Keynote speaker John Sitilides is Principal at Trilogy Advisors LLC, a federal government affairs and public policy firm. Managing relationships with key decision makers in Washington, D.C, California and New York for over 25 years, Sitilides specializes in environmental regulatory, energy technology, natural resources and real estate issues. Current and recent client projects – in strategic partnership with former members of Congress – include Clean Water Act federal wetlands permitting, water resources and budget authorization projects; clean-coal power generation; and public/private energy partnerships.

Sitilides manages the State Department’s professional development program for senior U.S. diplomats in Greece and Cyprus, under a U.S. government contract. He serves on the Board of Directors of Biovest International, a biopharmaceutical company, and is a member of the U.S.-Qatar Business Council and the Wilson Council, the private sector advisory group of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where he is board chairman of the Southeast Europe Project.

Twice recognized by the State Department for expertise in public policy and international relations, Sitilides is a professional speaker delivering geopolitical risk and U.S. political analysis at investor and business conferences, and before government, military and intelligence community audiences. He has testified before Congress on U.S. foreign policy and is regularly interviewed on geopolitics, global economics and national political issues by broadcast, print and new media.

Sitilides previously directed the Western Policy Center, an international relations organization focused on U.S./NATO/EU issues in southeastern Europe. He was responsible for strategic planning, policy analysis, political and corporate communications, and financial management until he negotiated its 2004 merger with the Woodrow Wilson Center. He served as government relations strategist for one of California’s largest land development corporations in Sacramento, CA, and as a communications and legislative aide to U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato of New York, including on two successful re-election campaigns. He was an informal policy advisor to the 1996 Dole/Kemp presidential campaign, and was appointed in 2003 to the Commerce Department’s Initiative for Technology Cooperation in the Balkans.

Sitilides currently serves on the Board of Trustees of International Orthodox Christian Charities, a global humanitarian organization, and of Leadership 100, a national Greek Orthodox endowment. A member of AHEPA and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, he received the 2007 “Greek Letters and Culture Award” for his contributions to the advancement of classical knowledge in American education, religion, and culture.

Sitilides holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from Queens College. He lives in McLean, VA with his wife, who is an attorney and businesswoman, and their four sons.