This panel discussion offers insights into the experiences of recent Fulbright grantees in Finland, highlighting opportunities available for Americans at many career stages in diverse fields.

Introduced by Ambassador Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, this panel discussion offers insights into the experiences of recent Fulbright grantees in Finland, highlighting diverse fields and career trajectories. Representatives from the Friends of Fulbright Finland Alumni Council, in collaboration with Finlandia Foundation National, will be present at the “tori” to share information and engage in further discussion about Fulbright opportunities.

PRESENTERS:
Leena-Kaisa Mikkola is the Ambassador of Finland to the United States. She started in her role in September 2024. Prior to that, she served as the Ambassador of Finland to the People’s Republic of China from 2021 to 2024.Ambassador Mikkola is a career diplomat, and she joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in 1992. She has worked with Middle Eastern and African Affairs, most recently as Finland’s Ambassador to Israel (2011–2016) and as the Director General for Africa and the Middle East (2017–2021). She has also worked at the diplomatic missions in Brussels, Canberra, Athens and Budapest. Born in 1962, Ambassador Mikkola is originally from Kaustinen, Finland. She holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Helsinki.

Mia Filardi, BA, received a Fulbright–Tampere University Graduate Award for master’s studies in Peace, Mediation, and Conflict Research (2023–2025). She earned her BA in International Studies and Finnish from the University of Washington and currently serves as executive assistant at Finlandia Foundation National while completing her degree in Tampere.

Joseph Zinno, M.Sc. (Tech), was awarded a Fulbright–LUT University Award (2022–2023) for a master’s in Industrial Design Engineering after earning his BS at Villanova University. At LUT’s Lahti Campus, he served as a teaching assistant and conducted thesis research with Stalatube Oy on sustainable stainless steel design. He now works as a business analyst at McKinsey & Co. in Pittsburgh.
Bethany McGowan, MLIS, MS, an associate professor at Purdue University, received a Fulbright Finland Foundation “Seeking Solutions for Global Challenges Award” to conduct research at Tampere University (2023–2024). She conducted a Delphi study on Finland’s regulatory response to health misinformation and taught a graduate course on infodemic management. Her work is contributing to global health communication strategies.

Edward Sivak, MD, a staff physician at MetroHealth and professor at Case Western Reserve University, received a 2015–2016 Fulbright Flex Grant to Aalto University for comparative studies of healthcare costs in Finland and the U.S. Returning later as a visiting professor, he co-developed a new cost comparison method that revealed similarities in the variations of the cost of care in both countries.