Honorary Co-Chairs

U.S. representatives

Dr. Catherine Chambers (Chair) is the Research Manager of the University Centre of the Westfjords. She received her PhD in Fisheries from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2016. In her research, Catherine focuses on human dimensions of fisheries governance and small-scale fisheries management, among other things. Catherine was a Fulbright fellow in Iceland in 2011.

Jeff Dirks (Treasurer) is a newly retired State Department Foreign Service Officer, most recently serving as the economic and commercial officer in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Prior tours included Bogotá in Colombia and Banjul in Gambia. Through his economic work, Jeff saw first-hand the global benefits of the Fulbright program and how it leads to innovation and stronger intracultural connections. The State Department was Jeff’s third career. First was journalism, where Jeff was a reporter, editor, and general manager for newspapers in his Pacific Northwest home. Following was a 16-year stint at Microsoft, where he ended his time as a business development director working on products for education. Jeff holds a degree in Political Science from Pacific Lutheran University.

Rebecca Doffing is the Arctic Watcher at the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland.  A career Foreign Service officer, she previously served in Turkey, Pakistan, Niger, and Washington, D.C.  Rebecca has a degree in Diplomacy and Turkish Studies from Boston University, and studied as a Fulbright research scholar in Turkey in 2008.

Erin manages the U.S. Embassy’s public diplomacy section and its work in press, social media, grants, and exchanges.  She previously served as the General Services Officer in Skopje, North Macedonia, and as the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok, Russia, as well as in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, St. Petersburg and Moscow.  She also previously worked as the Strategic Outreach Officer in ECA’s Cultural Heritage Center.  Prior to joining the Department of State, Erin served with USAID as the Senior Communications Advisor for its regional mission to Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova.  Erin holds a BA in news-editorial journalism and an MBA, and has focused on strategic communications, international management, women’s economic empowerment, and humanitarian assistance throughout her career.

Dr. Pamela Innes (alternate) is Emerita Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wyoming. Her work focuses on language retention and revitalization, as well as language ideologies. Currently, she is examining the role that language plays in the lives of people who have immigrated to Iceland. She began this work during her 2012 Fulbright grant to study the work being done by Icelandic language schools.

Icelandic representatives

Dr. Berglind Tómasdóttir (Vice-Chair) is a flutist and interdisciplinary artist, as well as a professor of contemporary music performance at Iceland University of the Arts. In her work she frequently explores identity and archetypes, as well as music as a social phenomenon. Berglind holds degrees in flute playing from Reykjavik College of Music and The Royal Danish Music Conservatory in Copenhagen and a DMA in contemporary music performance from University of California, San Diego, where she was a Fulbright fellow.

Dr. Bryndís Björk Ásgeirsdóttir is a professor at the Department of Psychology and the Dean of the School of Social Science at Reykjavik University. She received her PhD from King´s College London in 2011 and has in her research focused on trauma, mental health and the effects of sexual abuse. In 2018 Bryndís was a Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University.

Geir H. Haarde served as Ambassador to the U.S. from 2015–2019 and then was Executive Director at the Board of the World Bank Group on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries from 2019–2021. Previously, Mr. Haarde served as Prime Minister of Iceland from 2006–2009, Foreign Minister from 2005–2006 and Minister of Finance from 1998–2005. He was a member of the Icelandic Parliament, Althingi, from 1987–2009. Mr. Haarde has an M.A. in Economics from the University of Minnesota, an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University – Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University.

Dr. Kristinn Andersen is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Iceland. He received a Fulbright grant to study in the U.S., where he received his PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University in 1993. He joined Marel, an Icelandic firm developing technology solutions internationally for food processing, where he held positions in product development and as a research manager for over 20 years. He joined the University of Iceland in 2014 where his research area is robotics, artificial intelligence and industrial applications.