Vandenberg Prize with Bridget A. Brink,
Ambassador of the United States to Ukraine
OCTOBER 15 @ 12 NOON-1:45 P.M.
75th Anniversary Year of the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan
Vandenberg Award Recipient:
Bridget A. Brink, current U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine (and native of East Grand Rapids)
Hillman/Orr Award Recipient:
A surprise! (Yet to be announced)
The World Affairs Council of Western Michigan (WACWM), in its 75th year of “bringing the world to West Michigan, announces the recipient of its fifth Vandenberg Prize—which goes to a national or international leader who has been influential in developing global understanding and collaboration on the world stage. The first four prizes were awarded to Ambassador (ret.) Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. (2020); General (ret.) James N. Mattis (2021); Ambassador (ret.) Marie Yovanovitch (2022); and U.N. World Food Programme Director David M. Beasley (2023).
The recipient of the 2024 Vandenberg Prize is Bridget A. Brink, the current U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. Ambassador Brink is a native of East Grand Rapids, and a graduate of East Grand Rapids High School, Kenyon College, and the London School of Economics.
Ambassador Brink has served with distinction in the Foreign Service for 25 years, specializing in Europe and Eurasia. Her appointment was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in 2022, and she arrived in Kyiv on May 22, 2022. Prior to the appointment to Ukraine, Ambassador Brink served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. She was also the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State and the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and Tbilisi, Georgia. She began her career in Belgrade, Serbia.
She will receive the Vandenberg Prize on Tuesday, October 15, at 12 noon, at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. The Vandenberg Prize is named after Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg (1881-1951) who was the inspiration for founding the Council in 1949 by Grand Rapids attorney (and later Federal Judge) Douglas Hillman and businessman Edgar Orr.
In addition, the Council will present the annual Hillman-Orr Award to a West Michigan individual or institution that mirrors the intent of the Council’s founding leaders to bring global awareness and international understanding to the West Michigan community.
Hillman and Orr were inspired by the life and work of Senator Vandenberg, an isolationist who became a strong advocate of internationalism in the wake of World War II. Vandenberg forged bipartisan support for the Marshall Plan and NATO and was appointed one of the first U.S. delegates to the brand-new United Nations. Senator Vandenberg has always been considered the “patron saint” of the Council.
The Council is grateful for a formational gift by The Meijer Foundation to launch this special recognition of the importance of global connectedness to West Michigan. Longtime World Affairs Council corporate supporters Amway and Bank of America are also major sponsors.
