Trina Y. Vargo is the founder and President of the

US-Ireland Alliance US-Ireland Alliance is a non-partisan and non-profit organization focused on strengthening the ties between the United States, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. Basic information The Alliance was founded by Trina Vargo in 1998. According to her, th ...

, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating Americans about

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and strengthening the relationship on the basis of education, culture and business. Vargo created the organization in 1998. In that capacity, she created the George J. Mitchell Scholarship program, recognized as one of the most prestigious scholarships for study abroad for young Americans. She also created an annual event in Hollywood, the Oscar Wilde Awards, that celebrates the contributions of the Irish in film and entertainment. From 1987 through April 1998, Vargo served as a Foreign Policy Adviser to Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

During her years with Senator Kennedy, she worked directly with political leaders in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, the

Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

, and the Irish Government, serving as a key behind-the-scenes player in the Northern Ireland peace process. She was instrumental in negotiating a visa for

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...

to visit the United States in 1994. That visit led to the historic IRA cease-fire declaration in August 1994. In 1993, Vargo assisted Ambassador

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

in preparation for her Senate confirmation hearings for the Cabinet post of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. She also helped prepare Ambassador

Jean Kennedy Smith Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (February 20, 1928 – June 17, 2020) was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of ...

, the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, for her June 1993 confirmation Senate hearing. She briefed several subsequent US Ambassadors to Ireland, Democrats and Republicans. In a personal capacity, from 1988, Vargo has advised U.S. presidential campaign teams on Irish issues, she served as the Obama campaign’s adviser on Irish issues. While working with Senator Kennedy, in addition to Irish issues, Vargo was involved in many foreign policy matters, including imposing sanctions in 1995 on

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

in the aftermath of the bombing of

Pan Am flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 "Clipper Maid of th ...

; efforts to bring free elections to

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

in 1992, the first in decades; helping

Refuseniks Refusenik (, ; alternatively spelled refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authorities of the Soviet Union and othe ...

(Soviet Jews) from the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to emigrate in the late 1980s and early 1990s; and changing the way the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

analyzed and characterized the meaning of other countries’ votes in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Vargo remained involved in the Pan Am 103 bombing issue after leaving Kennedy’s employ, writing an op-ed opposing Scotland’s decision to release Abdel Basset al-Megrahi in the

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

in 2009, and the Huffington Post in 2015. Vargo is a regular contributor to the press. Vargo graduated magna cum laude from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

with degrees in political science and history. As the recipient of a

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

Fellowship, she attended

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Montreal, where she obtained an M.A. degree in political science.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vargo, Trina Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women political scientists American political scientists University of Pittsburgh alumni McGill University alumni 21st-century American women