Board of Directors 2024-2025

Ambassador Itoh is a Senior Advisor to McLarty Associates and Professor of the Practice in the Department of Public Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During his career as a Foreign Service Officer Ambassador Itoh served in the U.S. Embassy in London and as the U.S. Consul General to Western Australia in Perth. He was Deputy Executive Secretary of the Department of State, and Executive Secretary of the National Security Council at the White House 1993-1995. From 1995-1999 he served as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and served in the U.S. Air Force as a Logistics officer. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Colonel, US Army (ret)
Greg has broad military, US defense industry and congressional experience. A Vietnam and Operation Desert Shield veteran, he served as an Army General Staff political-military officer and, subsequently, as the international programs professional staff member on the US Senate Budget Committee. Greg worked in defense industry for 18 years, including as the president of the Raytheon Company subsidiary in Brazil installing a $1.4B monitoring system over the Amazon.  A PhD in comparative politics and public policy from the University of New Mexico, Dr. Vuksich formerly served as an adjunct staff member for the RAND Corporation working with ministers of defense and chiefs of general staffs on military modernization in North Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Hercegovina. He has twice been nominated by the New Mexico Music Awards program for his country-western recordings in the “Best Cover Song of the Year” category.

Dr. Emile Nakhleh is a former Senior Intelligence Service (SIS) Officer (CIA), a Founding Director, Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program at CIA, a former Research Professor and Founding Director, Global and National Security Policy Institute (UNM), a Life Member, Council on Foreign Relations, and a Consultant on the Middle East, political Islam, radicalization, terrorism, and intelligence. Dr Nakhleh writes frequently for Responsible Statecraft.

United States District Court Judge for the District of New Mexico. Appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on the Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of Conduct. Deputy Attorney General, State of New Mexico. Law clerk to US Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, Jr.

Business Advisor working in acquisitions for the Department of Defense. Extensive background in accounting, federal acquisition regulation, and professional writing. Graduated with Master of Accounting (MACCT) from the University of New Mexico May 2019. Participated in Global Business Program from 2015–2016 at Fachhochschule Joanneum (Graz, Austria). Beta Alpha Psi (ΒΑΨ) alumni.

Lt. Col (ret) USAF, financial management positions at bases in US, Spain, Germany, Thailand, Turkey. Chief of Finance, US House of Representatives (ret). Participated in New Mexico-based import agency representing several European manufacturers.

Former Staff Director, Committee on Education and Labor, US House of Representatives. Former New Mexico State Director, Senator Jeff Bingaman, US Senate. Analyst, US Central Intelligence Agency.

Manager of the Strategic Futures and Policy Analysis Department at Sandia National Laboratories. 
Munaf leads an interdisciplinary team that empowers leaders prepare for emerging global security and organizational dynamics. His team applies a range of quantitative and qualitative methods to assess and anticipate potential shifts in national security environment so that Sandia can be best positioned to provide exceptional service to the nation. 
Prior to working as a manager, Munaf worked as analyst conducting anticipatory studies in a variety of areas within national security including critical infrastructure protection, conflict, and defense. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in computational modeling from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

David S. Campbell is a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer, having served in Mauritius, Seychelles, Ecuador, and Washington, DC.  He is a New Mexico licensed attorney, and has worked in municipal government as the Albuquerque City Attorney, Planning Director, and CAO/City Manager.  He graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and has a Master’s in Public Administration and a law degree from the University of New Mexico.  

Mike is a small business owner and Former President, Arrow Engineering, Gallup NM. Geophysical work carried him to the Caribbean, Eastern and Western Canada Lower English Channel and Africa from Capetown to Points Noir, Congo.

Robanne Harrison has taught at Manzano High School in Albuquerque since 2000. Originally from Atlanta, Robanne moved to New Mexico to attend graduate school at UNM. She has taught a variety of Social Studies and Language Arts classes, most notably World History (on-level and Advanced Placement), Anthropology and AP Art History. She is a Nationally Board Certified Teacher and a Fullbright Teachers for Global Classrooms fellow. Robanne’s professional goal is to promote global education in public schools.

Randy is a teacher at La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, NM. He was selected as WACABQ’s Global Educator of the Year for 2024.

“My goal as a ‘global educator’ is to help make my students into global citizens by teaching about global affairs, connected history, and current events, including understanding basic human rights, knowing when those rights are being threatened, and taking action to defend them.”

Celeste Nuñez Salcido is a global trade and international relations professional with experience supporting government and economic development organizations. She serves as Director of International Business Resources for the New Mexico Trade Alliance, a public-private partnership funded by the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, the State of New Mexico, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. In this role, Celeste leads New Mexico’s international trade programs, helping small and mid-sized businesses access global markets through state, federal, and international resources. She also manages international relations for government clients, facilitating inbound delegations, outbound trade missions, and delivering trade intelligence to inform strategic decisions.
Celeste chairs the Albuquerque–Guadalajara Sister City relationship and sits on the Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation Board. She is also a State Leader with the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s New Mexico Advisory Committee and a member of the Albuquerque World Affairs Council. In 2024, she was selected as one of 50 young global delegates to attend the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China. Celeste graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management with a BBA in International Management and Marketing. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Mark Peceny is a Professor of Political Science at the University of New Mexico, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1992. He teaches a variety of courses in international relations, comparative politics, and American foreign policy. His research focuses on democracy, dictatorship, and the international system, with specific emphasis on how liberal culture and republican institutions of government shape the behavior of democracies in international politics and how international actors shape processes of democratization within states. He served as Chair of the Department of Political Science from 2005-2011 and as Dean of UNM’s College of Arts and Sciences from 2011-2021. From 2006-1010 he was a member of the board of the Albuquerque Committee on Foreign Relations and was chair of that board in 2008-2009.