Podesta Group

After participating in some of the most significant foreign policy debates of the last quarter century, Ambassador Javier Sancho brings diplomatic heft to Podesta Group’s international team. He currently serves as special adviser to the President of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly regarding Latin American and Caribbean affairs. Ambassador Sancho has skillfully navigated both bilateral and multilateral negotiations around the globe by adeptly managing crises and delivering results. Providing clients unparalleled counsel on global risk and opportunity, Ambassador Sancho has profound expertise on issues as diverse as European Union (EU) integration, Middle East peace negotiations and Latin American affairs. In short, whether on behalf of foreign sovereigns or multinational corporations, he knows what it takes to succeed on the global stage.

As an EU official, Ambassador Sancho spent time in Brussels and New York, where he worked as a United Nations (UN) liaison, and traveled throughout the Middle East, actively participating in bilateral negotiations and multilateral conferences. Additionally, Ambassador Sancho was involved in the creation of the Middle East Quartet in 2002. While serving as Spain’s youngest ambassador at the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Sancho developed enduring relationships with fellow ambassadors, ministers and political leaders worldwide, as they collaborated on cooperation programs in the fields of human rights, governance, electoral observation, humanitarian issues, de-mining and peace operations.

Previously, Ambassador Sancho was chief of staff for Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. In this position, he represented Spain, its citizens and its companies when their interests were at stake, playing a prominent role in handling sensitive diplomatic negotiations and the facilitation of Spanish companies’ international expansion.

A native of Spain, Ambassador Sancho holds a master’s in European Studies from the University of Brussels and a bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of Madrid. He has been awarded 12 decorations from different states, including the Legion d’Honneur by the French Republic, for delivering outstanding results in foreign policy.

A renowned former foreign correspondent with The Washington Post and distinguished editor of POLITICO magazine, John Ward Anderson brings extensive experience to the Podesta Group’s international and public relations practices. Drawing on an in-depth understanding of foreign policy earned in the field, he provides strategic counsel for the firm’s international clients on issues such as trade and investment and emerging democracies. John also advises firm clients on crafting and executing effective PR and communications strategies.

Before joining the Podesta Group, John was one of the longest-serving correspondents in the history of The Washington Post, spending 16 years overseas as bureau chief in New Delhi, Mexico City, Istanbul, Jerusalem and Paris. Along the way, John also became one of the Post’s primary war correspondents and wrote extensively on the US role in conflicts and peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo, the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan, and spearheading the paper’s groundbreaking coverage of Iran. More recently, as a top editor at POLITICO, John edited coverage of the White House, health care, energy and the environment, the economy and defense for POLITICO’s website and daily newspaper.

John has quickly put points on the board on behalf of Podesta Group clients. Bringing his distinguished experience in journalism and press relationships to bear, John pitched and secured a slot for a major international client to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ. As a result of the appearance and speeches, there was significant accompanying media coverage and an hour’s worth of video and pictures broadcast on NASDAQ’s seven-story video screen overlooking Times Square in New York. Coverage following the event included interviews on US and international television networks and with major US financial reporters.

John grew up in Simsbury, CT, and Framingham, MA. He has a bachelor's from Harvard and speaks Spanish.

With the ability to imagine and produce inventive digital media campaigns, Andy Amsler assists Podesta Group clients in broadening their online reach. Having managed high-profile digital strategies for the US State Department and US embassies, Andy leverages his considerable expertise in social media and online community building to deliver client messages to targeted audiences while advising clients on how to strategically expand those audiences.

Before joining the Podesta Group as a digital media specialist, Andy served as social media strategist in the Office of Innovative Engagement in the US Department of State. In this role, he created and managed high-profile digital media campaigns capable of touching millions of people worldwide. Andy also counseled US embassies on the strategic use of social media for the State Department’s leading content delivery arm, the Bureau of International Information Programs.

Andy has also administered content for m.usembassy.gov, a multi-language mobile environment, directed a major advertising effort to drive traffic to embassy campaigns and worked with the Smithsonian Institution to deliver mobile apps to global audiences on all mobile devices. He designed and led educational programs on new media technologies, including an eight-week immersive course on using digital tools for public diplomacy, and has worked with technology companies, other government agencies and private sector players in mobile, social marketing and website analytics.

An effective advocate and grassroots campaigner, Andy blogged for Change.org on the intersection of technology and global poverty, and worked as a communications staffer for the US Global Leadership Coalition, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, Media Matters for America and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he worked as Iowa Field Director for Joe Biden and in national press advance for Barack Obama’s general election campaign.

Andy received his bachelor's from the University of Delaware, where he was editor-in-chief of the independent student newspaper, and is currently pursuing a certificate in marketing from Georgetown University.

Natalie Montelongo is the executive assistant to Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, chairman of Global Solutions, a Podesta Group company. She provides administrative support and works closely with the chairman to meet clients’ needs. Prior to joining Global Solutions, Natalie interned with the House Committee on Homeland Security and served as an intern in the office of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX). She gained campaign experience as a member of the field operations team for Denise Saenz Blanchard’s 2012 congressional run. Natalie supplements her background in US politics with her prior work as a communications and media relations associate for the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France.

A Texas native, Natalie is fluent in Spanish and possesses a working knowledge of French.  She earned her bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, a master’s in strategic negotiation from University of Paris Sud 11, a master’s in international relations and diplomacy from the American Graduate School in Paris and a certificate in Francophone language, literature, and civilization from the University of Paris Sorbonne.