“Never underestimate the impact of grassroots, citizen-driven diplomacy. The intentional engagement of citizen diplomats across borders and cultures is a powerful approach to generating economic stability, growing understanding, and cultivating peace. The 'one handshake at a time' method used in public diplomacy reliably forges durable, multi-generational relationships, often yielding outsized returns on investment.”
Bethany Bennick
Bethany Bennick helps American companies and communities succeed in global markets by driving growth, attracting high-value investment, and advancing U.S. commercial interests through export promotion, foreign direct investment, commercial diplomacy and strategic partnerships.
With a cross-sector career spanning federal and local government, international organizations, and public-private economic development, she confidently navigates complex environments. To date, Bethany has positioned nearly 700 American firms for success across mature and emerging markets in sectors such as energy, environmental technology, and critical infrastructure. She has also facilitated the exchange of hundreds of State Department–selected foreign subject matter experts to advance American industry and public diplomacy influence worldwide.
A proud Arizonan, Bethany was born and raised in Cave Creek before studying, living, and working in Switzerland, France, and California. She returned to Arizona to seize the opportunity to connect her home state with the world. Over five years with Phoenix Sister Cities and Global Ties Arizona, she curated the exchange of 469 citizen diplomats from more than 70 countries, including 35 delegations through the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, often providing their first introduction to Arizona. She later served as Director of International Affairs & Trade at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, supporting the region’s international trade promotion and FDI strategy. Bethany is the co-found of the popular Worldly Women Collective, an inclusive and welcoming space for women of global mindsets in the Greater Phoenix area to come together, connect, socialize, and uplift one another beyond conventional networking environments.
Having lived and worked abroad in complex multicultural settings, Bethany brings cultural fluency and a global mindset to every engagement. She has served on multiple nonprofit and advisory boards, completed competitive fellowships in diplomacy and leadership, and earned degrees from Thunderbird and Pepperdine. Her professional credentials include strategic project management from Oxford Saïd, conflict resolution from the Straus Institute, and French proficiency (C1). She is currently training with the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue.
Bethany thrives in high-stakes environments, advising senior leaders and building coalitions for actionable strategic engagement.