Ronald E. Neumann
President, American Academy of Diplomacy

Formerly a Deputy Assistant Secretary Ronald E. Neumann served three times as Ambassador; to Algeria, Bahrain and finally to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from July 2005 to April 2007. Before Afghanistan, Mr. Neumann, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, served in Baghdad from February 2004 with the Coalition Provisional Authority and then as Embassy Baghdad’s principal interlocutor with the Multinational Command, where he was deeply involved in coordinating the political part of military action.
Prior to working in Iraq, he was Chief of Mission in Manama, Bahrain (2001-2004). Before that, Ambassador Neumann served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near East Affairs (1997-2000), where he directed the organization of the first separately-funded NEA democracy programs and also was responsible for the bureau’s work in developing the North African Economic Initiative for Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria. Before that assignment, he was Ambassador to Algeria (1994 to 1997) and Director of the Office of Northern Gulf Affairs (Iran and Iraq; 1991 to 1994). Earlier in his career, he was Deputy Chief of Mission in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and in Sanaa in Yemen, Principal Officer in Tabriz, Iran and Economic/Commercial Officer in Dakar, Senegal. His previous Washington assignments include service as Jordan Desk officer, Staff Assistant in the Middle East (NEA) Bureau, and Political Officer in the Office of Southern European Affairs. Ambassador Neumann is the author of The Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan (Potomac Press, 2009), a book on his time in Afghanistan.  He is the author of a number of monographs and articles.  At the Academy he has focused particularly on efforts to expand State and USAID personnel to enable these institutions to carry out their responsibilities.

Ambassador Neumann speaks some Arabic and Dari as well as French. He received State Department Senior Foreign Service pay awards in 2004, 2003, and 1999 as well as individual Superior Honor Awards in 1993 and 1990. He served as an Army infantry officer in Viet Nam and holds a Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantry Badge. In Baghdad, he was awarded the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. He earned a B.A. in history and an M.A. in political science from the University of California at Riverside. He is married to the former M. Elaine Grimm. They have two children.

Aimee Stoltz
Program Director

Aimee Stoltz is the Program Director at the Academy, where she coordinates Academy programs, events, and publications, and manages the budget and finances of the organization. Aimee is a California native and attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated with a degree in political science with a minor in Spanish. She went on to live in Costa Rica, Ireland, China, and Italy, for work and language study. Her travels and study prompted her to earn her master’s degree in international relations and international economics at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Studies (SAIS) at the Bologna, Italy, and Washington, DC campuses. Her varied professional background includes nonprofit, education, think tank, and tech positions. Before attending SAIS, she worked in the AdWords division of Google, then worked for Rosetta Stone for several years, and most recently was working in research with the Program on Crisis, Conflict, and Cooperation (C3) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Aimee’s keen interest in American foreign policy and international relations brought her to the Academy, where she is focused on fundraising, social media expansion, and developing the Academy’s educational programs. In her spare time, she is also a Zumba fitness instructor and an avid language learner.

Hong Hanh Dinh
Finance/Operations Assistant

Hong Hanh Dinh is the Finance and Operations Assistant at the American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD), where she provides web, accounting, and administrative support. When not at the Academy, Hong serves as the Program Assistant at the Una Chapman Cox Foundation. Hong has recently graduated from American University with a dual degree in Business, Language, and Culture Studies and German. After living half a year in Germany and studying business administration at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, she is proficient in German.

Born in Vietnam and raised in the USA, Hong has a strong interest in international development and relations, particularly in Southeast Asia. She first explored this interest with an internship in the Economic and Trade Policy department for the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington, D.C. She has traveled to Malaysia where she attended a Parliamentary hearing to examine Malaysia’s political development and economic modernization. She has interned in Hanoi, Vietnam where she conducted fieldwork on sustainable agriculture and climate change for the Center for Sustainable Rural Development, an NGO focused on poverty reduction. Her most recent internship was at the Project 2049 Institute, a think tank dedicated to researching public policy regarding security issues on Eurasia, East, and Southeast Asia.

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DIPLOMACY
1200 18th Street, NW Suite 902
Washington, DC 20036