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L. Gordon Flake was appointed Executive Director in February 1999. Prior to joining the Mansfield Foundation, he was a Senior Fellow and Associate Director of the Program on Conflict Resolution at The Atlantic Council of the United States. Before moving to The Atlantic Council, he served as Director for Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America.

Mr. Flake travels frequently to Japan, Korea, China and other countries in Asia as a conference participant and lecturer. He is a regular contributor on Korea issues in the U.S. and Asian press, and he has traveled to North Korea on four occasions. Mr. Flake has published extensively on policy issues in Asia. His most recent publication, entitled Paved with Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea, examines the impact of NGO and UN humanitarian relief efforts in North Korea after 1995.

Mr. Flake was born in Rehoboth, New Mexico. He received his B.A. degree in Korean with a minor in international relations from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He completed his M.A. at the David M. Kennedy Center for International and Area Studies, also at B.Y.U. His master’s thesis was on the economic reforms in Laos. He lived in Korea for a number of years and speaks both fluent Korean and Laotian. He has seven young children and is married to Pakayvanh Sisoutham of Vientiane, Laos.

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About the Mansfield Foundation:

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation was created in 1983 to advance Maureen and Mike Mansfield’s life-long efforts to promote understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples of Asia and the United States. The Foundation sponsors exchanges, dialogues and publications that create networks among U.S. and Asian leaders, explore the underlying issues influencing public policies, and increase awareness about the nations and peoples of Asia. The Mansfield Foundation’s geographic focus is Northeast Asia and India as it relates to that region. The Foundation receives support from individuals, corporations and philanthropic organizations. It also provides support to The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at The University of Montana.

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation is not a grant-making organization and does not accept grant proposals.

The Foundation has offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Japan, and Missoula, Montana.