EXTENDING AMERICA’S NATIONAL SECURITY THROUGH PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENTS

Join ASP on October 2nd for a half-day conference bringing together experts from the public and private sector, as well as policy makers and members of the media to discuss the mutually beneficial impacts of US private investment on the African continent, opportunities for practical investment, and how to effectively manage the accompanying risk.

The panel will discuss how strengthening US-Africa economic ties through investment can increase stability and serve US national security interests without boots on the ground.  It will also include an examination of the present roles of the United States government in taking forward these concepts by supporting private investment.

Speakers

Chair: Mr. Nelson Cunningham, McLarty Associates

Nelson Cunningham is President of McLarty Associates, the international strategic advisory firm headed by former White House Chief of Staff and Special Envoy for the Americas Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty III. Mr. Cunningham was also Special Advisor to President Clinton for Western Hemisphere Affairs and previously served as a counsel at the White House and as General Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee under Senator Joseph Biden. Prior to that, he was a federal prosecutor in New York under then-U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani and also served as a foreign policy and trade advisor to the 2004 Kerry campaign.

Panelists:

Principal Deputy Secretary Robert P. Jackson, Bureau of Africa Affairs- State Department

Ambassador Robert P. Jackson became Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs in October 2013. He most recently served as Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon. Mr. Jackson’s previous assignments include postings as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires, a.i., Rabat, Morocco; Dakar, Senegal; Political/Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Country Officer for Zimbabwe and Botswana; In 2006, he received the James A. Baker III – C. Howard Wilkins, Jr., Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission. He has also received three individual superior honor awards and two individual meritorious honor awards. Mr. Jackson earned his M.S. in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University, his M.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and his B.A. in Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Ambassador Jackson speaks French and Portuguese.

Director Leocadia Zak, USTDA

Leocadia “Lee” I. Zak was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate as the Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, which helps U.S. businesses create jobs through the export of their goods and services for priority development projects in emerging economies. Prior to joining USTDA, Ms. Zak was a partner in the Washington and Boston offices of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., practicing in the areas of corporate, municipal and international finance. Ms. Zak was also an Adjunct Professor of Law and has taught International Project Finance at the Boston University School of Law, Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law Studies and at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Mr. Scott Eisner, VP Africa Affairs and International Operation-US Chamber of Commerce

Scott Eisner is vice president of African Affairs and International Operation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.Previously, Eisner was deputy chief of staff at the Chamber where he oversaw the Executive Office and was the senior staffer to the Chamber’s president and CEO. He also represented the Chamber at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summits and the World Economic Forum in Davos. Before joining the Chamber, Eisner held positions in the political arena, most notably his work on Sen. John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign and his reelection to the Senate in 2004.

Share on Facebook

Tweet