Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/22/23
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Categories
U.S. Department of State and Fulbright Extravaganza: State Department Programs and ‘The Five-Minute Fulbright’
*FREE – Register in the link below to attend*
Wednesday March 22nd 2023, 6-9pm
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
130 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601
Please join us for the in-person U.S. Department of State & Fulbright Chicago Extravaganza! The U.S. Department of State and Fulbright Association Chicago Chapter invite you to an invigorating program highlighting some of the exciting work done both domestically and internationally. You will hear short presentations from a member of the Senior Foreign Service, Department of State Special Agents, and Fulbright alumni, followed by a high-energy networking reception.
This event is hosted by the Department of State in conjunction with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Fulbright Chicago. The partnership event aims to connect internationally-minded Chicago area-based professionals, foreign service members, prospective foreign service hires, Fulbright alumni, current Fulbright Scholars, and Fulbright students. All are welcome to attend this free business casual event! So come, enjoy, and share the evening with other Chicago-based, internationally experienced professionals committed to service!
Program Agenda
6:00pm Event opens/check-in
6:00-6:30 Networking reception
6:30-6:45 Welcome remarks
6:30-6:35 –Matt Abbott, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
6:35-6:45 –Matthew Kelley, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago
6:45-7:15 State Department panel discussion
-Susan Falatko, Senior Foreign Service Officer, Diplomat in Residence
-Tim Kerwin, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago
-Bryan Weiler, Supervisory Special Agent, DS-Chicago
7:15-7:30 Q&A
7:30-8:00 The Five-Minute Fulbright
–Kate Vergara PhD MPH, Fulbright Alum (opening remarks)
–Five Fulbright Alums will each present a rapid (5min) overview of the highlights of their Fulbright year abroad. Each Fulbright experience was done in a different country and each one focused on a different field of study which will emphasize and celebrate the diversity of the program.
8:00-8:10 State Department closing remarks
-Mark Woods-Hawkins, Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago
-Matthew Kelley, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago
8:10-9:00 Closing networking reception
Speaker Bios
MARK WOODS-HAWKINS – Special Agent in Charge
Mark Woods-Hawkins began his career with the Diplomatic Security Service (DS) at the Washington Field Office in 2002. Mark recently transferred to the Chicago Field Office (CFO) to serve as an Assistant Special Agent in Charge. Before CFO, Mark served as the Deputy Regional Security Officer (DRSO) for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. As DRSO, Mark managed RSO Seoul’s daily operations and was the RSO’s primary liaison to the U.S. Forces Korea’s Non-combatant Evacuation Operations unit (NEO), Special Operations Command Korea (SOCKOR). Before DRSO Seoul, Mark was the Deputy Olympic Security Coordinator (DOSC) for the 2018 Pyeong Chang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. As DOSC, Mark collaborated with South Korea’s national organizing committee, the U.S. and International Olympic Committees, and a myriad of U.S. private sector sponsors to design and implement a comprehensive security plan for both games. Mark’s efforts resulted in an unprecedented level of venue access and accreditation for over 100 DS agent Field Liaison Officers (FLO), enhancing the safety of over 400 U.S. athletes, coaches, and staff. Mark’s other DS assignments include a Shift Leader tour on the Secretary of State’s Protective Detail, an Assistant Regional Security Officer tour in Jerusalem and an additional posting at CFO as an Acting Unit Supervisor and Team Leader. Mark has an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice from Illinois State University.
SUSAN FALATKO – Diplomat in Residence
A member of the Senior Foreign Service, Susan Falatko is a career Foreign Service Officer with over twenty-three years of experience with the U.S. Department of State. She is currently the Diplomat in Residence based at the University of Illinois, Chicago, where she is responsible for recruiting talented individuals from diverse backgrounds across Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota for U.S. Department of State career and student program opportunities. Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Falatko was Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the U.S. Embassy in Ljubljana, serving as Chargé d’Affaires for over a year. She served as the Director of the Office of South Central European Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 2017 to 2019, focusing on the Western Balkans. Prior to that, she was DCM at the U.S. Embassy to Mauritius and Seychelles from 2013 to 2016. An Economic Officer in the Foreign Service since 1999, she has also served in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2006-2009); Havana, Cuba (2001-2003); and Bamako, Mali (1999-2001). From 2003 to 2005, she worked on economic, counter-terrorism, and Western Balkans issues on the OSCE desk in the European Bureau’s Office for Regional Political-Military Affairs. Ms. Falatko has also been posted to Kigali, Rwanda, as the Public Affairs Officer and to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva as the U.S. liaison to the UN Specialized Agencies. Originally from Chicago, IL, Ms. Falatko received a B.S. in Psychology form the University of Iowa (1990), an M.A. in International Relations from the George Washing University (1997), and a Master’s Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School at the National Defense University (2017).
MATTHEW KELLEY – Assistant Special Agent in Charge
Matthew began his Department of State career serving at the Boston Field Office in 2003. His career includes assignments on the Secretary of State’s Protective Security Detail, three tours of duty in Iraq, as the Regional Security Officer in Croatia, a senior agent at the Phoenix Resident Office, a year at the Naval War College-assigned to an MIT research team, as the Overseas Criminal Investigations Chief in Bangladesh, assistant regional security officer in Peshawar, Pakistan, liaison to FBI Chicago, and is currently the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Department’s Midwest operations. Matthew was part of the first wave of agents to serve in Iraq in 2004, earning him bravery and meritorious honor awards, and he also established first-ever counter human trafficking programs in Bangladesh and Pakistan, earning him additional awards for service. Matthew hails from Kansas. He has two Master’s degrees (Strategic Affairs Studies and National Security Policy), worked for the U.S. Marshals Service, was a grant recipient for ballistic missile proliferation research, has an 11-year old son, and is dedicated to fitness and community involvement.
TIMOTHY KERWIN – Assistant Special Agent in Charge
Timothy Kerwin recently transitioned to the Chicago Field Office from a tour at Diplomatic Security Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, as the Iraq Branch Chief for the Worldwide Protective Services Division. Timothy arrived at Diplomatic Security Headquarters following an assignment in Lima, Peru, as the Pan American Games Security Coordinator where he oversaw and coordinated the security for the U.S. delegation to the 2019 Pan American and Para Pan American Games. Originally from the Chicago area, Timothy graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a B.A. in Political Science. He also received an M.A. in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Relations at the George Washington University. Timothy joined the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) in July 2003. His previous assignments include service as Assistant Regional Security Officer in Beirut, Lebanon, Asuncion, Paraguay, and Peshawar, Pakistan, and as the Regional Security Officer in Podgorica, Montenegro. Domestically Timothy was a Section Chief in Counterintelligence and served as a criminal investigator at the Chicago Field Office and supported overseas operations as a desk officer in International Programs. He was mobilized for military service and served as an intelligence analyst for Multi-National Force Iraq in Baghdad in 2006 and has previous military deployments to Colombia, Bosnia, and Egypt.
Kate Vergara – Global Health Consultant, PhD, MPH
Kate Vergara has focused her career on addressing public health disease burdens in vulnerable populations internationally and domestically for over 20 years. She was awarded and executed major contracts concentrated on polio eradication programs through World Vision US and USAID, partnering with the CORE Group Polio Project, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, WHO, Rotary International, CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, AMREF, Save the Children, American Refugee Committee, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, CDC, and the National Ministries of Health of Angola, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Sudan. Working across the private and public sector, Dr. Vergara supported global immunization programs providing healthcare for a population over 1.6 billion people across multiple high-risk countries. Currently, Dr. Vergara serves as Vice President Health Impact at NJOY LLC furthering the mission of ‘Making Smoking History’. She directs an extensive suite of human subjects research studies through development, execution, and submission to the US Food & Drug Administration. Dr. Vergara credits discovering her passion for public health to the opportunity granted by the US State Department Fulbright Program. She was awarded a Fulbright to Peru in 2003-04 to study tuberculosis and intestinal parasites deep in the Amazon jungle. Two decades later, her fondness for the Fulbright mission and community continues. Dr. Vergara currently serves as a Board Member for the Fulbright Association Chicago Chapter. Originally from Chicago, Dr. Vergara holds a Bachelor of Science from New York University, a Master of Public Health, as well as a PhD in Public Health from University of Illinois-Chicago. She also is an Adjunct Faculty and Course Lead for Epidemiology at Baylor University’s Master of Public Health program. To keep up with her teenage sons, she is also an Ironman 70.3 athlete, avid marathon runner, and volunteers with US Medical Reserve Corps