Friends of Fulbright Finland Events 2024 - Upcoming

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Alumni Get-Together at FinnFest USA

July 31-August 3, 2025, Duluth, MN

Three photos of U.S. Fulbright Finland alumni at FinnFest 2025, showing alumni at the Tori booth, holding a Fulbright Finland t-shirt and speaking in a panel presentation.
Snapshots from FinnFest 2025. Photos by Finlandia Foundation National (left and right)

At FinnFest 2025 in Duluth, MN, Fulbright Finland celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the first Finnish ASLA (Amerikan Suomen Lainan Apurahat, "Grants from the American Loan to Finland”) cohort to the U.S.

The program included a panel discussion, Collaborative Curiosity & Fulbright Finland: Diplomacy, Leadership, Innovation, and Wellbeing, featuring Fulbright U.S. Scholars Edward Sivak (2015-16) and Bethany McGowan (2023-24), alongside Fulbright U.S. Graduate Student alumni Joe Zinno (2022-23) and Mia Filardi (2023-24). The panel was opened with remarks by Ambassador of Finland Leena-Kaisa Mikkola.

Panel of Fulbright Finland alumni with Ambassador Leena-Kaisa Mikkola. Ed Sivak is handing a white t-shirt with Fulbright Finland Foundation logo on it to the Ambassador.
Ambassador of Finland Leena-Kaisa Mikkola (left) with the alumni panelists Ed Sivak, Joe Zinno, Mia Filardi, and Bethany McGowan.

The Foundation’s participation at FinnFest was planned and organized entirely by the Foundation’s U.S. alumni and funded by a donation from one of our alumni. Collaboration and support from the Foundation's partner, the Finlandia Foundation National, was also instrumental.

Two photos from FinnFest: on left, two men are pointing to a map of Finland. On right, three people standing next to each other, smiling at the camera.
Three photos from FinnFest: on the left, three alumni at the Foundation's booth at tori. In the middle, four people standing next to each other, smiling at the camera. On the right, people queueing up to the Foundation's booth at Tori, waiting to speak with alumni.
The Fulbright Finland booth at the Tori exhibition area was bustling, with more than 60 grant guides distributed and many follow-up inquiries from visitors eager to learn about study, teaching, and research opportunities in Finland. Photo in the middle by Finland Foundation National.

Find our more about FinnFest USA: https://finnfest.us/
 

Virtual Welcome Event

June 4, 2025, Virtual

Capture of Zoom meeting with participants smiling

The Friends of Fulbright Finland (FoFF) Alumni Council, together with alumni from the Welcome Network, hosted a virtual welcome event for the 2025-26 U.S. grantees.

Alumna Leasa Weimer moderated the event, and grantees were matched with alumni in two breakout rooms, the first room divided by grant category, and the second room divided by host cities. The grantees and alumni both expressed great appreciation for the event.

The Welcome Network is a group of alumni living in the U.S. dedicated to helping incoming and outgoing Fulbright Finland Foundation grantees.

 

The Finnish-American Society in Science, Innovation, and Arts - Launch Event

May 28, 2025, Embassy of Finland, Washington, D.C.

Many Finnish and U.S. Fulbright Finland alumni joined the event to celebrate the launch of the Finnish-American Society in Science, Innovation, and Arts, a new platform fosters transatlantic collaboration by bringing together individuals across disciplines and borders.

It was a full house at the Embassy, and a third of the participants were grantees and alumni of the Fulbright Finland Foundation.

Four Fulbright Finland alumni smiling at the camera during a networking reception
Fulbright Finland alumni Kelly Day, Bill Eaton, and Edward and Barbara Sivak at the launch event.

Read an article about the event: Launching the Finnish-American Society in Science, Innovation, and Arts (Fulbright Finland News 1/2025)

See more photos from the event from the Embassy's Flickr profile. 

FoFF Alumni Council Hybrid Meeting

May 28, 2025, Embassy of Finland, Washington D.C.

8 people standing on the stairs at the Embassy of Finland in D.C., smiling at the camera
FoFF Alumni Council members at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C.: Bill Eaton, Julia McGee, Ed Sivak (back row, from left to right); Michael Putman, Anita Wagner, Barbara Sivak; Terhi Mölsä and Kelly Day.

The Friends of Fulbright Finland (FoFF) Alumni Council held its hybrid meeting at the Embassy
of Finland in Washington, DC in conjunction with the launch event for the Finnish-American Society in Science, Innovation, and Arts.

Fulbright Finland Foundation 75th Anniversary Celebration & Friends of Fulbright Finland Alumni Meet and Greet

May 24-25, 2024, Mystic, CT

People on Steamboat Sabino at the Mystic River in Mystic, CT. In the middle of the photo there is a person telling something to the other people who are listening.

The 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Finland Foundation and Finnish-U.S. exchanges was celebrated in Mystic, Connecticut, in May 2024. 

The two-day celebration was organized by the volunteers of the Friends of Fulbright Finland (FoFF) Alumni Council in the United States, and it gathered over 60 alumni, current grantees, and friends of Fulbright Finland for multiple special events over the Memorial Day weekend: a guided tour of the Mystic Seaport Museum, a networking reception with special remarks, a historic steamboat cruise down the Mystic River, and a visit to the Mystic Aquarium.

Collage of 4 photos from the 75th anniversary celebration at Mystic Seaport, CT. The photos feature a person doing smith work in the museum, people walking infront of one of the old ships, people smiling at the camera in the reception venue and two people talking together.
Collage of photos from the FoFF Event in Mystic, CT

Read the article about the event in the Fulbright Finland News magazine 1/2024: 75th Anniversary Celebration at Mystic Seaport

Virtual Welcome Event

May 6, 2024, Virtual

Screen capture of a Zoom call with many people waving and smiling at the camera

The Friends of Fulbright Finland (FoFF) Alumni Council, together with alumni from the Welcome Network, hosted a virtual welcome event for the 2024-25 U.S. grantees.

Alumna Casie Hermansson moderated the event, and grantees were matched with alumni in two breakout rooms, the first room divided by grant program, and the second room divided by host cities. The event was highly appreciated by the grantees and alumni alike.

The Welcome Network is a group of alumni living in the U.S. dedicated to helping incoming and outgoing Fulbright Finland Foundation grantees.

Alumni Get-together in Ohio

April 6, 2024, Pickerington, OH

Group photo of Fulbright Finland alumni at a get-together hosted by Fulbright Specialist Joni Tornwall

Five alumni and friends of the Fulbright Finland Foundation from Ohio, Michigan, and New Jersey, got together in April at Fulbright Specialist alumna Joni Tornwall’s home in Pickerington, OH, to catch up, reminisce about Fulbright experiences in Finland, make new connections, and discuss future collaboration opportunities. The Foundation team was represented by Mirka McIntire.