The Cleveland Council on World Affairs Announces the 2022-2023 Richard W. Pogue Fellows

The Cleveland Council on World Affairs is pleased to announce its 2022-2023 Richard W. Pogue Fellows. “CCWA has been inspiring engagement in world affairs since 1923, and as we look ahead to our second century, we want to ensure that young people are a part of envisioning what global engagement in our region looks like. It is critical for CCWA to ensure that the rising generation of leaders in our community are internationally minded, knowledgeable about world affairs, and have a global perspective. The Richard W. Pogue Fellowship gives young professionals in Cleveland an opportunity to be a part of this work. We are very much looking forward to engaging with the talented group that was selected for the coming year,” says Carina Van Vliet, CCWA’s Chief Executive Officer.

CCWA is pleased to welcome our 2022-2023 Richard W. Pogue Fellows: Michael Bustamante, Rebecca Cambron, Benjamin Collinger, Twana Rogers, and Carleton Whitmore.

Michael Bustamante is Director of Diversity and Strategic Initiatives at the Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity at Case Western Reserve University. Throughout his career, many international and cross-cultural experiences have solidified his commitment to international affairs and multicultural issues, and his passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion. He hopes to become a better-informed professional and global citizen through the fellowship experience and looks forward to learning about international topics to support his work as a social entrepreneur.

Rebecca Cambron is a law clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Her academic and personal international experiences have sparked a strong passion for world affairs, and she believes that understanding and engaging in world affairs is important because, ultimately, world affairs are local affairs. Through the fellowship, she looks forward to connecting with the business community, and better understanding global crises and the human-side of world affairs.

Benjamin Collinger is a consultant with ThirdSpace Action Lab and a Venture for America alum. As a CCWA fellow, he looks forward to learning from internationally engaged people in Cleveland and beyond. Last year, Crain’s Cleveland Business featured Benjamin as part of their “20 in Their Twenties” cohort. A Spanish speaker and frequent traveler, he believes that building global awareness and relationships is critical to Cleveland’s success.

Twana Rogers is a paralegal specialist at the United States Attorney’s Office. She is an alumna of CCWA’s LEADS program and an aspiring diplomat. Through the fellowship, she hopes to gain a deeper understanding of global economic development and global conflict management and to apply this knowledge in her future diplomatic career. As a global citizen, she believes that it is critical to actively engage in and promote the importance of global collaboration.

Carleton Whitmore is Business Development Manager at MIM Software Inc. He possesses a rich background of international experiences. Through the fellowship program, he hopes to network with other international business professionals to gain new ideas and learn from their knowledge and experience. Carleton expects that the fellowship will help him make more informed decisions about the international markets that he works with in his current role.

Our 2022-2023 fellows will have the opportunity to participate in in-depth foreign policy discussions and network with other internationally-minded business and civic leaders in our community through participation in the Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR).

The fellowship is named after Richard W. Pogue, civic leader and Senior Advisor at Jones Day, in recognition of his more than 60 years as a member of CCWA. The fellowship program is supported by funding from the Kulas Foundation.

For more information, contact Jenni Carney, Director of Development and Marketing, at (216) 255-9005 or jcarney@ccwa.org.