Sean Connell

Sean Connell is a public policy professional with two decades of experience bridging the international, federal, state and local levels. He is a Senior Fellow at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, and his research and writing focuses on U.S.-Japan and U.S.-Korea economic relations. He previously served as Vice President, Government and Public Relations, for LAVLE USA Inc., a supplier and developer of advanced energy storage systems, and prior to that in local government and with the economic development community in Washington State, including leadership roles in international trade.

From 2003 through 2011, Mr. Connell worked at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he served as Director for Japan and Korea, and concurrently as Executive Director of the U.S.-Korea Business Council. In these positions, he spearheaded the U.S. Chamber’s policy initiatives on Japan and Korea, and played key coordinating roles in the U.S. business community’s efforts to secure the successful negotiation and approval by the U.S. Congress of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

From 2011 to 2012, Mr. Connell was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Japan and visiting scholar at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry in Tokyo. In 2013 he was a POSCO Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center, and Japan Studies Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington. Mr. Connell has also worked for the Washington State House of Representatives and Mie Prefectural Government in Japan.

Mr. Connell holds a B.A. with High Honors from Wesleyan University and an M.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University. He serves on the board of directors of the Washington State China Relations Council and the Mount Baker Council, Boy Scouts of America; and on the national advisory committees of the Japan-America Student Conference and Korea-America Student Conference.