The best preparation anyone gets in life is the life she’s led. I grew up in war-torn Helsinki, Finland, where I received my first law degree from the University of Helsinki School of Law while nurturing plans for an international career. I was fortunate to study International Organizations at the University of Geneva, Switzerland (Certificate, 1965), and also being the only law student from Finland one summer at the Hague Academy of International Law, the Netherlands (Certificate, 1967). Still, my beloved America is where life truly began, as I settled in Miami, Florida, where I received my Master in Comparative Law from the University of Miami School of Law, and later my PhD in Educational Leadership. By then, I was already a wife and mother (of two sons) with an unfolding awareness of having spent my early life on the outside looking in, never quite fitting in as a Swedish-speaking Protestant.
It would take my move to Miami to make me see that my home was really in Jewish family values, culture and traditions. Much to my surprise, my new Jewish friends were asking me all kinds of questions about the actions of the King of Denmark during WWII, and I found myself sorely lacking in knowledge. In fact, I couldn’t understand their interest in that country since they knew I was a Swedish-Finn, and not Danish.
It was time for me to start learning. As my first law school thesis (in Helsinki) had been on the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Privileges and Immunities, it was no surprise when my native government asked me to open the honorary Consulate of Finland jn Miami, and it was in that role, I was asked to give my first lecture on a WW II-related subject (Holocaust Education & Documentation Center https://hdec.org/ ) From there, my Scandinavian topic took off with audiences asking about a more detailed book with both personal and historical facts; hence, my Amazon Bestseller born from my lecturing experience: Synopsis the Yellow Star that Wasn’t
When the University of Miami School of Law hired me to administer a graduate program for lawyers and judges from around the world (the same track where I had received my M.C.L.) it was obvious there was a good fit between my law school position and as an honorary foreign official, both of which combined to open doors in recruitment trips abroad and meetings with past graduates in other countries. In fact, I soon made history by modeling our fledging globalism to other law schools; – this experience is now documented in the archives of History Miami, in its permanent My Story collections https://historymiami.org/cami-hofstadter/
Concurrently with my work at the law school and the consulate, I continued my research and writing of consular matters that would benefit readers outside higher education. I first penned a law review article with a very practical slant for the legal profession: Counsel, Consul, or Diplomat: Any Practical Significance for Practitioners? (https://repository.law.miami.edu). This was preceded and followed by other publications, and eventually resulting in The Foreign Consuls Among Us: Local Bridges to Globalism Foreign Consuls; why book
Along the way, I was active in many organizations that shared the goal of preparing coming generations for the new global community. Here are a few examples: AALS (Association of American Law Schools) Section on Graduate Programs for Foreign Lawyers (founding president; newsletter editor); Florida State Commission on International Education (University of Miami Law School Representative); NAFSA: Association of International Educators (member and national Parliamentarian).
On the personal side, I list among my interests pickleball, golf, and ballroom dancing. A plethora of cultural offerings in South Florida adds yet another dimension to my life, which is also interspersed with cruising to other parts of the world.