Former Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink to speak at Mount Vernon forum
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, a Kenyon College alumna who represented the United States in Kyiv during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, returns to Knox County as the featured speaker at Mount Vernon’s Washington Forum discussion series.
The event, titled “War, Peace, & Our Place in the World,” is scheduled today, Oct. 28, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the banquet room of the Mount Vernon Grand Hotel at 12 Public Square. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The program will include opening remarks from Mayor Dr. Matthew T. Starr, a moderated conversation led by Dr. Nancy Powers of Kenyon College, and an audience question-and-answer session.
According to the City of Mount Vernon and Kenyon College’s Center for the Study of American Democracy, the discussion will examine the ongoing war in Ukraine, American diplomacy, competing perspectives on U.S. assistance to Ukraine, and the broader impact of international conflicts on communities such as Mount Vernon and Knox County.
Brink, a 1991 Kenyon graduate, served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2022 until stepping down in 2025 after nearly three years in the post. During her diplomatic career, she also served as U.S. ambassador to Slovakia and held assignments across Europe and Eurasia. Kenyon College and the American Academy of Diplomacy describe her as a career Foreign Service officer whose work focused heavily on European security and democratic governance.
Mayor Starr said the forum is intended to encourage community dialogue on major issues rather than promote a specific viewpoint.
“Our purpose in Mount Vernon is not to prescribe conclusions, but to create a setting where differing perspectives can be heard, difficult questions can be examined, and our community can engage more deeply with the issues that will help shape our shared future,” Starr said.
The event also highlights Brink’s connection to the area through Kenyon College. Starr noted that her return offers residents an opportunity to hear directly from a diplomat whose career took her from Gambier to some of the world’s most consequential geopolitical challenges.
The Washington Forum is a yearlong civic discussion series presented jointly by the City of Mount Vernon and Kenyon College’s Center for the Study of American Democracy. Organizers said the free event is open to the public, though seating is limited.