Sam Potolicchio (President) – Georgetown University
B.A. Government, Georgetown; B.A. Psychology, Georgetown; M.T.S. Theology and Culture, Harvard; PRSE, Harvard; MA, Government, Georgetown; PhD, Government, Georgetown
Dr. Sam Potolicchio was named one of “America’s Best Professors” by the Princeton Review, the Future Leader of American Higher Education by the Association of Colleges and Universities, and winner of the OZY Educator Award as one of the six outstanding American educators. He was also profiled in a cover story on his leadership curriculum by Newsweek Japan as the “Best Professor in America”. Potolicchio is President of the Preparing Global Leaders Forum and Distinguished University Professor, Department Chairman and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. He teaches in the EMBA programs at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown and at the Mannheim Business School (Germany). He is a visiting lecturer at University of Bologna (Italy). He is a columnist for Newsweek Japan, a Distinguished Global Scholar at the Canterbury School of Fort Myers, and the lecturer on Leadership at the Library of Congress for OWLC, an international leadership program of the United States Congress. Potolicchio is an adviser to prominent business, non-profit and government leaders. He created and designed the first undergraduate degree in Global Governance and Leadership in English in the Russian Federation where he serves as Academic Director.
From 2015-2019 Potolicchio served as the Director of Global and Custom Education at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, has been a visiting professor at New York University, and joined Senator Richard Lugar as tag team senior lecturers at UIndy’s Semester in Washington. Potolicchio has delivered lectures in over 85 countries, from Oxford, LSE, Cambridge and Yale to Iraq’s Komar University and Donetsk State University. As a middle-school basketball coach he led his Little Hoyas to 6 league titles and previously served as a 5th grade Latin teacher, public high school teacher of Law and History and secondary school admissions officer.
Joseph P. Quinlan – Senior Fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins
BA Niagara University, Political Science and International Affairs; MA Fordham University: Political Economics and Development
Joseph Quinlan is Managing Director and Chief Market Strategist at U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. In this role, Joe oversees the development and implementation of macro investment strategies, with a particular focus on U.S. sector strategies, the emerging markets and developed markets. He is also responsible for the firm’s global thematic research. His research centers on both the United States and the global economy and is frequently cited in such media venues as Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times.
Mr. Quinlan lectures on finance and global economics at New York University, where he has been a faculty member since 1992. He regularly lectures at various universities around the world. In 1998, he was nominated as an Eisenhower Fellow. Presently, he is a Senior Fellow at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University, Washington D.C., and a Senior Fellow at the German Marshal Fund in Brussels, Belgium.
Mr. Quinlan regularly debriefs policy makers and legislators on Capitol Hill on global trade and economic issues. He has testified before the European Parliament. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of State and presently serves as the U.S. representative (Economic Policy Committee) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, France for the U.S. Council for International Business. He is also a board member of Fordham University’s Graduate School of Arts and Science and serves on Fordham University’s President Council. In 2006, the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union awarded Mr. Quinlan the 2006 Transatlantic Business Award for his research on U.S.-Europe economic ties. In 2007, he was a recipient of the European-American Business Council Leadership award for his research on the transatlantic partnership and global economy.
Branden Thornhill-Miller – University of Paris V (Sorbonne) & University of Oxford
BA Yale, Ethics, Politics & Economics; MDiv Harvard, World Religions; Doctorate, University of Oxford, Psychology
Dr. Branden Thornhill-Miller is a researcher, speaker, and consultant, affiliated with Paris
Descartes University (Sorbonne) and the University of Oxford. He was a Lecturer and Director of Studies for Psychology and Psychology, Philosophy at the University of Oxford for many years, where he has more recently been a College Fellow and Visiting Researcher and remains affiliated with several different colleges and faculties. Branden also is attached to the Sorbonne’s leading laboratory for the study of work psychology, individual differences and creativity. He teaches research methods and supervises research on a range of topics including decision-making, cognitive bias, and leadership in the Sorbonne’s graduate program in Economics & Psychology.
His speaking, consulting, and research interests are focused on creativity, individual differences (e.g. personality, intelligence, culture, gender, psychometric tests, and test development), the psychology of religion (especially fundamentalism, identity and conflict, religious experience, and meaning-making), behavioral economics (cognitive biases and decision-making), and other aspects of social, political and organizational psychology such as leadership and visionary personalities, behavioral change, well-being and “gross national happiness.” He also conducts more entrepreneurial research in technological areas, supervising students from engineering and IT schools like EPITA and CNAM with an interest in disruptive web-based and virtual reality applications and future-oriented integrations of psychology and technology.
In addition to his teaching and research Branden works as a consultant and organizational advisor, holding cultural and talent visas that allow him to work in Russia and France. As Vice President of Omni Art Design, he has served as a visual artist and been in charge of strategic planning, IT, and public communications. He has been the creative consultant for major artistic monuments in the US and is Associate Editor of the flagship design research publication, the Journal of Design, Business & Society. In the past he has also functioned as an engineering innovator for business, as a Legislative Assistant on Capitol Hill, Director of the Inter-religious Dialogue Program for 10 colleges in the Boston area, and as Visiting Professor of Literature at Beijing University.
For more information see thornhill-miller.com.
Former Professors:
Matt Spence – Stanford University
B.A. Stanford, International Policy Studies;, Ethics, Politics & Economics; M.A. Stanford, International Policy Studies; J.D. Yale Law School; PhD Oxford, International Relations.
Dr. Matthew Spence is the William J. Perry Fellow at Stanford University, and a partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Prior to entering the private sector, Dr. Spence spent six years in senior national security positions in the U.S. Government. From 2012 to 2015, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, where he was the Principal Advisor to three Secretaries of Defense for U.S. defense policy in the Middle State. Dr. Spence also served in a senior role on Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s confirmation and transition teams. He received the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Public Service.
From 2009 to 20012, Dr. Spence worked at the White House on the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Affairs and as Senior Advisor to two National Security Advisors. Dr. Spence was also a Managing Director at Guggenheim Partners, focusing on cyber security mergers and acquisitions. He is the co-founder of the Truman National Security Project, was a Lecturer in International Relations at Oxford University, and has been widely published in national security and foreign policy, including in the Yale Law Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Trained as a lawyer, Dr. Spence also practiced criminal and international law in California, and served as a law clerk for Judge Richard Posner of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.