SAIS Clubs: Keep the Connection
Stay involved with SAIS-and friends, faculty and current students-through JHU and SAIS alumni groups
SAIS alumni are part of the JHU Alumni Association, a network with chapters in more than 20 domestic cities and over a dozen international clubs, many headed by SAIS Washington, Bologna and Nanjing alumni. The JHU alumni community is a volunteer-driven effort through which graduates come together to support each other, the university and its nine schools, including SAIS. Activities range from educational lectures and cultural presentations to social events. For a listing of JHU alumni leaders of U.S. chapters and a listing of international clubs, visit www.alumni.jhu.edu/chapters.
SAIS Regional Alumni Clubs
SAIS Alumni Relations works with graduates to form strong, regionally based alumni clubs in U.S. metropolitan areas with signifiant SAIS alumni clusters in cities such as Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The goal is to develop effective, locally based communities to deliver alumni-oriented programming and communication. Members reconnect with each other and with SAIS, participating in student recruitement, providing career guidance and employment opportunities, and more fully engaging in their support of SAIS.
The SAIS Boston Alumni Club launched January 2009 with a talk by scholar Azar Nafisi hosted by Diane and Bob Hildreth '75. The gathering assembled some 50 SAIS alumni to hear about Nafisi's book, Things I've Been Silent About. The Club has since hosted numerous SAIS faculty members for discussions and book launches as well as informal happy hours. Feel free to connect with Boston alumni organizer Andy Goldberg '82 if you have suggestions for future events.
SAIS has nearly 190 alumni who live in the greater Los Angeles area who gather for formal and informal gatherings. In the last few years alumni have hosted SAIS Professor of American Foreign Policy Michael Mandelbaum and Professor of Russia and Eurasian Studies Bruce Parrott. Have ideas to bring alumni together or are you new in town? Feel free to contact SAIS point of contact Stephen Chien '06 and Bruce Comer '97 to get connected with fellow SAISers.
The SAIS New York Alumni Club (SNYAC) started to coalesce in 2008 through the efforts of a group of alumni including Jim Upton '91, '92, Dylan Pereira '02, David Steel '01 and Arthur Rubin '92. Over the years it has grown to a working group of over 40 alumni from all three SAIS campuses (DC, Nanjing and Bologna) who provide leadership and direction for activities. The club has successfully sponsored more than twenty events including discussions with SAIS professors, partnership gatherings with other alumni groups and linkages with SAIS through Alumni Relations, Career Services and Admissions. For more detailed Club information read NY NEWS, a bi-annual e-newsletter created for and designed by SNYAC members. Feel free to contact club co-chairs Arthur Rubin '92 and Elizabeth Madigan Jost '97, '98 and please join the SAIS NY Alumni Club on Facebook.
The SAIS San Francisco Alumni Club includes over 180 alumni currently living and working in the San Francisco area. Several dedicated SAIS alumni such as Carine Gursky '96 work with alumni to organize dinners, happy hours and lectures. Every spring, the group partners with the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association to host a SAIS professor to lecture on various topics. In March 2009 Professor Ruth Wedgwood lead a discussion on Obama's Opportunities: Putin, Proliferation, and Pakistan'® followed by a post-lecture mixer at Swig. To join the club please contact Carine Gursky '96 or become a fan of SAIS SF Alumni Club on Facebook.
Washington D.C. is home to the largest cluster of alumni in the world. With over 3,500 alumni in the D.C. metro area, SAIS alumni return to the School to attend important lectures, book launches, afternoon roundtable conversations, career fairs, cocktail gatherings and the ever popular Friday evening happy hour to mix and mingle with current students. Anna Wittman Ravvin '06 is the metro-area alumni Point if Contact.
SAIS International Points of Contact
SAIS alumni volunteer as points of contact (POCs) to help form alumni groups abroad. POCs are often the communication hub for alumni traveling or relocating to new destinations, and when possible POCs assist newcomers with introductions to fellow alumni. POCs have hosted dinners and happy hours for relocating alumni and for visiting SAIS professors and students on study tours during winter and spring semester breaks. Most POC volunteers reside abroad in Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
If you're travelling through Australia, feel free to contact the SAIS Australia Alumni Club through Michael DeLucia '95!
The SAIS Ankara Alumni Club was established in September 2009 with the goal of developing a SAIS community in Ankara. The Club's founder, Sahin Yaman '97, is looking forward to organizing events and strengthening the reputation of SAIS in the capital of Turkey. If you would like to have more information about this group or to connect with alumni in Ankara, please send an email to saisankaraclub@gmail.com.
The SAIS Barcelona Alumni Club is new to the evolving International SAIS club list as of January 2011. If you would like to connect with SAIS alumni in Barcelona, contact Denise Senmartin '03!
The SAIS Beirut Alumni Club is sparking considerable interest, attracting alumni attention from far and wide. To learn more about the club, its members and future get togethers, please contact Gisela Nauk '00.
The SAIS Brazil Alumni Club has been quietly active for many years meeting for dinners in various alumni homes for Carnival and other occasions in Sao Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro - often in conjunction with visits by SAIS Professor Riordan Roett. For SAIS alumni visiting or moving to Brazil who want to reconnect with fellow SAISers, contact Marcus Freitas '98 in Sao Paulo, Suzana Haddad '02 in Rio or Monique Merriam '81 in Brasilia. Please visit the JHU SAIS Brazil Group on
Passing through Cambodia? If so, please feel free to contact Kurt Macleod '96 who is the point of contact and initiator of the SAIS Cambodia Alumni Club. This is a nascent group just getting underway.
The SAIS Colombia Alumni Club held its first event on August 15, 2009 with Professor Fukuyama in Medellin. The Club is planning to organize several gatherings throughout the year. Please contact alumni organizer, Ralf Leiteritz '99, with ideas for future events.
Michalis Persianis '05 is forming a new SAIS Cyprus Alumni Club and looks forward hearing from fellow alumni. If you are a SAISer living in Cyprus or traveling in the area, please feel free to contact Michalis.
Get together with SAISers in the Domincan Republic by getting in touch with Point of Contact Glenn Apolinar '12.
The SAIS Dubai Alumni Club came together through the efforts of SAIS graduates living and working in Dubai. Finding it difficult to network with other professionals in international relations, Vahid Fotuhi '02 set out to form a SAIS club. Initially the number of SAIS alumni in Dubai was small, but as with most things in Dubai, it quickly grew. With new alumni arriving almost monthly, the club now has about 40 members and alumni organize events every one to two months. The club's last gathering was on September 1 and included presentation on 'Counter-insurgency Policies in Iraq and Afghanistan' given by Michael J. Baumgartner.
The SAIS Greece Alumni Club is new to the evolving international SAIS club list as of November 1, 2010 with Alexandra Patsi '01, '03 being our SAIS point of contact. Please contact her if you are traveling to Greece or would otherwise like to reach out to SAIS alumni who are living there. Also, please read about possible Stavros Niarchos Foundation fellowship and internship opportunities and refer any prospective students you know who qualify to the SAIS Office of Admissions.
Did you know that SAISers comprise a large portion of the larger Johns Hopkins alumni chapter in Hong Kong? If you are travelling to or living in Hong Kong, feel free to contact and get involved with this group through Anne LeBourgeois '80 or Charles Chang '96.
The SAIS Israel Alumni Club is sparking considerable interest, attracting alumni attention from far and wide. To learn more about the club, its members and future get togethers, please contact Yonit Golub Serkin JHU '04, '05.
Alumni living and traveling in Istanbul are welcome to connect with Ceren Erdogan '06 who is a point of contact for the new and evolving SAIS Istanbul Alumni Club.
Widya Sutiyo '04 is a new point of contact for SAISers in Indonesia and is looking forward to reviving SAIS Jakarta Alumni Club. Please contact her if you would like to get involved.
The SAIS Alumni Club in Jordan is new to the evolving International SAIS club list as of March 2012. If you would like to connect with SAIS alumni in Jordan, contact Jeff Lilley '91.
The SAIS Kabul Alumni Club has been welcoming SAISers to Afghanistan for quite some time now through word of mouth. If you find yourself anywhere in the area, please contact the group through Ms. Elizabeth "Lizzy" Hallinan '09. They're looking forward to meeting fellow graduates in country!
The SAIS Kosovo Alumni Club was launched with the aid of SAIS alumna Leslie Hess. The club is looking to schedule happy hours and plan events in the future such as the May 12 dinner at Tiffany's in Pristina. For more information contact Leslie Hess '03.
The SAIS alumni in Kuala Lumpur is new to the evolving International SAIS club list as of January 2011. If you would like to connect with SAIS alumni in Kuala Lumpur, contact Fermin Fautsch '89.
Lahore, Pakistan has an increasing number of SAIS alumni in the country and now, with the help of Abbas Akhtar '12, SAISers have a point of contact to gather as a group or to meet-up when SAIS professors, students or fellow alumni visit Pakistan.
If you are passing through the Philippines, feel free to get in touch with our SAIS Manila Alumni Club through Edi Sian '04
Get together with SAISers in Mexico City by getting in touch with Point of Contact Sara Bracceschi '04, '05.
SAISers in Montreal are active and want to get together with you! If you would like to connect with SAIS alumni in Montreal, contact Annie Sabourin '02.
The SAIS Moscow Alumni Club has been active for several years and meets periodically for social gatherings. Those interested in joining should contact Mikhail Ryzhkov '97 or call 7 (903)1176504. If you passing through Moscow please feel free to get in touch with Jeremy Ventuso '08, '09, the SAIS point of contact there. Also, get connected with alumni on the SAIS Russia alumni
Anit Mukherjee '05 and Raimund Magis '97 are helping to establish the SAIS New Delhi Alumni Club. Please contact them to learn more about the club, its members and future events.
Get together with a newly formed SAIS group in New Zealand. Contact James Glucksman '88, '89 to connect with SAISers in this area!
Alumni gathering with Professor Emeritus William Zartman on November 4, 2009 launched the SAIS Ottawa Alumni Club. Christina Yeung '00 is a point of co0act for SAISers in Ottawa.
If you would like to stay in touch with the growing alumni community in Poland, please contact the SAIS Poland Alumni Club, through either Tim Huson '97 (Krakow) and Monika Noniewicz '10, '11 (Warsaw).
For those SAISers living in and traveling through Qatar, Kristina Helg '03 is forming a SAIS Qatar Alumni Club. For more information about the group and to get involved, please contact Kristina.
Phil Robertson '97 has been a point of contact for SAISers in Siam for the past dozen years. He organizes gatherings for alumni, faculty and students throughout the year in Bangkok. If you would like to know more about SAISers in Siam, please feel free to contact Phil.
Living in or visiting Seoul and want to connect with SAIS alumni? If so, please feel free to contact Rian Jensen '09 who is the point of contact for our SAIS Seoul Alumni Club. This group gathers often for social and networking events and want you to join them!
Matt Hildebrandt '05 is our point of contact for SAISers living in Singapore and has been part of this informally-organized and robust alumni group for the past three years, If you would like to contact him to share your ideas or to get to know more SAIS alumni in Singapore who gather freuqently, please feel free to do so!
If you live in or are passing through Taiwan, feel free to get in touch with Chi Su '75. He is our SAIS Point of Contact in Taipei and would welcome the chance to meet you and connect you with other SAISers who are a part of this newly forming group of alumni.
Kirsten Michener '91 is a new point of contact for alumni in Tbilisi, Georgia and would be happy to hear from alumni in the region. Please feel free to contact Kirsten with suggestions for alumni gatherings.
The group of SAISers in Tokyo is thriving and gets together often. They welcome new faces at their events always! To get involved, please contact Shoichiro Odagaki '69.
The SAIS Toronto Alumni Club has already established itself as an active, thriving group which meets for a variety of dinners, happy hours and events on a regular basis. Toronto Alumni Club's organizer Paul Yeung '02 has been instrumental to its success.
Edith Laszlo '96, '97 is forming a new Tunisia SAIS Alumni Club and looks forward hearing from fellow alumni. If you are a SAISer living in Tunisia or traveling in the area, please feel free to contact Edith.
The SAIS Vancouver Alumni Club has been drawing substantial crowds since its earliest events. Spearheaded by its organizer Laurence Lemay '08 the club has quickly grown, bonding over past SAIS experiences while creating new ones as alumni.
The SAIS Vietnam Alumni Group, though still forming, is gathering momentum. Thanks to Vietnam alumni organizer Chuong Tran, SAIS alumni met with Prof. Jim Riedel in Hanoi earlier this March. If you would like more information about this group or meet more alumni in Vietnam, please contact Chuong Tran '86.
To serve as a new alumni contact, please let us know and we'll add your region to this website. Please e-mail saisalum@jhu.edu or call 202.663.5630.