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Our Leadership

Jonathan Weisstub, Chairman of the Board

Jonathan Weisstub is Executive Vice President, Corporate Development for Infrastructure Ontario. Prior to this appointment, he led government wide expenditure management initiatives as Assistant Deputy Minister and Head of the Program Review Secretariat within the Ontario Ministry of Finance. Jonathan also served as Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Gabriel Resources, a TSX listed gold company. Prior to joining Gabriel Resources, he practiced with the law firm of Stikeman Elliott LLP in the area of securities and corporate law, specializing in public and private mergers and acquisitions, as well as private equity transactions and corporate finance. Jonathan has also served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, from 2004 – 2006. Jonathan has a B.A. from McGill University, a M.Phil in Politics from Oxford University and a law degree from the University of Toronto.

 

Jonathan Tepperman, Vice Chairman of the Board

Jonathan Tepperman was appointed Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs in January 2011. Jonathan started his journalism career at Foreign Affairs as a junior editor before moving on to Newsweek International, where he was Deputy Editor in charge of Asia, Europe, Africa, and Middle East coverage, and then to EurasiaGroup, where he was Managing Editor and a director. He has written about international and local politics, books and ideas for a range of publications including The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The International Herald Tribune, The New Republic, The American Prospect, and others. Jonathan has a B.A. in English Literature from Yale University and law degrees from Oxford and New York University. A native of Windsor, Ontario, he lives in New York City.

 

David J. Kramer, Secretary of the Board

David J. Kramer is President of Freedom House, which he joined in October 2010. Prior to joining Freedom House, David was a Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He was an Adjunct Professor at the Elliott School for International Affairs at The George Washington University. Before joining GMF, David served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from March 2008 to January 2009. He also was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, responsible for Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus affairs as well as regional non-proliferation issues. Previously, he served as a Professional Staff Member in the Secretary of State’s Office of Policy Planning. Before that he served as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs. He also was Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy in Washington. David received his M.A. in Soviet studies from Harvard University and his B.A. in Soviet Studies and Political Science from Tufts University.

 

Peter Van Praagh, President

Peter Van Praagh is the President of Halifax International Security Forum. Before being appointed president of Halifax International Security Forum, Peter was Senior Director at the German Marshall Fund of the United States where he oversaw the creation and implementation of the Halifax International Security Forum, held each November in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Prior to joining GMF, Peter served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the minister of foreign affairs of Canada. He served as Deputy Vice President of Programs at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC, and Country Director for the National Democratic Institute both in the former Soviet Union and in Turkey. Peter is a graduate of University College, the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics. He is married to Lena Van Praagh and has three children, Yasha, Sophia Joy and Elizabeth.

 

Joseph Hall, Vice President

Based overseas for 15 years, Joseph Hall returned to the U.S. in 2011 to join the leadership of Halifax International Security Forum. Joseph most recently served as senior advisor for the Middle East and North Africa and senior director for Lebanon for the National Democratic Institute in Beirut. Since 1997, he has provided strategic advice to civic organizations and political parties throughout the Middle East, West Africa and the former Soviet Union and has conducted election observation and civic programs in the West Bank and Gaza, Azerbaijan, Sierra Leone, Egypt and Lebanon. Joseph opened the first NDI office in Cairo in 2005 and led the NDI team during the Egyptian Revolution in January and February of 2011. He has more than 30 years experience in nonprofit management and has served on the boards of directors of national advocacy organizations and philanthropic institutions in the U.S. and abroad. He maintains a home in Washington, DC and in the mountains of Lebanon.