Minnesota District Export Council
| Our Mission: The District Export Councils contribute leadership and international trade expertise to complement the U.S. Commercial Service’s export promotion efforts through counseling businesses on the exporting process and conducting trade education and community outreach. |
ANESA Conference
Sponsors
About the Presenters
| About the Presenters |
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| Thursday, February 04 2010 11:40 |
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Learn more about the Conference Speakers:
Jane Kitson – Morocco and Tunisia Laurie Farris: United Arab Emirates William N. Center: Pakistan and Afghanistan
Mr. Amer Kayani: Saudi Arabia
Mr. Amer Kayani is Counselor for Commercial Affairs for Saudi Arabia based at the U.S. Embassy Riyadh. He also oversees commercial operations in Bahrain. Prior to his current appointment, he served as the Regional Senior Commercial Officer for Egypt, Libya, and Lebanon. Mr. Kayani's previous assignments include Regional Senior Commercial Officer in Turkey where he led U.S. trade policy and promotion efforts in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, North Cyprus, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, Senior Commercial Officer in Pakistan, Director at the U.S. Department of Commerce's office in Hawaii, Commercial Attaché in Israel, and in various positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Mr. Kayani is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Before joining the Department of Commerce, Mr. Kayani held positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office. He earned his B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California and Masters in Economic Development and Management from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh. He speaks Arabic, Hindi, Punjabi, Turkish, and Urdu. He is the recipient of various honors and awards from both the government and the private sector including the U.S. Department of Commerce's highest honor, Gold Medal, for distinguished achievement in the Federal Service, a Bronze Medal for Superior Federal Service, and several Meritorious Honor Awards. His persistent efforts for U.S. companies earned him the "IP Award for Excellence in International Intellectual Property Advocacy" from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA.)
Brian McCleary is Commercial Counselor (Senior Commercial Officer) at the American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq. He was Commercial Counselor (Regional Senior Commercial Officer) at the American Embassy in Helsinki, Finland, from 2006 to 2009. In this capacity, he also directed U.S. trade promotion programs in Norway and Estonia. A career U.S. Foreign Service Officer with the diplomatic rank of First Secretary, he worked as Director of the U.S. Commercial Liaison Office (Senior Commercial Officer) at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C., from 2005 to 2006, following an assignment as Senior Adviser for Trade Promotion at the National Association of Manufacturers from 2004 to 2005. He was Commercial Counselor (Deputy Senior Commercial Officer) at the American Embassy in Rome, Italy, from 2000 to 2004. He served as Commercial Attaché (Deputy Senior Commercial Officer) at the American Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from 1996 to 1999. Mr. McCleary was a Senior Adviser on the Resources, Plans, and Policy Staff of the U.S. Secretary of State from 1994 to 1996. He served as an Adviser on the Policy and Resources Staff of the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State from 1992 to 1994. He was Deputy Director of the Office of Defense Trade Policy, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, from 1991 to 1992. Mr. McCleary worked as Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Export Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, from 1989 to 1991. He was Policy Coordination Officer in the Office of Security Assistance, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, from 1985 to 1989 and a U.S. Observer in Antarctica in 1985. He also served at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in various capacities from 1977 to 1985: as a Foreign Affairs Officer, Public Affairs Officer, and Statistical Assistant. Prior to Federal service, he taught English at the International Language Institute in Washington, D.C. Mr. McCleary has an M.A. degree in national security studies from Georgetown University and a B.A. degree in international affairs (economics) from George Washington University. He was a group recipient of the U.S. Commercial Service Director General's Award in 2008, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Charles F. Meissner Memorial Award in 1999, and the U.S. Department of State's Meritorious Honor Award in 1992. He received the U.S. Department of State's Superior Honor Award in 1990. A former Naval Reserve cryptolinguist, his foreign languages are Spanish, French, and Italian. Born in Washington, D.C., he is a resident of Virginia. He is married to Tara McCleary. The McClearys have three sons, Colin, Ian, and Patrick.
Mr. Carmine D'Aloisio is currently Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the American Embassy in India. He joined the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) in 1982, shortly after it moved from the U.S. State Department to the U.S. Commerce Department. The mission of USFCS is to protect American business interests abroad and promote U.S. exports through trade policy and promotion programs and initiatives. His last two headquarters assignments in Washington, D.C. began as the regional director of operations and programs throughout 13 countries in East Asia and the Pacific. He was promoted to lead 1,100 U.S. diplomats and foreign nationals in Commercial Sections at over 160 U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Operations. In addition to his Washington assignments, Mr. D'Aloisio has completed overseas tours of duty in South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Italy. For his work in the Middle East, Mr. D'Aloisio received two Gold Medals, the Department's highest awards, for his contributions to U.S. national economic security interests in Kuwait in 1992 and in Saudi Arabia in 1991.
Craig Allen was appointed the Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the United States Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2006. Prior to transfer to South Africa, Craig Allen served as Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs in Beijing, China, from 2003 to 2006. Previously, Craig Allen had served as Senior Commercial Advisor for the National Center for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Seattle, Washington. From 1995 to 2000, he was the Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. From 1992 to 1995, he was the Commercial Attaché in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. From 1988 to 1992, he was Director of the U.S. Trade Center at the American Institute in Taiwan, located in Taipei. Allen also worked as a Presidential Management Intern on the China Desk at the Department of Commerce from 1985 to 1988. Allen started his government career at the Office of Technology Assessment, formerly part of the U.S. Congress, in 1984. Craig Allen received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Political Science and Asian Studies in 1979. He received a Master's of Science for the Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1985. He speaks Chinese and Japanese.
Mr. Le is currently the Senior Commercial Officer at the US Embassy in Doha. A 15-year veteran of the US Department of Commerce, Mr. Le has assumed positions of increasing responsibility throughout the Middle East, South Asia, SE Asia, and the United States. Mr. Le served as Regional Coordinator for ASEAN; as Commercial Consul in Saigon, Vietnam; as Director in Cincinnati, OH; as Commerce Attaché in New Delhi, India; as Director in Monterey, CA; as Commercial Officer in Hanoi, Vietnam; as Trade Specialist in Silicon Valley, CA; and as Confidential Advisor to the Assistant Secretary and Director General in DC. Mr. Le also was a part-time professor at the Graduate School of Commercial Diplomacy (Monterey Institute) and the Raj Soin College of Business (Wright State University). He previously worked as a research associate the Center for Nonproliferation, a think tank that tracked the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Le is a recipient of the Commerce Department's Supervisor of the Year Award, Innovation Award, and Bronze Medal Award, as well as the State Department's Superior and Meritorious Awards. Dao has a BS from Santa Clara University, a MA from the Monterey Institute, and pursued MBA studies at Northwestern University.
Diane Jones assumed her duties as the Senior Commercial Officer for the U.S. Commercial Service in Tripoli, Libya in July 2008, where she successfully opened the first Commercial Service office in the country. Prior to serving in Tripoli, Diane completed a 3 year tour of duty as the Senior Commercial Officer for the U.S. Commercial Service in Accra, Ghana. Previously she served as a Commercial Officer covering the Health Care, Building and Construction, Packaging, Printing, Agricultural Equipment and Services Industries in Moscow, Russia. Prior to joining the U.S. Commercial Service, Diane served as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Uzbekistan, where she worked extensively on U.S.-Uzbek trade and investment issues in the country. Diane has over 10 years of management experience in the Insurance and Financial Services sectors and has consulted with small U.S. businesses interested in exporting. She has also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in small business development projects in Uzbekistan. Diane earned an M.B.A. with concentrations in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida and a B.A. in Business and Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Douglas Wallace is the Senior Commercial Officer at the American Embassy in Algiers, Algeria. He is responsible for strengthening U.S.-Algerian trade relations through company-to-company matchmaking, export promotion activities, and detailed market research on the Algerian market. Douglas' previous assignments have included Deputy Senior Commercial Officer in Tel Aviv, Israel; Principal Commercial Officer in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Commercial Attache in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Douglas also served lengthy temporary assignments in Israel, Jordan, and Qatar throughout 2004-2005 while on partial evacuation from Saudi Arabia. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Wallace worked in Washington in the Department of Commerce's Office of Africa where he developed U.S. trade policy in West and Central Africa to increase market access in the region. In 1997, Douglas began his Commerce Department career in the front office of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service working as Director of Executive Secretariat for Assistant Secretary and Director General Marjory Searing. Douglas received his Masters Degree in International Economics and Middle Eastern Political Economy at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in 1997. In 1992, he received his Bachelors Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Economics and Islamic Near Eastern Studies. Between his undergraduate and graduate studies, Douglas taught English in Tunisia for two years and studied advanced-level Arabic in the American University in Cairo's CASA program for one year. Douglas speaks advanced-level Arabic and French.
In August 2008, Heather Byrnes began her posting as Senior Commercial Officer in Accra, Ghana. Prior to Ghana, Heather's first assignment in the Commercial Service was as Commercial Officer at the U.S. Commercial Service in Johannesburg, South Africa. As Senior Commercial Officer in Accra, a key focus for Heather has been to provide support to U.S. companies wishing to enter or expand in the newly emerging oil and gas sector in Ghana. Heather has worked on a number of successful commercial diplomacy issues as well as promotion of market opportunities to U.S. firms. Heather was a speaker at the Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition (LAGCOE) in October 2009. While in Johannesburg, Heather supervised trade specialists across a wide variety of sectors and was an active member of the Franchising Team. Heather was a key organizer of the first U.S.-Southern Africa Franchising Forum (May 2-4, 2007) and has spoken to audiences in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia on U.S. franchise opportunities. Heather also conducted a webinar in April 2007 to an audience of U.S. franchisors and Franchise Team members on the South and Southern African franchise market. Heather was also Control Officer for the then Senator Obama's visit to the Ronald H. Brown Commercial Center. Prior to joining the U.S. Commercial Service, Heather served on the board of directors of one of Europe's largest market research agencies. Based in Dublin for over a decade, Heather led client account teams servicing both multi-nationals and medium-sized companies. Heather's areas of expertise included development of new products and services for existing markets and identification and exploitation of new markets for her clients. Heather has spoken at a number of conferences and authored several published reports and articles on a wide range of topics, including: U.S. Franchising Opportunities, E-Business in Ireland, Irish Investment Trends, Customer Service Innovation, Advertising Evaluation and Evolving Marketing Research Techniques. Early in her career, Heather also worked as a Legislative Aide in the Alaska State Legislature, where she drafted new legislation that was passed into law. As European Marketing Administrator for Best Western International she was responsible for coordinating trade show participation for trade shows across Europe. Heather also spent two months as a researcher in Magadan, Siberia; gathering information to aid Alaskan businesses wishing to set up trade links with buyers in Siberia. A Rhodes Scholarship finalist, Heather received a B.A., cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1991. Heather participated in the Junior Year Abroad program, spending two semesters at University College Galway, Ireland. During her time at Georgetown University, Heather volunteered in the Pediatric Department of Georgetown University Hospital, was a member of the rowing team and founded a support group for recently bereaved students and staff. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Public Administration at the University of Tampere, Finland in 1992-1993. A former AFS Exchange Student in Lapland, Heather speaks fluent Finnish and has a working knowledge of Russian and Zulu.
Ms. Jane Kitson – Morocco and Tunisia
Jane Kitson is the Commercial Counselor based at the U.S. Consulate General in Casablanca, where she manages the Commercial Service activities in Morocco as well as a U.S. State Department partner post in Tunis, Tunisia. From 2006-08, Ms. Kitson served as Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. Her portfolio included energy, services, construction, mining, tourism, metals and chemicals. She focused on developing opportunities for U.S. companies in several rapidly emerging markets, most notably, franchising, oil and gas field services, and power generation. She drove the creation of a Visit USA Committee to promote travel and tourism to the U.S. Ms. Kitson joined the U.S. Commercial Service in 2006, after a career in the IT private sector focused on international business development, with a strong emphasis on emerging markets. Her experience spans a broad spectrum of U.S. companies, including large public corporations (Lotus Development Corporation and The Discovery Channel), small and medium sized companies, and startups, as well a broad range of international business issues, including organizational development, marketing, distribution, sales, market access and partnering. Ms. Kitson received her Master of International Management Degree from The American Graduate School of International Management, also known as Thunderbird (Phoenix, AZ), and her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Russian Area Studies from the American University, School of International Studies (Washington, DC). She has spent most of her career abroad, has traveled to 56 countries and has conducted business in more than 30 countries. She speaks French, Russian, German and Dutch.
Mr. Sullivan is Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. He previously served at the U.S. Embassies in Ecuador, Argentina and Russia. Before joining the Foreign Service Mr. Sullivan worked for multinationals in Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Latin America, and Canada. Mr. Sullivan taught at the University of Gdańsk, Poland in 1980 when Lech Wałęsa first led Solidarność to international prominence. Mr. Sullivan served as Division Manager in Thailand for Getz Brothers, the largest U.S.-owned international trading company. In this capacity he held P&L accountability for the construction industry and hydro-electric power generation projects, and directed regional office furniture manufacturing and marketing. Getz, with revenues of $500 million, is a member of the Marmon Group of companies owned by the Pritzker family of Chicago. Mr. Sullivan spent most of his early career in the energy industry in overseas assignments with a division of Baker Hughes. Mr. Sullivan negotiated and successfully started up a joint venture in Saudi Arabia. In Canada he turned around a losing subsidiary, doubling market share and improving margins in a falling market. Mr. Sullivan assisted in merger negotiations during the industry consolidation of the late 80s and led corporate training and development. In the early 90s, Mr. Sullivan started up a Florida-based trading company marketing manufacturing and construction assets to Latin American markets. Mr. Sullivan holds a bachelor's degree in Linguistics, an MBA, speaks several languages at varying levels of fluency, and is the father of four.
Mr. Jonathan M. Heimer: Israel
Jonathan Heimer joined the United States Department of Commerce in 1998 and is currently the Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Israel. His responsibilities include management of U.S. commercial programs provided through his office at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Commercial Service office at in Jerusalem covering the West Bank. Immediately before assuming his current responsibilities, Mr. Heimer was at the Department of Commerce's U.S. Export Assistance Center in Long Island, New York. Prior to that, Mr. Heimer was for five years in Shanghai, China, where he was Acting Principal Commercial Officer and Director of the Consulate's Commercial Center. Mr. Heimer was also a founding member of the Ambassador's Task Force on Intellectual Property Rights. Mr. Heimer's first foreign service assignment was to Taipei (1999-2002). Before joining the Department of Commerce, Mr. Heimer was a practicing attorney in Tokyo (1992-1997) and San Francisco (1991-1992) specializing in international business transactions. Prior to law school, Mr. Heimer was a manager with Mitsubishi Corporation (U.S.A.). Mr. Heimer has won numerous awards from the Department of Commerce and the Department of State for his service to U.S. business. Mr. Heimer attended the University of Michigan School of Law (J.D., 1990), the University of Michigan School of Business (1989-1990), the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law (1988-1989) and Union College (B.A., with honors, Political Science, 1985). Mr. Heimer is married to Ms. Hong Wu and has two daughters.
Mr. Farris is a member of the Senior Foreign Commercial Service, rank of Counselor, currently serving in Lagos, Nigeria since July 2007. He will assume the role of Commercial Counselor in Johannesburg, South Africa, starting in August 2010. Prior to his current assignment, he served as Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia from August 2004 until June 2007; Commercial Consul in Cape Town, South Africa from January 2000 through June 2004; Regional Commercial Counselor in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from August 1997 to December 1999; Commercial Attaché in Belo Horizonte, Brazil from August 1995 through May 1997, Commercial Attaché in Brasilia, Brazil from June 1993 through August 1995, and in Washington, DC from 1986 to 1993 with the International Trade Administration's Office of International Economic Policy, and from 1985 through 1986 with the International Trade Administration's Office of Import Administration. Mr. Farris is a resident of Florida, has an MA in economics from the University of Florida and a BA from George Mason University. He is married to Ilma Cruz Farris, and has two sons Alex and Andrew.
Mrs. Laurie Farris: United Arab Emirates
Since August 2008, Mrs. Farris has served as the Commercial Counselor at the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Prior to the UAE, Ms. Farris was in Arabic language training. From 2003 to 2007 she served as Commercial Counselor at the US Embassy in Amman, Jordan, where she managed the Commercial Service program in Jordan, and spent considerable time assisting US firms interested in Iraq. In 1999 Mrs. Farris became the first-ever US Consul to Toulouse, France, opening the US Consulate there. Prior to Toulouse, Mrs. Farris was the Commercial Attaché at the US Embassy in Paris. She joined the Embassy in Paris in 1998 after serving as a Senior Trade Specialist at the US Export Assistance Center in Chicago, Illinois, having joined the Foreign Service in 1996. From 1990 to 1996 Mrs. Farris served in a variety of positions in Commercial Service headquarters in Washington, DC. Mrs. Farris holds a B.A. with honors from the University of California at Berkeley, which included a year at the Institut des Etudes Politiques, Université de Grenoble, France. She also holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Mrs. Farris is married with two sons, ages 5 and 8.
Margaret Keshishian is a career diplomat with the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service who has served in trade policy and promotion positions in Europe, Asia and the United States. In August 2009 she assumed the position of Regional Commercial Counselor for Egypt and Lebanon at the US Embassy in Cairo. In 2008-2009 she studied Arabic language and regional issues at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center. From 2005 – 2008 she served as Regional Director for the Western Hemisphere in the Office of International Operations. From 2002 - 2005 she was the Commercial Counselor at the US Embassy in Jakarta. From 1996-1998, she was the Commercial Advisor at the US Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) from 1998-2001. From 1996 - 1998, she served in San Francisco as the Regional Coordinator for Trade for the Western Region, Domestic Operations of the US & Foreign Commercial Service. In 1997 she was on an extended temporary duty to the US Embassy in Beijing. Ms. Keshishian previously served as the Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels (1992-96), and at the U.S. Embassies in Bangkok, Thailand (1990-92) and in Seoul, Korea (1987-1990). She was also been on temporary duty in Australia (1992), Malaysia (1995) and Vietnam (1995). Ms. Keshishian worked previously in Washington, DC at the U.S. Department of Commerce (1980-1986) on trade policy analysis and negotiations related to US-Japan automotive trade, aerospace sales competition and computer products and services. On Capitol Hill she served as a Legislative Aide for Senator Joseph Biden (1979-80). From 1974-1977 she was employed by Siemens, A.G. in Munich, Germany to develop software products for commercial markets. Ms. Keshishian has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Denver and a Masters of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She attended graduate business and economics courses at the George Washington University in Washington, DC and at the University of Southern California in Munich. She speaks French, German, Indonesian and Arabic.
Ms. Nancy Charles-Parker: Kuwait
Nancy Charles-Parker has been Counselor for Commercial Affairs in Kuwait since July 2007. She has been advising U.S. companies selling to the Arabian Gulf for 9 years. From 2004 until 2006 she was the first woman to be named U.S. Counselor for Commercial Affairs in Saudi Arabia, where she led three offices and 30 staff in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dhahran. Ms. Charles-Parker's first Gulf assignment was as Commercial Counselor at the U.S Embassy in Abu Dhabi between 2000 and 2004. During this time she and her Commercial team in Abu Dhabi and Dubai facilitated $6.5 billion in export sales to the UAE. She also had responsibility for partner posts in Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Yemen and persuaded the Department of Commerce to open an office in Doha. From 2007 until 2008 she led Commerce efforts to open an office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ms. Charles-Parker was Regional Commercial Counselor for Central America where she promoted trade relations with the Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. She was director of the Rocky Mountain U.S Export Assistance Center in Denver, a joint U.S. Government effort to assist exporters in 5 U.S. states. She also served short assignments as Senior Commercial Officer in South Africa and Azerbaijan. While Commercial Attaché in London from 1994 to 1997 she initiated Commercial Service outreach in Northern Ireland and directed the International Marketing Center, which annually coordinated 100 conferences and product promotions. Her first Commercial posting was in Taiwan, where she assisted U.S companies to secure environmental, power, transportation and other major infrastructure tenders. Prior to joining the Commercial Service, Ms. Charles-Parker was a State Department Economic Officer in Jakarta, Brussels, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, and Washington D.C. Her portfolios included shipping, export controls, energy, and bilateral trade. In the private sector, she managed athletic and recreational programs and facilities at Torrejon Air Base, Spain, was an administrator at Columbia University, and raised funds and conducted public relations for a non-profit youth development organization in Philadelphia. Ms. Charles-Parker has an M.A from Columbia University and completed further graduate work at Columbia University, Yale University and the University of Madrid. Her foreign languages include Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, and Indonesian. In 1999 the Department of Commerce awarded her the Silver Medal for leadership. In 2003 she received the International Trade Administration's Customer Service Award for a Supervisor, the only Senior Commercial Officer to be nominated by his staff for this annual prize. She has been a member of the Senior Foreign Commercial Service since 2005.
In August 2007, Sheryl Maas became the Senior Commercial Officer (SCO) for the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan after serving more than two years as SCO in The Hague, Netherlands where she spent her time developing trade promotion strategies for U.S. companies. From 2002-2005, Sheryl served in the North Texas Export Assistance Center in Dallas, Texas where she advised Texas Companies on how to export, and helped small and medium sized enterprises become export ready. She was responsible for the Automotive, Environmental and Consumer Goods sectors, and was National Co-Leader for the Environmental Technologies Team. From 2000-2002, she was the second officer and deputy Principal Commercial Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico. She promoted U.S. Exports to seven regions in the Northeastern region of Mexico and developed markets for U.S. products and services in Mexico's fastest growing regions with a then GDP of US$135 billion. Sheryl supported the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the United States' first free trade agreement, and as a direct result of NAFTA, Mexico was ranked the second largest trading partner to the U.S. in 2000. Sheryl served in Johannesburg, South Africa from 1996-2000, where she supervised the budget and administrative staff and managed all the logistics for cabinet level visits. In 1998, she received the Gold Medal Award for innovation and quality performance on high-level events. She also served in Beijing, China from 1993-1996. Prior to her service at the Department of Commerce, Sheryl worked for the American Textile Manufacturers Association and two members of Congress from her home state of South Carolina. Sheryl is married with a daughter and a son.
Mr. Stephen K. Morrison: Senegal
Stephen K. Morrison was appointed to the Foreign Service of the United States on January 13, 1997. He is currently the regional Senior Commercial Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. He and his three-person staff perform all the regular trade promotion duties of a standard commercial section plus they have extensive outreach responsibilities throughout West and Central Africa under the Commerce-State Partner Post agreement/MOU. As such, Mr. Morrison and his staff work closely with U.S. Embassy economic sections to promote U.S. exports to over 20 largely Francophone-speaking countries. His Dakar, Senegal assignment began in August of 2007. Prior to 2007, Mr. Morrison was assigned to the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). His responsibilities included the steel, telecommunications, computers and information, small and medium enterprise, tourism, and science and technology sectors. As Commercial Advisor to the U.S. Mission, he managed meetings, visits, and U.S. policy positions to ensure a level playing field for American industry. Since arriving in Paris in January '02, he helped host 14 of 17 High-Level Steel Talks -- Parts Two and Three (capacity reduction and disciplines/subsidies [limiting government intervention]) of President Bush's Steel Program. After a brief assignment in Washington, D.C. to gain language training, Steve Morrison was assigned to the position of Commercial Attache at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain. There he oversaw the daily operations of the Commercial Section of the United States Embassy and, as a result of reporting norms, the activities of the Commercial Section of the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Morrison reported to the Commercial Counselor and was responsible for international trade specialists working in the aerospace, military, energy, environment, automotive, telecommunications, consumer goods, and services sectors. Prior to assuming the job of Commercial Attache, Mr. Morrison was the Director of the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration offices in Southern California. As such, he oversaw the activities of the largest and most productive offices in the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service's domestic field office network. Several initiatives and activities that Mr. Morrison was closely associated with and/or responsible for were the successful launching of the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Long Beach, California; the opening of three other small field offices designed to better meet the needs of U.S. exporters; the launching of L.A. TRADE, a cooperative program of joint export promotion with key "multipliers" (i.e., international trade promotion professionals) in the Greater Los Angeles area; and a Services Industries export initiative designed to address the unique and growing needs of U.S. service industry exporters. Prior to becoming District Director for the International Trade Administration in Los Angeles, Mr. Morrison served as the Commerce Department Branch Manager/Senior Trade Specialist at the Long Beach U.S. Export Assistance Center in Long Beach, California. Prior to that, he worked for two years at the U.S. Trade Center in Mexico City, Mexico. From late 1986 through 1991, Mr. Morrison was a Division Director/Senior International Trade Programs Analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce in Washington, D.C. There he advised the leadership of the Department on the cost, feasibility, and resource implications of the Department's many and varied international trade promotion programs including those of the International Trade Administration, the Bureau of Export Administration, and the now defunct U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration. From July 1981 to January 1984, Mr. Morrison was a Presidential Management Intern on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon. During that time, Mr. Morrison served on the personal staff of a United States Senator (Sen. William Proxmire, D-WI) and in the Office of Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division of the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress where he co-wrote two authoritative studies on national defense. He also worked in several offices in the Pentagon during that time including brief assignments in the Office of International Security Policy of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and several other offices in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Morrison has a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan, a Bachelor of Arts from Kalamazoo College, and was awarded (May 2006) a Commerce Department Bronze Medal and State Department Meritorious Honor (May 2009) and Superior Honor (May 2000) Group Awards. He is married and has a 14 year-old son.
Mr. William N. Center: Pakistan and Afghanistan
William N. Center, Jr. is currently the Regional Senior Commercial Officer for the Commercial Service of the United States covering the markets of Pakistan and Afghanistan. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Mr. Center's previous Foreign Service postings have included Hong Kong, Shenyang, Washington, Paris, Shanghai, Johannesburg and as the Commerce Department's senior representative to the World Bank. Mr. Center has received numerous awards from Commerce, including the individual Gold Medal Award, the highest honorary award given by the Department for recognition of his work promoting defense trade in Europe. He has also been awarded the State Department's Superior Honor Award for his contributions during the Tiananmen incident in 1989, and also a Meritorious Honor Award for his work on the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. A graduate of Brown University of Providence, Rhode Island, Mr. Center has undertaken graduate studies at the National Taiwan Normal University and the George Washington University. His foreign languages are Mandarin and French.
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