Bringing Multilateralism Back: Partnering to Confront Global Challenges
February 6th, 2023 12:00PM -1:00PM
This is a free program.
Please join the World Affairs Council on February 6th at 12PM for an in-person conversation with Ambassador Michele Sison, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. Assistant Secretary Sison will discuss the Biden administration's affirmative global agenda as it pertains to the United Nations and other international organizations, the vital utility of multilateral diplomacy to American national security, and the abiding value of our nation's investments in bodies designed to foster shared solutions to shared challenges.
About the Speaker
Ambassador Michele J. Sison was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs on December 21, 2021. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Haiti from February 2018 to October 2021, and as U.S. Deputy Representative to the United Nations 2014-2018, where she helped build global coalitions to counter transnational threats to peace and security and advocated for a more effective, efficient, and accountable UN and multilateral system. Ambassador Sison has long experience with UN peacekeeping and the UN entities responsible for development, humanitarian relief, and human rights. Ambassador Sison served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives (2012-2014), U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon (2008-2010), and U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (2004-2008).
Ambassador Sison’s diplomatic assignments also include Assistant Chief of Mission in Baghdad, Iraq; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs; Deputy Chief of Mission in Islamabad, Pakistan; Consul General in Chennai, India; and tours in Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, and Togo. She also served as the State Department’s Director of Career Development and Assignments. Ambassador Sison is the recipient of the U.S. Presidential Distinguished Service Award, U.S. Presidential Meritorious Service Award, and the U.S. Department of the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Medal. She holds numerous U.S. Department of State awards, including Ambassadorial-level awards for her contributions to counter-proliferation and combatting trafficking in persons. Ambassador Sison holds the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service.
About the Moderator
Jeff Hall is a Deputy Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he oversees the Strategy, Planning, and Management team for the foundation’s advocacy work across North America. In this role, he leads a cross-functional team in supporting the development and execution of policy, communications, and government relations strategies, and provides operational guidance, internal programmatic and financial alignment, and external investment support for issues related to US education and economic mobility, as well as global health and development priorities.
Raised outside of Washington DC, Jeff received his BA in Economics from the University of Virginia, and spent nearly 15 years working in public and private sector consulting around the US and across the globe, including the Middle East and South America. His desire to pursue more mission-driven work led him to the Pacific NW, where he now lives in Magnolia and spends his free time with his fiancé enjoying the sights and tastes of Washington, Oregon, and BC.
The Boeing Company is an underwriting sponsor of all World Affairs Council Community Programs.