Episode 109: John Hewko-CEO of Rotary International

This week on Inside the Skev we are joined by John Hewko, the General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation. Rotary, which is based in Evanston, has over 1.4 million members in over 46,000 clubs around the world. Rotary is an organization of people who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

Previous to Rotary, John was the Vice President for Operations and Compact Development for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government agency established in 2004 to deliver foreign assistance to the world’s poorest countries. Prior to joining MCC, Hewko was an international partner with the law firm Baker & McKenzie, specializing in international corporate transactions in emerging markets. He helped establish the firm’s Moscow office and was the managing partner of its offices in Kyiv and Prague.

While working in Ukraine in the early 1990s, Hewko assisted the working group that prepared the initial draft of the new Ukrainian post-Soviet constitution and was a charter member of the first Rotary club in Kyiv.

John is a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has published papers and articles in leading U.S. and international publications, and he has spoken extensively on political and business issues dealing with the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, Africa, and Latin America. He is also a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

Hewko holds a law degree from Harvard University, a master’s in modern history from Oxford University (where he studied as a Marshall Scholar), and a bachelor’s in government and Soviet studies from Hamilton College in New York.

More info on Rotary International can be found here: https://www.rotary.org/en

Inside the Skev is a one stop shop for all things Skokie and Evanston hosted by Aaron Masliansky. Be the first to know about local events, new podcast episodes, real estate and the latest stories about the great people in these towns by going to http://www.skevanston.com. Sign up for the newsletter and reach out to Aaron Masliansky at aaron@skevanston.com with any questions or suggestions.