Finland-America Educational Trust Fund

Mikko Koivumaa is the Director General of Communications at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. He has earlier worked as Director of Communications at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, as Head of Communications at Finn Church Aid, the largest Finnish international aid organization, and as Press and Culture Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo.

Mikko has Bachelor’s degrees in Social Studies and Arts as well as a Master of Arts degree in Japanese studies. 

Chris Karber assumed his current assignment as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki in July 2025.  

Mr. Karber is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service.  He served previously as the Acting Executive Director for the European and Eurasian Affairs Bureau and the International Organization Affairs Bureau (2023-2025).  Mr. Karber was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro (2020-2023).  He has also served in Germany, Portugal, and Bulgaria among other postings.  

Mr. Karber holds a master’s in international affairs from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School and a bachelor’s in international affairs from Emory University in Atlanta.

Danielle Harms (Järvinen) is the current Counselor for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Ms. Harms joined the U.S. Department of State in March 2003 and has previously served overseas in Iceland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Sweden and Croatia. Ms. Harms has also served as the State’s Department’s Senior Israel Desk Officer, Senior Advisor for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Orientation Coordinator for all new U.S. diplomats and as a Diplomat in Residence. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ms. Harms was an attorney in New York and Washington, D.C. and served as a political advisor on Capitol Hill.

Ms. Satu Paasilehto serves as the Acting Director for International Relations in the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. Her expertise covers versatile tasks related to the legal international activities of the Ministry of Education and Culture, such as international research infrastructures, negotiating and ratifying of international treaties, European law issues, etc.

Ms Paasilehto has a long experience in administration at the governmental level. Before the Ministry of Education and Culture, she served as the Senior Ministerial Adviser in Legislative Affairs and as the Project Manager in the Ministry of Justice.

Before her tenure in government, Ms. Paasilehto gained valuable experience in academia. She has held several positions in the University of Helsinki and the Academy of Finland. In addition to her doctoral thesis in legal theory, she has published several scientific articles in the field of legal theory and EC law.

She holds a master's degree and a doctoral degree in law from the University of Helsinki and a master's degree in legal philosophy from the Catholic University of Brussels.