ABOUT BILL CLIFFORD, featured panelist

Bill Clifford is President and CEO of the World Affairs Councils of America in Washington, DC, where he leads WACA's national office and represents its nonpartisan nonprofit network of more than 90 World Affairs Councils across the United States. In March 2017, he was appointed nonresident senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Before joining WACA in September 2013, Bill spearheaded the revitalization and growth of WorldBoston, a WACA member Council known for innovative programming, access to leaders, and a tradition of advancing public learning about critical international issues. Previously, Bill served as Asia bureau chief for the pioneering multimedia venture CBS MarketWatch, where he launched and directed news bureaus in Japan and Hong Kong. He got his start In broadcast news with Asia Business News TV and was senior correspondent in Tokyo for CNBC Asia after its merger with ABN. Bill began his work in journalism reporting on international economics, finance, and politics for several newspapers.

In 2019, Bill was appointed as a member of the Korea Economic Institute of America's advisory council. Bill holds an M.A. from Johns Hopkins SAIS, a B.A. summa cum laude in international relations and French literature from Tufts University, and a C.E.P from Sciences Po in Paris.


ABOUT STAN OTTO, panelist

Stan Otto, co-chair of the IAF Advisory Board, was a senior diplomat in the Department of State with 40 years expertise in promoting international cooperation and understanding, including policy planning, negotiating and management in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He has intimate knowledge of the government, economy, culture and languages in Germany, France and Japan. Prior to the Foreign Service, he was a Fulbright lecturer in Taiwan and taught at universities in Iran and Egypt. He also served in the Peace Corps in Morocco and Cameroon.