M. Christine Vick, Vice Chair of the Board

M. Christine Vick is vice chair of the Institute's board of directors. Ms. Vick is also vice president of The Cohen Group which provides consulting services for multinational corporations from a variety of industries, including energy, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, financial services, agriculture, and consumer products. She specializes in developing and implementing domestic and foreign government affairs strategies, assessing international political and economic risk, and facilitating commercial partnerships in emerging markets.

Ms. Vick has a strong personal interest in the People's Republic of China where she has traveled extensively since her first visit with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1974. She has assisted a number of multinational corporations in achieving their business interests in China, as well as other countries and regions throughout the world. In addition, she closely follows trends in the U.S. Congress and in U.S. foreign policy, along with evolving political and economic undercurrents in foreign countries, to determine their impact on commercial activities in key global markets.

Ms. Vick's involvement in foreign affairs dates to 1971 when she began her service at the U.S. Department of State, commencing her work with Dr. Kissinger in 1973. In 1977, she accompanied Dr. Kissinger to the private sector and culminated a 15-year association with him as Vice President of Kissinger Associates, headquartered in New York. Her work bridging the public and private sectors in the international arena continued upon her return to Washington, DC where she joined the international law firm of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy as Senior Policy Advisor and later as the Managing Director of Powell Goldstein International Consulting. Ms. Vick was a founding partner of the international consulting firm Andreae, Vick and Associates before she and her colleagues merged their operations with The Cohen Group in 2003.

Ms. Vick was appointed by the U.S. Congress to serve on a bi-partisan commission established to develop recommendations on the creation of the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Eisenhower Institute, the Advisory Board of the American Turkish Council, and the Advisory Board of the Center for International Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her alma mater.