BPIA Salon Dinner: "Leadership in Times of Crisis” ft. Amb. Harry K. Thomas Jr. & Alonzo Fulgham

BPIA and the Colin Powell Leadership Institute presents..

"Leadership in Times of Crisis” ft. Amb. Harry K. Thomas & Alonzo Fulgham

Leadership Salon Dinner Series 

Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 6-8pm EDT 

Location: Hybrid; Downtown Washington D.C. (NW) [location shared upon registering]

• Keynote speaker: Amb. Harry K. Thomas Jr. 
• Keynote speaker: Alonzo Fulgham
• Welcome: Alexandria Maloney, BPIA 
• Intro: Jared O. Bell Ph.D., USAID 
• Moderator: Shawanesh Underwood, US Department of State 
• Moderator: Hermes Grullon, US Department of State

Description

A centuries-old tradition, a salon dinner is an at-home or intimate gathering of 10 to 100 curious people, who come together around a topic, to hear a featured expert and to eat, drink, talk, learn and create community. BPIA will host a private salon dinner each month featuring an executive-level leader in the foreign affairs field who will discuss their leadership journey and lessons learned. These events are off the record and meant to be an opportunity for mid-career Black professionals to learn pathways and best practices on excelling into senior leadership. The dinner will be open to approximately 40 attendees to promote intimate discussion.

• Pre-registration is required for this event.
• No door tickets will be available. 
• This event is open to BPIA members. 
• This event will be capped at 40 attendees to promote intimate conversation.
• Dinner starts at 6:30pm.
• This event is off the record. 
• Tickets are non-refundable. Tickets are transferrable. 

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Speaker Bios

Ambassador (ret.) Harry K. Thomas, US Department of State

Ambassador Harry K. Thomas is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and served as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director for Human Resources of the U.S. State Department. Prior to that, he served as a Special Assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department.

Ambassador Thomas joined the Foreign Service in 1984, and served as U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines from 2010 to 2013 and to Bangladesh from 2003 to 2005. He also served in the White House as the Director for South Asia at the National Security Council from 2001 to 2002. His other postings include: New Delhi, India; Harare, Zimbabwe; Kaduna, Nigeria; and Lima, Peru. Ambassador Thomas speaks Spanish, Hindi, and Bangla. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and holds a Master’s degree from Columbia University.

Ambassador Thomas served at Arizona State University as the State Department's Diplomat-in-Residence for the Southwest from 2013 to 2015. In July 2015, Ambassador Thomas was nominated by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe. In October 2015, he was confirmed to that position by the U.S. Senate.

Alonzo Fulgham, USAID 

Alonzo Fulgham has over 30 years of international development, strategic planning, management and execution, global operational leadership and organisational change management experience. He has led U.S. government development policy and humanitarian assistance, and advised the Secretary of State, National Security Council, Congress, and Office of Management and Budget on leading organisation change.

Alonzo was the first Chief Operating Officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and was appointed as Acting Administrator of USAID by President Barack Obama in 2009. He served as the Mission Director to Afghanistan and as Director of South Asian Affairs, and began his career with USAID in Swaziland as a private sector officer. He is currently the President of Galileo Energy Partners, BV.

Alonzo holds a Bachelor of Arts in business and economics from Fisk University, and a Master of Arts from the National Defense University.

Shawanesh Underwood, US Department of State

Shawanesh Underwood serves as the Chief of Staff to the Office of the Under Secretary of Arms Control and International Security at the Department of State since December 2023. Previously, she served as a NATO Policy Advisor at the Office of the Secretary of Defense Policy (OSD) where she supported the Secretary of Defense and OSD leadership by developing, planning, and implementing key security strategies and policies in Europe and deepening defense cooperation from May to November 2023. Before detailing to the Department of Defense she served as a Member of the Secretary of State's Office of Policy Planning where her responsibilities included providing relevant, timely analysis and recommendations on foreign policy for the European region, in particular NATO, Southern Europe, and the Balkans from July 2019 through May 2023. Before joining S/P, Shawanesh served as Press and Public Affairs officer in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Regional Policy Officer for Europe in the Bureau of International Information Programs, Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of Oceans, International Environment, and Scientific Affairs, and Public Affairs Specialist in U.S. Embassy London. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Louisiana State University, Master’s degree in Political Science from Sam Houston State University, and a Master’s degree in Public Relations from Georgetown University.

Hermes Grullon, US Department of State (Co-Moderator) 

Hermes Grullon is a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. He currently serves as a Foreign Service Orientation Deputy Course Coordinator, welcoming all new Foreign Service Officers. He is also the President of the Pickering and Rangel Fellows Program. He previously served as a Political Officer/Acting Deputy Political Counselor in the U.S. mission to the Organization of American States; a Watch Officer in the 24/7 Operations Center; a Consular Officer/Acting Deputy Consul General in Embassy Managua; and a Political Section Chief in Embassy Djibouti. A first-generation college graduate, he completed his BA at DePauw University, MA in International Relations at Johns Hopkins SAIS, and coursework at Howard University. He is from Brooklyn, New York born to Dominican immigrants and married with two young children. He was a Rangel Scholar, Gilman Scholar, Bonner Scholar, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Scholar, Institute for International Public Policy Fellow, International Career Advancement Program Fellow, and Pickering Fellow. In 2022, he made the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Diversity in National Security Network Top 50 National Security and Foreign Affairs Leadership List.

Dr. Jared O. Bell, USAID (Intro) 

Dr. Jared O. Bell is a post-conflict development expert with extensive experience in designing and managing international human rights, democratization, and rule of law and justice sector programs. He's a USAID Foreign Service Officer. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, he managed ABA ROLI's Central Asia Portfolio, implementing USG funded programs across four countries. Before that, Jared worked in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in USAID's Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Program and Democracy Offices. He has also worked on various human rights, peacebuilding, and development projects with a variety of organizations such as Peace Direct,the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the American Red Cross, and the Maryland Office of Refugees and Asylees. Jared has also taught, presented, and lectured across the globe in such places as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Poland, The Gambia, and the United States. A prolific writer, Jared has published numerous articles on human rights, transitional justice, reconciliation and peace building, and is the author of the book “Frozen Justice: Lessons from Bosnia Herzegovina's Failed Transitional Justice Strategy” published with Vernon Press in 2018.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University in International Relations, a Master of Science Degree from the University of Baltimore in Negotiation and Conflict Management, and a PhD from Nova Southeastern University in Conflict Analysis and Resolution with a focus in International Peace and Conflict. In addition to his formal education, Jared has also studied and received professional training at the University of Leiden’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies’ Summer School for Human Rights and Transitional Justice,the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights studies, the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratization’s Venice Academy of Human Rights, the Universities of Groningen and Rijeka’s Cres Summer on “Transitional Justice and the Politics of Memory”, and Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco. He is a recognized UNESCO Policy Lab Expert and has served as a Visiting Non-Resident Fellow at Western University's Center for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction.

Alexandria J. Maloney, BPIA (Opening Remark)  

Alexandria J. Maloney currently serves as the President of Black Professionals in International Affairs (BPIA) and as a visiting lecturer at Cornell University. Alexandria is a foreign affairs professional with nearly a decade of social impact experience. By 31, she was named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People of African Descent” and a “Forbes 50 Champion” for Black and Brown communities for her leadership in building ecosystems to educate, prepare, and empower an organic reach of over 60,000 underrepresented professionals.

Most recently, she founded the Madam Ambassador Exposure Program and BPIA Colin Powell Leadership Institute to prepare mid-career professionals for the senior ranks. Her past public service experience includes the U.S. Department of Defense, the White House Initiative for HBCUs, and various political campaigns. Her expertise and interests span a host of foreign affairs, public engagement, communication, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and arts and culture matters.