FGFairfaxGlobal Dialogue
About

Founding Members

Est. 2026

The founding table.

Six leaders from five sectors signed the founding charter in Fairfax, Virginia — and agreed to keep a chair open for every voice the room still lacks.

  • Portrait of Amb. Richard C. Halvorsen
    01Founding member

    Amb. Richard C. Halvorsen

    Founding Chair · Former U.S. Ambassador

    Three decades in the foreign service taught him that most conflicts are conversations that never happened. He chairs the Dialogue’s convenings.

  • Portrait of Dr. Maya Ellison
    02Founding member

    Dr. Maya Ellison

    President, Potomac Ridge University

    A historian of diplomacy, she built the region’s leading program in conflict resolution and brings academic rigor to every table.

  • Portrait of Karim Haddad
    03Founding member

    Karim Haddad

    Founder, Meridian Policy Group

    An economist who has advised finance ministries on three continents, he frames the Dialogue’s work on shared prosperity.

  • Portrait of Hon. Grace Nakamura
    04Founding member

    Hon. Grace Nakamura

    Former Minister of Trade

    She negotiated her country’s largest trade agreements and now presses for commerce as an instrument of peace.

  • Portrait of Rev. Dr. Eleanor Whitfield
    05Founding member

    Rev. Dr. Eleanor Whitfield

    Interfaith Council of Northern Virginia

    A pastor and scholar of ethics, she ensures moral tradition has a seat — and a voice — at every convening.

  • Portrait of Daniel Ortega-Reyes
    06Founding member

    Daniel Ortega-Reyes

    CEO, Ortega Global Ventures

    A builder of companies across the Americas, he connects the Dialogue to the entrepreneurs reshaping regional economies.