Keynote Speaker:

Dr. Daniel Villanueva

Currently Global Education Manager at the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) here in Washington, DC, Dr. Daniel Villanueva is a native Southern Californian with a lifelong love of languages and cultures. In his current position, Daniel is responsible for most educational outreach programming, including the annual flagship “Academic WorldQuest” contest for high school students across the country. He also runs the Student Scholars program for undergraduates and manages WACA’s intern program and educational outreach programming.

Daniel began learning German in middle school because the French class was full. However, after his family hosted three exchange students with the German-American Partnership Program and he spent parts of his sophomore and junior years in Goslar, Germany himself, he knew German would be his vocation. Thus began his decades-long engagement with all things German-American: First as exchange student, then researcher, Honors and German faculty at Nevada’s two universities (UNLV and UNR), Senior Director of the Congress - Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), and Vice-President of the German-American Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC.

Daniel is the author and translator of several books and scholarly articles on German and Austrian culture, is a member of numerous professional and charitable organizations, and the recipient of a German-American Friendship Award from the German Foreign Ministry. He received his B.A. in German and International Relations from American University (Washington, DC), and his M.A. and Ph.D. in German Studies from Duke University.