before European Union audiences. He has testified before Congress on U.S.-European relations, and in September 2003, was appointed to the Department of Commerce Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Advisory Council. He is also on the board of directors of a biotechnology company that manufactures individualized cancer immunotherapies.

Sitilides directed the Western Policy Center, a Washington, D.C. international relations organization conducting analysis of U.S. foreign and security policies. He founded the organization in 1998 and built it into one of Washington's preeminent institutions, directing all aspects of strategic planning, policy analysis, government, corporate and media relations, financial management, public diplomacy, and coalition building before merging it with the Wilson Center in December 2004.

A regular speaker at the Pentagon's National Defense University, the Foreign Service Institute, and the National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Sitilides has guest lectured or presented papers on regional and global issues at Oxford University (Great Britain), Yale University, Johns Hopkins University (Italy), the University of Texas School of Law, and other leading institutions. A member of the National Speakers Association and frequent media commentator, Sitilides has been interviewed by CNN, CNN International, National Public Radio, BBC News, Voice of America, syndicated radio networks, and other U.S. and international broadcast media. His op-eds have been published by The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Sacramento Bee, and other U.S. newspapers, and he has been quoted and referenced by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, The International Herald Tribune, and other U.S., European, and international print media.

Sitilides serves on the Board of Trustees of Leadership 100, a national Orthodox Christian endowment fund, and is a member of the Wilson Council (Woodrow Wilson Center private-sector advisory group), the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C., and the Columbia University Club. He is also an International Host at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

From 1993 to 1997, Sitilides was a government relations strategist in Sacramento, California. From 1985 to 1993, he was a legislative and communications advisor to U.S. Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-NY), and was Communications Manager on the Senator's successful 1992 re-election campaign. In 1988, he managed the successful election campaign of New York State Senator Serphin Maltese (R-Queens).

Sitilides received his Master's Degree in International Affairs at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in 1986, with specialization in International Security Policy, International Political Economy, and Western European Affairs, and his Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Queens College in 1983.

TESTIMONIALS

"Your presentation was outstanding. Not only do you know the territory in depth, you have a gift of being an excellent teacher without the pompous air of a tenured professor." — American Committee on Foreign Relations

"Thank you again for a spectacular presentation on 'Islam and the U.S.' You were superbly forceful, articulate, and persuasive, and I have heard nothing but compliments from our participants." — Wofford College

"You exhibit a rare ability to process difficult and complicated questions yet maneuvering skillfully down unexpected avenues, all the while substantively addressing virtually every issue presented to you, no matter how off-beat or unexpected." — George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center