Darren G. Spinck
Associate Fellow, Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies
Darren Spinck is managing partner of Washington Consulting Solutions, a full-service public affairs agency. In his role at Washington Consulting Solutions, Mr. Spinck focuses on policy analysis, strategic message development, and public advocacy programs for international clients seeking support with public diplomacy, reputation management, and crisis communications. Clients of Washington Consulting Solutions also benefit from Mr. Spinck’s key relationships with policymakers in Congress, key Senate/House committees, and decision influencers at leading Washington think tanks. In addition to policy analysis for his agency’s clients, Mr. Spinck has written public policy briefs for European think tanks including Croatia’s Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO) and Ukraine’s Eastern Europe Security Institute (EESI).
As a Vice President at public affairs firm Hannaford Enterprises, Mr. Spinck managed a public affairs project for Taiwan and coordinated media activities (strategic messaging, media relations, and commentary development/placement) with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington for recognition of the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Congress Taiwan Relations Act, which authorizes America’s de-facto diplomatic relations with Taipei and guarantees Taiwan’s security through the sales of arms and other assurances. Messaging for this project advocated for the U.S. government’s continued sales of F-16 fighter jets and other arms to Taipei and for support of Taiwan’s limited observation status in select international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO). Other projects have focused on analyzing U.S. policy toward Ukraine, human rights conditions in the Balkans, and free market economic issues. He has also represented a corporation in Hong Kong, analyzing the impact of Washington’s punitive economic measures (sanctions, export controls, investment restrictions, tariffs etc.) on regional Asian trade as well as Eastern European clients in the transportation, natural resources, and media sectors. Mr. Spinck is a regular speaker at the Economic Forum in Krynica and Karpacz, Poland and the Foundation Institute for Eastern Studies’ Europe-Ukraine Forum, focusing his discussions on the risks of China’s growing influence in Central and Eastern Europe and U.S. policy toward Ukraine. He was an international election observer with the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America for Ukraine’s 2019 presidential election and was an invited participant at the 2018 and 2019 Yalta European Strategy (YES) annual meetings and the 2021 International Religious Freedom Summit. Mr. Spinck received a BA in journalism with a concentration in public relations from the University of Maryland and an MA in international commerce and public policy from George Mason University’s Graduate School of Public Policy.