Congressman Joaquin Castro

U.S. House of Representatives, Texas 20th District

He has a proven interest in public service and has championed a wide array of education-related causes. He has worked to transcend political gridlock to help restore millions of dollars in funding to critical health care and education programs. As Vice Chairman of the Higher Education Committee and Democratic Floor Leader in the Texas House, he was also at the forefront in proposing forward-thinking legislative reforms in the areas of mental health, teen pregnancy, and juvenile justice. Joaquin is active on several boards of education-related, non-profit organizations, including the National College Advising Corps, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials’ (NALEO) Taskforce on Education.

Luis Almagro Lemes

Secretary General, Organization of American States

As Foreign Minister for President José Mujíca, he defined several emblematic initiatives, from receiving former prisoners from Guantanamo, to welcoming dozens of Syrian families, to building support in the United Nations so that, beginning in 2016, Uruguay will become part of the Security Council.

He was Ambassador to China, after several diplomatic posts in his country and in Germany and Iran. Foreign Policy magazine named him a Leading Global Thinker.

Nancy Neill,

President and Chair, Fulbright Association Board of Directors

Her other efforts on behalf of the Association also emphasize this goal. For example, she led the Association’s Travel Task Force when it launched mission-driven travel programs in 2015, including Insight Tours and Alumni Service Corps trips. Those programs have given alumni the opportunity to work on service projects in several countries and, in the process, to appreciate the cultures of those countries. She now serves as the President and Chair of our Board of Directors, providing leadership as the Association launches a new strategy with a central goal of building a Global Networking Platform. The purpose of this ambitious undertaking is to empower Fulbright alumni across the world to imagine and jointly create their own projects to provide service and improve mutual understanding.

Peter Agre

Nobel Laureate; Director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute

Dr. Agre’s research has focused on the molecular aspects of human diseases, including hemolytic anemias, blood group antigens and malaria. He received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Roderick MacKinnon of Rockefeller University for the discovery of aquaporins, water channels that facilitate the movement of water across cell membranes.

Dr. Agre received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Augsburg College. He earned his M.D. from Johns Hopkins. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals of Cleveland and performed a hematology-oncology fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Agre returned to Johns Hopkins as a postdoctoral fellow in cell biology before joining the faculty in 1984.

He became vice chancellor for science and technology at Duke University Medical Center in 2005. He returned to Johns Hopkins in 2008.

Dr. Agre is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He has received honorary doctorates from universities in Denmark, Japan, Norway, Greece, Mexico, Hungary, Poland and the United States. From 2009 to 2010, Dr. Agre served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences.

Zipangani M. Vokhiwa

Associate Professor of Science, Mercer University

Craig McMahan

Dean of the Chapel; Assistant Professor, College of Liberal Arts, Mercer University

In his capacity as director of Mercer On Mission, he has negotiated with the government of Vietnam for NGO status and health care licensure, partnered with the United Nations, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Canadian International Resource and Development Institute on various initiatives and has consulted with numerous universities concerning service learning models and applications.

Recognized by President Jimmy Carter, President Bill Clinton, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President Paul Kagame, and Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, Mercer On Mission is making a difference in the world today and is cultivating leaders who will make an even bigger difference in the future.

Ambassador Reuben Brigety

Dean, Elliot School of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Previously, he served as Director of the Sustainable Security Program at the Center for American Progress and as a Special Assistant in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He also served as a senior advisor for Development and Security to the U.S. Central Command Assessment Team in Washington and Qatar.

He earned a B.S. in Political Science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, England. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and recipient of the Council’s International Affairs Fellowship. He served as a politics professor at George Mason University and American University.

Matthew McGuire

U.S. Executive Director, World Bank

Jeff Bleich

CEO, Dentons; Former U.S. Ambassador to Australia
and Special Counsel to President Obama

Jeff Bleich is a partner in the Public Policy and Regulation practice where he is focused on international and domestic litigation and counseling, with special emphasis on privacy and data security, internal investigations, trade and cross-border disputes and the Asia-Pacific region. Jeff previously served as special counsel to President Obama in 2009, before being appointed by the President to serve as the 24th United States Ambassador to Australia. As ambassador, Jeff’s term was marked by the US rebalance to the Asia­Pacific, with Australia being the focal point for that shift. His efforts included overseeing record growth in trade and investment between the US and Australia, bringing the Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty into force, establishing new alliance agreements for satellites and cybersecurity, and promoting regional human rights efforts.

Brian Wynne

President and CEO, AUVSI

Brian Wynne is the President and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the largest association representing the unmanned systems and robotics industries. Brian brings in-depth experience in transportation and technology applications gained in leadership roles with trade associations and public-private partnerships. Previously, Brain led the Electric Drive Transportation Association as well as served as Senior Vice President for business and trade at the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton, a master’s degree from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Cologne in Germany.

The Hon. Réka Szemerkényi

Ambassador of Hungary to the United States

Frances Colón

Deputy Science and Technology Adviser
to the Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State

Dr. Frances Colón is the Deputy Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State at the U.S. Department of State where she promotes integration of science and technology into foreign policy dialogues; global scientific engagement for capacity-building; advancement of women in science; and innovation as a tool for economic growth around the world. Previously, Dr. Colón served the U.S. Department of State as the Science and Environment Adviser at the Western Hemisphere Affairs Bureau where she was responsible for advising on environmental and scientific issues that affected the U.S. Government’s foreign policy objectives in the Americas. Dr. Colón earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience in 2004 from Brandeis University and her B.S. in biology in 1997 from the University of Puerto Rico.

Azizah al-Hibri

Professor Emerita,University of Richmond School of Law

Professor Azizah al-Hibri is a Professor Emerita at the University of Richmond School of Law, having served on the faculty from 1992 until her retirement in 2012. Her work has centered on developing an Islamic jurisprudence and body of Islamic law that are gender equitable and promote human rights and democratic governance. Professor al-Hibri has authored numerous book chapters, essays, and law review articles on these subjects, and her work has appeared in the highly respected Journal of Law and Religion, Harvard International Review, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, among other venues. In 2011, Professor al-Hibri was appointed by President Obama to serve as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Professor al-Hibri is the founding editor of Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, and founder and president of the organization KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. Professor al-Hibri was a Fulbright scholar in 2001.

The Hon. Maureen Duffy-Lewis

Judge, Los Angeles County Superior Court

Judge Duffy-Lewis is the Initial Chair of the “Judicial Mentoring Initiative” (2009-2010) in Bulgaria. This Program is in co-operation with the United States Department of Justice and the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives. She is a 2 time Fulbright Awardee to Bulgaria. While in Bulgaria she initiated and developed the court related Mediation Program. It has been called by the European Union one of its top three improved programs.

While teaching her Fulbright Class on American Law at Sofia University Law Program (St. Kliment Ohridski University) her classes were five times the anticipated enrollment and her students have excelled in the Bulgarian Legal Community and within the EU. Her Students are now lawyers, legislators and teachers. Her Students lead the country and the EU in international Moot Court Competititons. A handful of her students became Coaches for the National Mock Trial Team. Their students most recently won Best Brief in the American and International Moot Court Competition in Washington DC. She continues to lecture and publish.

Jeanne Toungara

Associate Professor, Howard University

Jeanne Maddox Toungara is Associate Professor of History at Howard University. She teaches courses on contemporary Africa, the African Diaspora and Women in Africa. Her research focuses on Côte d’Ivoire and Francophone Africa. She is the recipient of several study and research awards, including the Fulbright-Hayes Area Studies grant for field work in Côte d’Ivoire, and a US Institute for Peace grant for training African women in the gender studies, conflict management, and peace building. She has lectured for the State Department Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, served as a Public Member on Foreign Service promotions panels, and is a frequent visiting lecturer at the Foreign Service Institute. More recently, she served on the Democratization, Human Rights and Governance team contracted by the US Agency for International Development to prepare the 2015 five-year assessment report on Côte d’Ivoire. As a former Assistant Provost for International Programs, she established several partnerships between Howard University and institutions in South Africa, and participated in IIE-sponsored outreach programs to Brazil. She chaired the Dean’s Task Force on International Affairs that developed a new major and minor program in international studies for the College of Arts and Sciences. As a Fulbright Scholar Ambassador, she promotes faculty engagement abroad. She is a Salzburg Global Seminar alumna, a Mellon Foundation Global Citizenship Program fellow, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She earned BA, MA, and PhD degrees in African Studies and History at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Thomas Moga

Attorney

Thomas T. Moga focuses his practice on intellectual property and international business transactions. His experience includes the development of domestic and foreign patent portfolios, the acquisition of registrations for trademarks and copyrights, licensing, litigation, and policy development. In addition to his wide array of intellectual property work, Mr. Moga manages patent enforcement and anti-counterfeiting actions in Asia, including overseeing initial counterfeit product investigation, selecting and working with local investigators, selecting and working with local counsel, preparing administrative and judicial documents, and participating in raids.

Mr. Moga has been involved in intellectual property training programs both at home and abroad. He was a Fulbright Scholar in China where he taught patent law at Jilin University and acted as a foreign advisor to China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO). Mr. Moga was a visiting foreign expert in law at Xiamen University, China, and worked as a foreign legal expert for a patent and trademark law office in Taipei, Taiwan.

Allan Goodman

President, Institute of International Education

Josephine Dorado

Digital Strategist, President of Fulbright Association’s NY Chapter

Ammar Abdulhamid

Founder, Tharwa Foundation

Guillermo Aviles Mendoza

Commander, U.S. Public Health Services

Commander Avilés-Mendoza’s past work include assignments at the National Vaccine Program Office, HHS-Office of Global Affairs, National Institutes of Health/National Human Genome Research Institute, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, Pan American Health Organization and the Department of Health in Puerto Rico.

Commander Avilés-Mendoza was the 2014 Chair of the Hispanic Officer Advisory Committee to the U.S. Surgeon General and the 2013-2014 President of the HHS-Hispanic Employee Organization. Commander Avilés-Mendoza is a member of the Advisory Board of the Mexican Consulate Ventanillas de Salud to the Mexican Secretary of Health and the 2016 Vice-Chair of the Minority Officers Liaison Council to the Office of the Surgeon General.

Commander Avilés-Mendoza is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is a graduate of the Global Health Law Masters in Laws (LL.M.) program from Georgetown University Law Center; Juris Doctor (J.D.) program from Hamline University School of Law and the Genetics and Cell Biology program at the College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota.

Carlos Santos-Burgoa

Professor and Program Director, Global Health Policy MPH Program

Rene McEldowney

Director, Health Services Administration