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May 19, 2009
Washington, DC— Today, Democrats Abroad announced the new officers elected at the organization’s spring meeting in Washington, DC at the end of April. The officers’ term is two years. Democrats Abroad is the official arm of the Democratic Party for Americans living outside of the United States
“First, I’d like to thank the previous officers for their hard work and commitment to the goals of Democrats Abroad. Under their leadership, this organization accomplished many achievements, including the first Global Primary held online,” said Democrats Abroad International Chair Christine Marques. “I would also like to thank the membership for granting me the honor of a second term, and I look forward to working with the new officers as we head into a critical election year - 2010.”
The newly elected officers are International Chair Christine Schon Marques, International Vice Chair Robbie Checkoway, International Treasurer Wayne Weightman, International Secretary Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels, International Counsel Anthony Sistilli, Regional Vice Chair for the Americas Patricia Ferrari, Regional Vice Chair for Asia/Pacific Carmelan Polce and Regional Vice Chair for Europe, Middle East and Africa Susan Haug.
Christine Schon Marques, International Chair (Reelected) Switzerland (New York, NY)
A member of Democrats Abroad since 1992, Ms. Marques has served the democratic community abroad both locally as country committee chair of Brazil and Switzerland, and internationally as Treasurer and a member of the Democratic National Committee. As Delegation Chair at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, she cast the Democrats Abroad votes after a ground-breaking Global Primary process which included in-person, online, mail, and fax voting from democrats in over 160 countries. A former Vice President and Department Head at CIC-Union Européenne, International et Cie., her banking background includes strategic planning, capital adequacy, and financial analysis for derivative products. Ms. Marques has also served as Treasurer of the America Center of Geneva Association, a public-private partnership created to maintain a consular presence in Geneva.
Ms. Marques holds a B.A. from Wellesley College in Political Science and French. She received an M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing with honors from Fordham University. A New York City voter, Ms. Marques lives in Geneva, Switzerland with her husband, also an NYC voter, and teenage daughter – a future NYC voter. Ms. Marques’ overseas experience dates from the age of six months, when she moved from Westport to Beirut, and lived in Madrid and Okinawa before returning to the United States for high school.
Robbie Checkoway, International Vice Chair The Netherlands (Boston, MA)
Mr. Checkoway is International Vice Chair of Democrats Abroad and a member of the Democratic National Committee. He is a past Chair of Democrats Abroad Netherlands and served on the Rules Committee of the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Checkoway is an advertising copywriter now based in Manchester, England. He is a board member of the Love Exiles Foundation, a founding member of The Queen’s English Theatre Company, and a past chair of the Penn Alumni Secondary School Committee in the Netherlands. Mr. Checkoway holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Pennsylvania.
Wayne Weightman, International Treasurer Cambodia (Honolulu, HI)
Mr. Weightman has been working in Southeast Asia for almost nine years, beginning his career overseas with an Asia Pacific Externship in Phnom Penh during his third year of Law School. Mr. Weightman is currently practicing as an US immigration attorney specializing in consular practice. He is a respected Legal Advisor in his region and has worked with small and large law firms as well as as a solo-practitioner. Weightman obtained his law degree in 2001 from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii, and is admitted to the Hawaii State Bar and the District of Columbia Bar as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He is an active volunteer in charitable causes and lives and works in South East Asia.
Weightman is a 1984 graduate of the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles where he majored in Communication Arts. Prior to his entry into the legal field, Weightman worked in the film industry in Hollywood. He operated a small film studio and specialized in music videos and commercials before venturing into documentaries. He has been the recipient of various film awards. He is currently also Chair of the Cambodia Committee of Democrats Abroad.
Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels, International Secretary Belgium (Leverett, Massachusetts)
Ms. Klekowski von Koppenfels holds a PhD in Government from Georgetown University. A Leverett, Massachusetts voter currently living in Belgium, Dr. von Koppenfels is the Director of the MA in Migration Studies program at the University of Kent at Brussels (Brussels School of International Studies). A member of Democrats Abroad Belgium since 2003, she received her MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown and her undergraduate degree from Harvard College. Prior to coming to the University of Kent, she was a Research Officer at the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, where she focused on research in counter-trafficking. She has held Fellowships from the Robert Bosch Foundation and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Anthony Sistilli, International Counsel Italy (Follansbee, WV)
Mr. Sistilli is an attorney with an international law practice in Italy where he specializes in cross-border corporate and commercial transactions. With a career spanning more than 17 years, he is currently the managing partner of the Rome based firm Sistilli Salvi & Saponara – Novastudia. From 2005-2009, Sistilli served as Chair of the Democrats Abroad committee in Italy, as interim International Legal Counsel since November 2008, has chaired the Democrats Abroad bylaws committee since 2007 and been a member of the Democrats Abroad IT committee. Active in local American service and community organizations, he is also as a board member and legal counsel to the American International Club of Rome.
Mr. Sistilli holds a bachelor’s and law degree from West Virginia University, a masters in Italian corporate law from LUISS University in Rome, and has studied for an LLM in cross-border business transactions at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law’s program in Salzburg, Austria.
Patricia Ferrari, Regional Vice Chair for the Americas Brazil (New York, NY)
Ms. Ferrari was born and raised in southern Illinois and moved to New York City after graduating from Vanderbilt Law School. She practiced law for almost 22 years at firms in New York and Atlanta and moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2004. She is currently a career coach, working with partners, associates and practice groups at various law firms on a contract basis developing strategy, addressing client development and planning career growth.
Ms. Ferrari has been very active in politics, starting with the congressional campaign of Paul Simon in 1979. As current Chair of Democrats Abroad Brazil, she increased membership by 7.5 times in less than six months and attended the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Additionally, Ms. Ferrari served on the Voter Protection Legal Team in Florida for 2008 presidential election. Ms. Ferrari holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Southern Illinois University, with a B.A.
Carmelan Polce, Regional Vice Chair for Asia/Pacific Australia (Allentown, PA)
Ms. Polce has more than 20 years experience in the property finance industry, most recently acting as Director, Structured Property Finance for Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation in Sydney, Australia. Prior to that she consulted in property and corporate finance for PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to moving to Australia in 1992, she worked in the Property Finance area of PNC Bank in Philadelphia, where she started her career as a property finance analyst with what is now Pennsylvania REIT, Inc.
During graduate school she and a small team of Wharton students started the company that has become Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, which does home repairs and renovations for homeowners who are of low income, are elderly or have disabilities. After graduate school she and a small team of Wharton grads set up a sheltered workshop in La Paz, Bolivia that employs people with disabilities to manufacture small leather goods sold through catalogue companies. She was appointed to the Marketing Advisory Board of Australian rules football team the Richmond (Tigers) Football Club and worked with the team for 3 years. Ms. Polce was the founding chairperson of Democrats Abroad Australia which was formed in 2004. Most recently Carmelan has served on the board of the Task Force on Care Costs, an advocacy group which successfully lobbied the Australian federal government for reforms to its policy supporting careers of children, the elderly and dependents with disabilities. Ms. Polce was born in New York City and raised near Allentown, Pennsylvania. She attended university in Philadelphia, earning a Bachelor’s degree in finance from Temple University and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Polce currently resides in Sydney with her partner Derek Kidley and nearly four-year-old daughter, Liesel.
Susan Haug, Regional Vice Chair for Europe, Middle East and Africa United Kingdom (Charlottesville, VA)
Susan Haug has lived abroad for more than twenty years, having spent most of that time in Germany before moving to London in 2007. She has been a DA leader for the last 10 years, beginning with reactivating and chairing the Frankfurt Chapter of Democrats Abroad, Germany before serving as Vice Chair of DA-Germany from 2005-2007. Ms. Haug has been extensively involved with overseas voter outreach, local US Consulate relations and various international media and communications initiatives, last serving as Communications Coordinator for the EMEA region.
Ms. Haug is a native of Virginia and holds a Master of Architecture from Virginia Tech University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and English. She has been practicing architecture in the US and in Germany. Ms. Haug’s volunteer service includes ‘Literacy Volunteers of America’ (Prison Program) in Charlottesville, Virginia and ‘Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation’ (Interviewer) in Berlin and Frankfurt, Germany.
The previous officers were:
Christine Schon Marques, International Chair
Toby Condliffe, International Vice Chair
Robert Checkoway, International Secretary
William Barnard, International Treasurer
Anthony Sistilli, (Interim) International Counsel
Meredith Gowan LeGoff, Vice Chair for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa Region
Gary Suwannarat, Vice Chair for the Asia-Pacific Region
Joe Green, Vice Chair for the Americas Region
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www.democratsabroad.org
Democrats Abroad is the official overseas branch of the U.S. Democratic Party. With members in more than 160
countries around the globe, Democrats Abroad holds eight positions on the Democratic National Committee
and sends a voting delegation to the Democratic National Convention to select our presidential candidate.
Chair – John Eastwood, a partner in a law firm operating on both sides of the Strait, a husband and father of twins, and regular writer of articles on intellectual-property and trade issues.
Secretary – Michael Turton, a longtime Taiwan expat, a university teacher and popular blogger: http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/ “I wanted to get in on the ground floor of something that would grow.”
