Olson briefed National Press Foundation trade fellows in Singapore, July 2022: Global Order at a Tipping Point and July 2023: International Trade Transcends Bottom Lines. 

Stephen Olson is a research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation. Over the course of his more than 30-year international career, Olson has lived and worked in Asia, the Middle East and the U.S., holding senior executive positions in the private sector, international organizations, government and academia. He began his career in Washington, D.C., as an international trade negotiator, and served on the U.S. negotiating team for the NAFTA negotiations. He subsequently became president of the Hong Kong-based Pacific Basin Economic Council, and vice chairman of Cairo-based ARTOC Group for Investment and Development.

He is also a visiting scholar at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has a master’s degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York.