The Program: “The United States and the Americas: a View from Washington” The Americas are changing. Hopeful indicators are mixed with real challenges, both political and economic, including the collapse of Venezuela. Across the region, citizens’ expectations have grown significantly as economies have expanded, while a generation of democratic reforms has provided the means to register demands and affect governance. After this years round of elections in major economies, the region may look quite different. Meanwhile, the United States under the Trump Administration is emphasizing border security and economic nationalism, among other issues, even as China and other nations expand their reach into the hemisphere.

Presenter: Eric Farnsworth has led the Washington office of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society since 2003, during which time the stature and influence of the organization has grown significantly. He has played an important thought leadership and advocacy role across the broad range of issues affecting U.S. relations with the Western Hemisphere, including economic development, trade, and energy; Asia-Latin American relations and broader BRICS and global governance issues; security; and democracy.

Farnsworth began his career in Washington with the U.S. Department of State after obtaining an MPA in international relations from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. During his time in government he served in positions of increasing responsibility in the foreign policy and trade communities, from Western Hemisphere Affairs at State to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, culminating in a three and a half year appointment as the senior advisor to the White House special envoy for the Americas. In this capacity he played an important role in developing and implementing the Clinton administration’s policies toward the Western Hemisphere.

In between his government and nonprofit experiences, Farnsworth was managing director of ManattJones Global Strategies, a Washington and Los Angeles-based advisory and strategic consulting group. While there, he worked successfully to advance client interests particularly in the agriculture, auto, and technology sectors. Before coming to Washington he also worked in the global public policy division of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and in the U.S. Senate with Sam Nunn (D-GA) and the U.S. House of Representatives with John Edward Porter (R-IL). He also worked briefly at the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Eric Farnsworth is a Truman Scholar, an alumnus of the Leadership America, Young Leaders of the (NATO) Alliance, and the U.S.-Spain Young Leaders programs, and has participated by invitation on programs with the Atlantic Council, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Carter Center, and the German Marshall Fund, among others. Previously he served as president of the Western Hemisphere Committee of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, a member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, and a board member of Princeton in Latin America (PiLA). In 2016 he was decorated by the king and ambassador of Spain for his work to promote bilateral and regional relations.

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