All those interested in Latin America and the Caribbean are welcome to attend LAC Luncheons. Discussions are organized around theme, country, region or on a selected speaker’s interests and occur monthly. The DACOR cash bar opens at 12 noon and the group moves to a reserved room at 12:30 pm. The luncheon served with the event costs $35. Registrations are required for all participants. Registrations should be made two business days before the event.
May's topic is "The Venezuelan Conundrum: Two Views on U.S. Policy" with Ambassador William Brownfield,Senior Adviser (Non-resident), Americas Program, CSIS; and The Honorable Mark Feierstein, Senior Advisor, Albright Stone Bridge Group's Americas practice.
Ambassador William (Bill) Brownfield enjoyed an illustrious career in public service, at the rank of career ambassador, the highest rank in the U.S. Foreign Service. Amb. Brownfield’s last seven years of his career were spent serving as the assistant secretary of state for the bureau of international narcotics and law enforcement affairs. As assistant secretary, Amb. Brownfield ran a portfolio of more than $4 billion in 80 countries administered by 5000 employees and contractors. Amb. Brownfield’s expertise in the Americas draws from his vast experience in serving as U.S. ambassador to Chile, Venezuela, and Colombia. Through his ambassadorial posts, Amb. Brownfield was immersed in working with the Colombian government to build upon existing institutions and promoting U.S. interests economically via the establishment of the Chile-United States Free Trade Agreement. In Venezuela, he led an embassy in constant crisis with the most adversarial government of any country in the Hemisphere. Brownfield has UN experience in Geneva and Vienna. He was temporary political adviser to the U.S. Southern Command. He received the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award and the Presidential Performance Award three times each. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the National War College and attended the University of Texas School of Law. He speaks Spanish and French.
Mark Feierstein is a senior advisor with the Albright Stonebridge Group, the U.S. Institute of Peace and GBAO and a consultant to Major League Baseball.
Mark has served more than three decades at senior levels in the public and private sectors. In government, he has been senior director for Western Hemisphere affairs and special assistant to the president on the National Security Council, acting deputy administrator as well as assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID, and acting deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Mission to the Organization of American States.
Outside government, Mark has been a principal at a polling firm, director for Latin America at the National Democratic Institute, and a journalist in Mexico and the United States. Mark has published in numerous newspapers and journals on U.S. foreign policy and Latin American politics.
Mark has a bachelor’s in international relations from Tufts University and a master’s in international affairs from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is fluent in Spanish.
Location
Setting: In-Person DACOR Bacon House 1801 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 UNITED STATES
