Dr. Christine Warnke

President

Dr. Christine Warnke is an international business executive, an enthusiastic supporter of global social impact initiatives, a champion of the arts, a media personality, and a facilitator of cross-cultural exchanges for worldwide trade and investment. Her 30+ year professional career has included extensive public service and diverse guidance to corporate and government leaders across the U.S. and worldwide.

Dr. Warnke started her political career in the Office of the United States Senate Majority Leader, headed by the late Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV). In 1994, Dr. Warnke was nominated by then-President William Jefferson Clinton to serve on the Board of the National Institute of Building Sciences, and he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate.

She earned her doctoral degree from the University of Maryland in 1993 and was later named ‘Alumni of the Year’ by the University.

In 1998, President Clinton appointed Dr. Warnke to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts Board. In 2010, Dr. Warnke was selected by the Smithsonian Board of Regents (whose members include the U.S. Vice President and the Supreme Court Chief Justice) to be an adviser to the Smithsonian National African Arts Museum. She continues to serve on numerous boards related to the African continent and other developing world markets.

From 1991 to 2018, Dr. Warnke joined Hogan Lovells LLC, the largest law firm in Washington, DC, as the Senior Governmental Affairs Adviser, providing expertise advice related to non-profit, humanitarian, and international corporate strategy development before state, local, and national governments.

Between 2021 and 2023, Dr. Warnke served as the Chief of International Affairs and Protocol Officer for the Government of the District of Columbia. In that capacity, she worked with over 18o diplomatic missions in the city. Then, in November 2023, U.S. President Joseph Biden appointed Dr. Warnke to the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Arts (PACA), with a focus on bringing all forms of arts and culture together with people worldwide. In her role at PACA, Dr. Warnke has worked to sustain the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and those who serve as its “Ambassadors for the Arts.” In October 2023, she was elected by the Sister Cities International Board to serve as the Director of Sister Cities International for the Washington, DC, community.