Board of Trustees

Scandinavian Seminar Board of Trustees

Daphne L. Davidson, D. Phil., Chair
Former Attorney, Debevoise & Plimpton; American-Scandinavian Foundation board member and fellow; Harvard University and Harvard Law School; D. Phil in Old Norse from Oxford University, England; NEH Fellow; Marshall Fellow; Harvard Teaching Fellow

Wegard D. Holby, Vice Chair
Attorney, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge; Township Supervisor, Bridgeton Township, PA; Chairman, Ijiri Foundation – Georgetown University Law Center, St. Lawrence University; former Executive Director, Scandinavian Seminar; Scandinavian Seminar alum

Robert Maass, Secretary
Photographer and documentary filmmaker; former contributing photographer for Newsweek magazine; author of ten books for children; contributor to numerous private and governmental publications; Scandinavian Seminar alum

William J. Kaufmann, Treasurer
Chairman, MBS Global consulting company; former senior executive at Chase Manhattan Bank; former Chairman/CEO of CERC (Connecticut economic development consulting firm); formerly chief executive and board member of various private sector and non-profit institutions

Peter Andresén, Ph.D.
Director, Risk Integrated consulting company; former Executive at Campbell Alliance; Research Scientist at Northwestern University; Ph.D. from The Technical University of Denmark & Université Libre de Bruxelles; M.S. from University of Copenhagen

David H. Brown, Ph.D
Dean of Students, Vassar College; former Director of Counseling, Chaminade University of Honolulu; awarded grant from Svenska Institute for research in Stockholm; Elderhostel group leader in Norway, Sweden and Denmark; Ph.D. from Cornell University; MA from Colgate University

Bruce E. Buxton
Chief Executive, Scandinavian Seminar; Headmaster Emeritus, Falmouth Academy; Ethan Allen Institute – member of Commission on Rebalancing Education Cost and Value; Trustee of St. Johnsbury Academy, Monson Academy, and Boston Preparatory Charter School Foundation

Aili Flint, Ph.D.
Research scholar, Columbia University; former head of Finnish Studies at Columbia University; American Scandinavian Foundation board member and fellow; producer of Finnish cultural, literature, film and theater events; decorated by Finnish President as Knight First Class of the Lion of Finland; member of Kalevala Society

Eugene V. Kokot
Attorney; Partner at Katsky Korins LLP, NY, specializing in estate planning, trusts and estates; American Scandinavian Foundation board member; Thomas J. Watson Traveling Fellowship as student based in northern Sweden; former Vice Chair and former Secretary of Scandinavian Seminar; Union College; Columbia Law School

Susan Larson, Ph.D.
Linguistic, educational advisor to U.S. Department of Defense; former Executive Director, Swedish Council of America; founder of Finnish Studies at University of California, Berkley; founder and Director of Center for Scandinavian Studies at University of Minnesota; Scandinavian Seminar Alum

Col. John Norton, USA, Ret.
Swedish Council 2010 Swedish American of the Year; U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer (retired); Knox College; University of Minnesota (MA); University of Stockholm, International Graduate School; Scandinavian Seminar Alum

Rune Ryden, Ph.D.
Former member of Swedish Parliament; Fulbright Scholar; former Chairman of Swedish Association of Parliamentarians and Scientists; delegate to the United Nations; and, instructor at Lund University