In the Shadows

Mickey Bergman directs the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, a non-governmental, non-profit organization that negotiates the release of political prisoners and hostages around the world. A special-operations veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, he has spent the past decade freeing Americans from some of the most complex and insulated countries on earth, including Iran, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela, Syria, Gambia and Sudan. He is an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service, where his graduate courses focus on the art of emotional intelligence in international relations. He was nominated for the 2019 and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize alongside former Governor Bill Richardson.
 
Ellis Henican is a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist and a New York Times bestselling author. His website is henican.com.