Mitchell is a leading international affairs advisor and strategic planning expert with extensive experience in government, the private sector, academia, and the philanthropic community.
Mitchell’s government experience includes serving as the Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department and as the President’s Special Envoy to the Northern Ireland Peace Process with the rank of Ambassador. For his work with the British and Irish governments to help end the “Troubles,” he earned the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Award for “exceptionally distinguished service.”
Prior to joining Brunswick, he was CEO and president of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where he engineered the organization’s financial turnaround, and increased its fund raising, visitation and social relevance. He has served as a Distinguished Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and as President of Washington College. He has also advised foreign governments on water security, historic preservation, and ending paramilitary activities, and spent four years negotiating with North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program.
Mitchell earned his J.D. at Columbia University and D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University. He has testified frequently before Congress, is the author of numerous articles and books on international security and American foreign policy, and is most recently the author of Negotiating with Evil: When to Talk to Terrorists. He is regularly asked to speak on radio and television.