Introducing our NEW Board and Advisory Members
Our Board of Directors and Advisory Group Members are the voice of our mission. They steer us towards a sustainable future by making sure our nonprofit has adequate resources to advance in our impact to promote global competence in our local community. We are excited to announce four additional Board of Directors and two Advisory Members for the 2018 year.
Board of Directors
- Dale Dean | Owner, President & Chief Executive Officer, DeanHouston Inc.
- Michael Hawkins | Partner in the Labor & Employment and Appellate Practice Groups, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
- Chris Huntington | Chief Information Security Officer, Nexigen
- Bill Sena | Retired, Investment Counsel
Advisory Group Members
- Katherine Brun | Business Development Specialist, Northern Kentucky Tri-ED
- Karen Ramos | Program Director | University of Cincinnati Cancer Institute
Dale Dean, is President and Chief Executive Officer of DeanHouston, a B2B Integrated Marketing Communications firm he co-founded in 1988. His wide-ranging experience in the marketing communications field spans 38 years. Today, DeanHouston employs >75 associates in four offices located in Cincinnati, Chicago, Los Angeles and Shanghai, China. The company offers a wide range of services including Strategy, Branding, Content Marketing & Management, Publicity, Creative, Design, Web Development, 3D Animation and Video, Event Planning and Trade Show Management & Logistics. He recently joined the Council after dedicating time to elevate the brand and design for our new world class website, globalcincinnati.org.
Michael Hawkins, is a partner in the Labor, Employment and Appellate Practice Groups at Dinsmore & Shohl. He has extensive experience in all aspects of labor, employment law and ERISA litigation and appellate practice. He has been selected by Best Lawyers as a top Labor & Employment lawyer every year since 1989. He has experience working with the British Red Cross International Law Program, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, and the Sister City Programs. He has served the local community with the American Red Cross, Greater Cincinnati Area Chapter, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, National Conference for Community Justice, United Way and Community Chest, and Foreign Policy Leadership Council of Greater Cincinnati. He recently joined the Council to enhance his international humanitarian law expertise.
Chris Huntington, is the Chief Information Security Officer at Nexigen in Newport, Kentucky. With over a decade of experience in a broad range of IT and business roles, Chris has worked on security and compliance initiatives in the SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise, and Public Sectors. He has managed successful compliance projects for PCI and HIPAA as well as building ground up security programs. Chris first got involved with the Council when an international delegation from Indonesia visited Nexigen to discuss Smart Cities, as his wife is from this country he was able to identify well with the group. He has become more involved with the World Affairs Council ever since this chance opportunity. Chris has spoken at many security and non-security conferences on several aspects of cyber security – including the Council’s 11th International Education Summit, where he spoke to over 200 local high school students.
Bill Sena, is a life long Cincinnatian who grew up in Hyde Park. He graduated from Xavier University in 1958 where he was President of the Student Council among several other activities. After a brief stint in the US Air Force, he went into the investment business. After a few years he formed a small firm which grew into one of Cincinnati’s premier investment counseling firms, Sena, Weller, Rohs, Williams, Inc. He withdrew from active practice in 2014 but remains involved in a variety of investment and community entities. Bill is an active member for the Literary Club and a few small businesses. Bill is currently an investor in Tiger Muay Thai, the largest MMA training company in the world, located in Phuket. Since the early 1990’s he has invested in several Chinese companies and has visited China, as well as a number of other Asian countries, a dozen times over the past 20 – 25 years for both business and pleasure. He recently joined the board of directors to unravel his broad perspectives, as he speaks a little Italian, Spanish, and French, but no Chinese!
Katherine Brun, is the Business Development Specialists at Northern Kentucky Tri-ED. She oversees Tri-ED’s research, data, and lead generation activities. A Northern Kentucky native, Katherine graduated from American University in Washington, DC and has community development experience in both Oregon and Ohio. Katherine is committed to building a better of quality of life for the NKY community through economic development. Katherine is currently pursuing an MBA through Northern Kentucky University. She recently joined the Council individually because she has a global background and wants personal engagement/networking opportunities with global thought leaders in town. In addition, Tri-ED wants to attract businesses to Northern Kentucky and this starts with connecting with people which the World Affairs Council can provide this opportunity.
Karen Ramos, is the International Program Director at the University of Cincinnati’s Cancer Institute. She has over 25 years of experience in leadership positions at the university within enrollment management, study abroad and international programming coordination. She has led student groups on programs to China, Mexico and Italy. Currently she is pursuing her doctorate at Northern Kentucky University in Educational Leadership with a focus on higher education. She studied at the Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico, where she completed an intensive summer of courses in literature, culture, and Mexican history. Karen plans and coordinates international virtual tumor board for physicians at the University of Cincinnati in conjunction with physicians within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She recently joined the Council to further expand the global efforts of the Cancer Institute.
Please join us in welcoming our new Board Directors and Advisory Members. We are excited to have these individuals join such an important part of our organization. As we pursue our mission to promote international understanding, education, engagement and cooperation in our 21st-century global environment, we know they will be vital to our success.
