Nicole (Nikki) Finnemann currently serves as the U.S. Coordinator for the North America Leaders Summit and overall strategic engagement coordinator for North America at the U.S. Department of State. Just prior, in her role overseeing strategic communications for all of the Western Hemisphere, Nikki lead U.S. public diplomacy for the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in June 2022.
As Strat Comms chief, Nikki was responsible for designing and maintaining State’s communications strategies towards achieving all of our security, prosperity, and democracy goals for the region, including countering disinformation. Since joining the Foreign Service, Nikki has managed teams, programs, and communications strategies to create more informed, connected, and economically-liberated communities in Mexico, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Cuba. The State Department has especially recognized Nikki for her strategic and innovative efforts operating in authoritarian environments and during crises.
From late 2018-2020, on sabbatical in San Francisco, Nikki liaised with social media companies combating misinformation before working at Stripe, a fintech company whose mission is to increase the GDP of the internet. Prior to joining the State Department, Nikki was the North Korea Director for Korea Economic Institute - a role in which she traveled in and out of Pyongyang on invitation from the Kim regime conducting Track 1.5 diplomacy. She was the first westerner to set foot inside North Korea's uranium enrichment facilities.
Nikki holds a MA in International Peace & Conflict Resolution from American University's School of International Service where she founded the American University Negotiation Project and a BA in Mathematics from Kalamazoo College. She started out as a teacher in Ecuador, Italy, and South Korea.
