35 Facts About Mickey Bergman

Michael "Mickey" Bergman is the CEO of Global Reach and the Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement.

Mickey Bergman serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, where his graduate level courses focus on the art of emotional intelligence in international relations and negotiations.

In 2023, Bergman received the James W Foley Legacy Foundation American Hostage Freedom Award from the Foley Foundation.

Mickey Bergman aims to create new political capital by leading professional exchange programs to frontier countries such as North Korea, Myanmar, Cuba, Lebanon, and others.

Mickey Bergman wrote In the Shadows: True Stories of High-Stakes Negotiations to Free Americans Captured Abroad and has published numerous articles and opinion pieces.

Mickey Bergman frequently provides media commentary on cases of Americans held hostage, hostage diplomacy, and international relations, and is recognized as an expert in the fields of Cuba, North Korea, and Myanmar.

Mickey Bergman is a former paratrooper in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Mickey Bergman graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor's degree.

Mickey Bergman went on study at the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University where he obtained a Master of Science in Foreign Service.

At the Aspen Institute, Mickey Bergman previously directed programs including Partners for a New Beginning, the Emirates-Aspen Partnership, the North-Africa Partnership of Economic Opportunity, and the US-Lebanon Dialogue.

Mickey Bergman later took on a leadership role at the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, serving as Vice President and Executive Director.

Mickey Bergman emphasized the need to address both humanitarian aid and the return of Warmbier.

Mickey Bergman played an ongoing role in the efforts to free Warmbier, working closely with Richardson and the Warmbier family.

Mickey Bergman's strategy involved engaging directly with North Korean officials, utilizing personal relationships, and leveraging humanitarian gestures to support the negotiations for Warmbier's release.

Mickey Bergman was involved in negotiating for the release of Trevor Reed with Russian officials.

Mickey Bergman worked behind the scenes with Griner's family and legal team.

Mickey Bergman has been a steadfast advocate for the release of Paul Whelan, navigating multiple negotiation attempts, including proposals involving notable Russian detainees like Viktor Bout, without success.

Mickey Bergman is currently advocating for Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli researcher who was kidnapped in Baghdad in March 2023 and is held by the group Kata'ib Hezbollah.

Mickey Bergman has been an advocate for the release of several Americans detained in Venezuela.

Mickey Bergman has published numerous articles, interviews, and opinion pieces on hostage negotiations and international diplomacy.

Mickey Bergman is regularly quoted as a subject matter expert in these areas and frequently appears in television interviews.

In 2024 Mickey Bergman wrote In the Shadows: True Stories of High-Stakes Negotiations to Free Americans Captured Abroad with Ellis Henican.

Mickey Bergman has been interviewed numerous times on the topic of negotiations with North Korea.

In 2019, Mickey Bergman was interviewed on the plight of the Rohingya people.

Mickey Bergman noted the core issues: Israel seeks hostages for a temporary cease-fire, while Hamas insists on a permanent end to hostilities.

Mickey Bergman highlighted time pressure, worsening conditions, and external mediation as factors influencing potential progress.

Mickey Bergman suggested these dynamics, coupled with imminent military actions and public awareness of hostage situations, might spur both sides to reach a resolution.

Mickey Bergman discussed Alex Saab's portrayal as a freedom fighter within Venezuela under Nicolas Maduro.

Mickey Bergman noted Saab's extradition in October 2021 by the United States Department of Justice, followed on the same day by Citgo employees being sent back to prison from house arrest.

Mickey Bergman argues that these actions, viewed through Venezuela's narrative of Saab as a political prisoner wrongly detained in the United States, exacerbated tensions and prompted retaliatory measures from the Maduro government.

In 2022, Mickey Bergman explained to NPR that families of Americans wrongfully detained abroad are shifting from staying quiet to being more vocal.

Mickey Bergman explained further that silence was believed to help diplomatic efforts, but recent successes like Trevor Reed's release through public advocacy have changed this approach.

Mickey Bergman noticed that families now realize that staying quiet often protects captors and reduces government urgency.

Mickey Bergman emphasizes that captors seek political leverage, not influence from family statements, so public campaigns should target the US administration.

Mickey Bergman is one of the experts advocating for a reevaluation of the US "no concessions" policy in negotiations for American hostages, a strategy originally intended to discourage kidnappings.