Eric Farnsworth

Eric Farnsworth is a foreign policy professional with experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Since 2003 he has been head of the Washington office of the Council of the Americas, during which time he has dramatically increased the stature and influence of the organization through policy development and effective advocacy, membership service, and sound management, through continuous engagement with senior level political and corporate leaders. He has positioned the Council in Washington as a leading voice across the broad range of issues affecting US relations with the Western Hemisphere, including economic development, trade, and energy; Asia-Latin American relations; security; and democracy. He has played an important thought-leadership role in the trade community, contributing directly to the development and implementation of trade policy initiatives including every free trade agreement that the United States has concluded with the hemisphere since he joined the Council, as well as energy issues and the policy implications of the emerging role of the BRIC’s—particularly China and Brazil—in the hemisphere. He is a widely-sought after speaker and commentator in the media, and has published articles and opinion pieces in a number of journals and leading newspapers. Mr. Farnsworth began his career in Washington with the US Department of State after obtaining an MPA 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 US Trade Representative, culminating in a three 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. He was awarded the Superior Honor Award three times and the Meritorious Honor Award once. In between his government and non-profit experiences, Mr. 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 in the agriculture, auto, and technology sectors, among others. Before coming to Washington, he also worked in the global public policy department of Bristol-Myers Squibb, and in the US Senate with Sam Nunn (D-GA) and the US House of Representatives with John Edward Porter (R-IL). He also worked at the US 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 US-Spain Young Leaders programs, and has participated by invitation on high-level programs with the Atlantic Council, the Bertelsmann Foundation, the Carter Center, and the German Marshall Fund. He was a senior advisor with the Americas program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and he is the past president of the Western Hemisphere committee of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, a previous member of the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, and a former board member of Princeton in Latin America (PiLA).