The Cleveland Council on World Affairs announces the selection of Paul Clark as the new chair of its Board of Directors and the appointment of five new board members. The new directors joining the CCWA board are Elizabeth Coluby, Su He, Sanjiv Kapur, Mindy McLaughlin, and Colleen Petras. They will assume their positions on July 1, 2023.

“I am looking forward to Paul Clark’s leadership of the CCWA Board and I am personally delighted to be working with him. I am also very excited to welcome five new board members to our CCWA family who offer a diversity of cultural and professional backgrounds. 2023 is a special time to be a part of this organization as we celebrate our centennial. I look forward to the energy and new perspectives that these board members will collectively bring to our organization as CCWA enters its second century of inspiring engagement in world affairs and advancing international understanding. These five individuals will all be a great asset to CCWA,” says Carina Van Vliet, CEO of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs.

Paul Clark, retired Regional President of PNC Bank and a civic leader in our community, has been an active member of the CCWA Board of Directors since 2019. Prior to assuming the role as board chair, Paul served as chair of the CCWA development committee, and vice-chair of the CCWA centennial committee. CCWA’s current board chair, Carter Strang, will step down from this role on June 30, 2023, and looks forward to continuing his active engagement with CCWA. “Paul and Carter are the two board chairs whose terms arch over CCWA’s centennial year. They are both tremendous champions of CCWA’s mission and it is an absolute pleasure to celebrate CCWA’s 100 years of global engagement with the leadership of these two dedicated board chairs. CCWA is a much stronger organization thanks to their commitment to our organization,” reflects Carina Van Vliet.

Please join us in welcoming the following new Board members to CCWA:

Elizabeth Coluby is a global citizen who has lived in Taiwan, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain and 8 U.S. states. She brings cross-cultural skills and strong marketing expertise to CCWA. She is Founder of Coluby Consulting & Coaching and former Digital Product Director and Senior Vice President of Wellness & Originations at KeyBank.

Su He brings a distinct perspective and dimension to CCWA with education and experience from both China and the United States. Su is Attorney at Buckley King, Executive Director of the Greater Cleveland Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and adjunct professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She is also a CCWA Development Committee member and former CCWA Richard W. Pogue Fellow.

Sanjiv Kapur brings extensive cross-cultural skills and international business and legal experience to CCWA – he is a global professional, affiliated with offices both in Cleveland and Brazil, and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, German, French, and Hindi, having studied and resided in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Germany, and India. He has been a CCWA and Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations member for 20 years. Sanjiv is Partner at Jones Day.

Mindy McLaughlin is an experienced international business development professional with a global perspective. Mindy is Managing Director of International Business Development at Team NEO, where she is focused on the recruitment of new business investment to Northeast Ohio, with a dedicated focus on international businesses. She is also a current member of the Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations.

Colleen Petras brings financial expertise to CCWA and is a retired financial advisor at Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Colleen is an active and engaged CCWA member with a long-time commitment to CCWA’s mission. She currently serves as a member of CCWA’s Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations Leadership Committee.

Cleveland Council on World Affairs’ Board of Directors 2023-2024

• Harlin Adelman
• Raj Aggarwal, Ph.D.
• Christopher Blake
• Heather Burnett
• Paul Clark
• Elizabeth Coluby
• Howard B. Edelstein
• Seda Ergun
• David Fleshler
• Hiroyuki Fujita, Ph.D.
• Michael Gleason
• Su He
• Fritz Heintel
• Sanjiv Kapur
• Wael Khoury, M.D.
• Michael Knall
• Kathryn Lavelle, Ph.D
• Rebecca Kopp Levine
• Mindy McLaughlin
• Deborah E. Morin, Ph.D.
• Michael Obi
• Colleen Petras
• Stephen J. Petras, Jr.
• Richard W. Pogue
• Elena Ray
• Linda F. Robertson, Ph.D.
• Michael Salkind, Ph.D
• Martin C. Schulz
• Fareed Siddiq
• Donald A. Sinko
• Carter Strang
• Monica Verma
• Paul Winkeler
• Mark Zannoni
• Nizar Zein, M.D.
• David O. Zimmer

Honorary Directors

• Amb. Charles F. Dunbar
• Amb. John D. Ong
• Amb. William R. Timken, Jr.