Menu
Log in


Foreign Relations Summer Series: International Career Paths for Young Professionals

  • 18 Aug 2020
  • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  • Online



Foreign Relations Summer Series hosted by PCFR Young Professionals:

International Career Paths for Young Professionals

Tuesday, August 18, 2020 | 1:00 pm-2:00 pm

Cost: Free

Zoom Meeting

Now in its third year, the Foreign Relations Summer Series, hosted by PCFR Young Professionals, will keep you engaged with the global community in Phoenix. Our next panel will feature advice from experts on how to upgrade your international career goals. Learn about public service, private sector, and nonprofit opportunities to make your mark around the globe. Sign up today to stay connected from wherever you are.

The event is virtual, but the connections are real.

Join by Zoom. Cameras on or off--it’s up to you.

RSVP for this Free Event


MODERATOR


Luke Wenz

A native of Phoenix, Luke works for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) – a broad-based influential network that supports strategic investments to elevate development and diplomacy alongside defense in order to build a better, safer world – where he serves as Western Regional Outreach Director. Prior in his career, he spent time living in Amman, Jordan researching religious philosophy and political identity amongst members of non-state actors, and in Beirut, Lebanon where he traveled daily to Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to build schools in refugee camps for the displaced children of the Syrian Civil War. His career has also taken him to halls of Congress, to running a Member of Congress’ district office, andto running two successful congressional campaigns. Luke focusses his time creating the preconditions necessary for a new, entrepreneurial blueprint for effective 21st-Century diplomatic relations in an ever-changing, increasingly challenging world. Luke attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he studied Political Theory and the Philosophy of Religion.

PANELISTS


Yassamin Ansari

An Arizona native, Yassamin has dedicated her career to the fight against global climate change. She serves as Principal Advisor to Mission 2020, the global climate action campaign led by former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres. Yassamin is currently running for an open seat on the Phoenix City Council. Yassamin began her career as a John Gardner Public Service Fellow at the United Nations, where she served as the youngest member of the climate team that advised former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and helped to deliver the historic Paris Agreement. Later, she was appointed as the Director of the Climate Action 2016 Summit in Washington D.C., and worked with the Office of Governor Jerry Brown where she served as the Deputy Director of Policy for the Global Climate Action Summit, helping to deliver more than 500 new commitments from business, cities, states and regions. Most recently, Yassamin served as a senior advisor to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres where she led youth engagement and public mobilization for the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit. For her work in public policy, Yassamin was recently recognized by Forbes as 30 Under 30 in Law & Policy, and as a Grist 50 "Fixer"— "the people cooking up the boldest, most innovative solutions to fix the biggest challenges that face our globe.” Yassamin holds a bachelor's degree in international relations with honors from Stanford University, and a master's degree from the University of Cambridge. She has received many awards and accolades for her work, including the Stanford Award of Excellence, U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship, and the DNC Hope Fellowship.

Emily Bilbao

Emily Bilbao joined Skysong Innovations (SI) in January of 2019 as Chief of Staff. She spent ten years working in national security and foreign policy, including as a program examiner in the International Affairs Division at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). At OMB she directly oversaw more than $2B annually in budget proposals and congressional appropriations while coordinating complex bureaucratic processes to ensure proper resource allocation in support of U.S. trade policies, foreign investment security issues, U.S. government programming in the Asia/Indo-Pacific region, and U.S. contributions to Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), among others. She regularly represented OMB at interagency meetings, including at the National Security Council (NSC). While in government service Emily also served at the Department of State where she helped conduct international diplomacy aimed at countering violent extremism and at the Department of Defense where she worked in the office of South and Southeast Asia, focused on U.S.-India defense cooperation. Emily also worked in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution where she was a senior research assistant focused on democracy promotion, human rights, and the United Nations system.

Salvador Avila Bretts

As a Vice President Relationship Manager at MidFirst, Salvador is responsible for delivering the firm’s wealth management capabilities and resources that provide holistic solutions tailored to each client. For more than twelve years, Salvador has passionately developed his career through relationships and networks around the interface between investment analytics, financial technology, client partnerships, and the pursuit of successful financial advisory services. He spent 7 years at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, where he held various business development positions in both New York and Mexico City. He was the Vice President and founding member of their risk management solution (“ALADDIN”) business in Latin America responsible for relationship management and business development for their enterprise investment and risk management systems. He began his career in private wealth management for Latin America as a banking analyst in New York City at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Salvador earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Foreign Service in International History with certificates in European and Latin American Studies from Georgetown University.

Tyler Gillespie

Tyler is a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served for two and a half years in Mozambique as an education volunteer. In his time there, Tyler lived and worked in his host community as a Biology teacher in the Portuguese speaking country. He also worked with the Education Ministry to coordinate a science fair at the local, state and national levels. The Science fair focused through the the scientific method students and educators, in addition to HIV/AIDS education and testing. During his time in Mozambique, Tyler also worked on projects that included an early grade literacy program in his host community, girls youth empowerment groups, and as an agriculture grant coordinator for some local chicken farmers. Tyler graduated from ASU with a degree in Sustainability.


Exploring Leading Foreign Policy Issues

OUR MISSION

PCFR is dedicated to growing Arizona’s global prominence by providing forums that explore critical foreign policy issues and build enduring international connections.

CONTACT

Tel: 602 441-4967
info@pcfraz.org

1934 E Camelback Rd, Suite 120-421 Phoenix, AZ 85016

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software