On May 6th a group of 6 German Marshall Fund (GMF) Fellows from Europe and Russia got a taste of the Ice Age Floods story as they toured the Gorge, shepherded by Krystyna Wolniakowski, the Executive Director of the Columbia River Gorge Commission and a past-fellow herself. This was their last day to do some sightseeing before heading home after three weeks of intensive presentations and meetings with experienced business and political leaders.
After being wowed by the scenic beauty and amazing wines of the Gorge they came to Rowena Crest for a brief discussion about the Ice Age Floods at this incredible vantage point. IAFI Gorge Chapter leader, Lloyd DeKay, used maps and illustrations and pointed out several local Floods features to help tell our story of the 1000′ deep floods that roared across the landscape and through Rowena Gap, crashing against and over this promontory on their devastating path to the sea. These Fellows came away awed by the many wonders of the Gorge, and feeling like they had the crowning experience of all the GMF groups touring the States and Europe.
The GMF-funded Fellowship Program is a leadership development program intended to help build networks and develop effective transatlantic relationships and engagement for future world leaders. Each year 70+ GMF Fellows are stringently chosen from hundreds of up-and-coming business and political leaders from both sides of the Atlantic. Each small “class” is supported for 6 months of focused distance learning and 24 days of first-hand travel and experiences as they meet and learn from high-level business and political leaders. It was humbling for us to have played a small part in contributing to the experiences of this dynamic group of future world leaders.