Since 2021, BCEA is fortunate enough to receive tremendous support from volunteering practitioners and experts to serve as our advisors. The advisors provide critical guidance, enriching our learning environment while also shaping our organization's strategic direction. Their expertise and our commitment to learning work hand in hand, fostering a vibrant community where ideas flourish. We are grateful for their contribution to our work and our community.
Founding Director of Master of Public Diplomacy Program, USC designated Advisor forBridge Cultural Exchange Academy
Nicholas J. Cull is originally from the U.K. His BA (International History and Politics) and Ph.D. (History) were both from the University of Leeds. He also studied at Princeton as a Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth Fund of New York. He taught at Birmingham University and at the University of Leicester where, as one of the U.K.’s youngest full professors, he launched the Center on American Studies in 1997.
Moving to USC in 2005, he was the founding director of the master's program in public diplomacy and part of the team recognized by the Department of State with the Benjamin Franklin Award. From 2004 to 2019, Cull served as president of the International Association for Media and History. He has provided advice and training in public diplomacy to a number of foreign ministries and cultural agencies around the world including those of the U.S., U.K., Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. His many books include Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age (Polity, 2019).
Executive Director, USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future; Bridge Cultural Exchange Academy Advisor
Kamy Akhavan, former CEO of ProCon.org, the nation’s leading source of nonpartisan research on controversial issues, now leads the Center for the Political Future (CPF) at the University of Southern California. As the Executive Director, Kamy oversees the operations of all CPF components including the Unruh Institute of Politics, the Fellows Program, the USC Dornsife Poll, and community and global engagement.
Kamy writes and speaks on numerous topics including the origins of and solutions to political polarization, improving interpersonal communication, the awesome power of debate, nonprofit leadership, digital marketing, civics education, and how to teach controversial issues. In addition to those topics, Kamy is a moderator, panelist, and keynote speaker on elections and current political events, as well as hot topics from marijuana legalization to gun control and from the death penalty to physician-assisted suicide.
With more than 20 years of experience in bridging divides at national levels, Kamy’s work has served more than 200 million people, including students at more than 12,000 schools in all 50 states and 100 countries. He has been published and interviewed in textbooks, magazines, television, radio, newspapers, and websites including Reuters, Associated Press, Fox News, ABC, Washington Post, NPR, CNN, and CBS
Outside of USC, Kamy serves on several boards including: Bridging Movement Alignment Council (BMAC), Common Ally, Critica, Gell, Listen First Project, PERKS Inc., Psychology of Technology Institute, Team Awareness Combating Overdose (TACO), and The Society Library.
