South Carolina Capital City Mayor to Head US Diplomacy Group
Wednesday, December 9th, 2020
The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) announced Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina, as new incoming co-chair of the Center for U.S. Global Leadership Board, the organization’s education arm, effective January 1. Mayor Benjamin will be the first sitting mayor to serve on USGLC’s board and will replace Secretary Dan Glickman of the Bipartisan Policy Center and The Aspen Institute, who is stepping down after decades of exceptional board service and will become a USGLC Senior Advisor.
“Mayor Benjamin’s appointment as USGLC’s co-chair is not only ground-breaking but grounded in our DNA – that USGLC is rooted in main street America and no one reflects this better than America’s mayors,” said USGLC President and CEO Liz Schrayer.
“We are thrilled to welcome Steve, the 2018 USGLC State and Local Award winner, to our leadership given his stellar experience as the former President of the Conference of Mayors and the current Vice-Chair of the Global Parliament of Mayors. He joins more than 200 mayors across our State Advisory Committees who know that what happens globally matters locally to our nation’s health, economic, and security interests.
“Fortunately, Dan Glickman isn’t going far, as he will continue his stellar involvement with USGLC as a Senior Advisor. His leadership, wise counsel, and partnership over the years has been remarkable – and we are all grateful to him and for him,” added Schrayer.
“It’s time to pass the torch to the next generation of leaders and Steve adds the exact right innovative thinking and diversity to our board at a time when Americans are looking to make sense of global events impacting their daily lives like never before,” said Secretary Dan Glickman.
“I am pleased to welcome Steve as my fellow co-chair and continue our tradition of bipartisan leadership. As I have often said, I may be known as a former Senator, but I have Mayor sewn into my underwear – this is the heart of our country and where USGLC lives,” said Senator Norm Coleman.
Mayor Benjamin steps into the role of co-chair of USGLC’s education arm, which focuses on educating the American public and policy leaders about the importance of U.S. global leadership through the tools of diplomacy and development, alongside his fellow co-chair, Senator Norm Coleman of Hogan Lovells. Both will work in partnership with the USGLC’s advocacy arm, led by board co-chairs, Sean Callahan of Catholic Relief Services and Selina Jackson of Procter & Gamble.
The USGLC also welcomed four new members to its Board of Directors: Jane Adams of Johnson & Johnson, Edgar Sandoval of World Vision US, and Ambassador Mark Green of Arizona State University’s McCain Institute, who returns to the USGLC Board after serving as Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 2017-2020. Carrie Hessler-Radelet of PCI/Global Communities also moves from the Campaign to the Center board following the merger of PCI and Global Communities earlier this year. Additional information about USLC’s board and membership can be found here.
