3/5/2026
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM EST


Location: DACOR Bacon House OR Online, 1801 F St NW, Washington, DC 20006

DACOR and Grounded Idealist are excited to hold a conversation on the “Future of U.S. Diplomacy” featuring Jim Richardson, Tamanna Salikuddin, and Jeremy Shapiro. The panel will be moderated by Sepideh Keyvanshad, Senior Advisor at Cambridge Global Advisors and Kyle Dietrich, Founder of Grounded Idealist, and will discuss where they see foreign affairs and foreign policy heading and why these institutions were vulnerable in last year’s reductions-in-force. You’ll also hear what current and aspiring foreign policy practitioners can do to strengthen the field and to help the general public better understand the importance of this work.

This event will also feature resume reviews, coaching, and other career transition services, so be sure to bring a hard copy of your resume for review!

Reserve your space now! The event will be hybrid with in-person and virtual attendance available. The resume reviews, coaching, etc., will only be available to those who attend in-person. 

Jim Richardson currently serves as Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer to former Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, directing all political, business, and policy operations, and is also the Executive Chairman of The Pompeo Foundation. He is a strategic executive and institutional leader with 25 years of experience at the center of U.S. national security and foreign policy, including as former Director of the Office of Foreign Assistance at the U.S. Department of State and as USAID’s Assistant to the Administrator in the Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning.

Tamanna Salikuddin is a Senior Advisor at Cambridge Global Associates with a focus on Indo-Pacific security. She also serves as an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Ms. Salikuddin is senior executive with over 20 years of experience advising U.S. leadership on national security, foreign policy, international relations, and counterterrorism.

Jeremy Shapiro is the Director of Research and the Director of the U.S. Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he worked at the U.S. State Department and the Brookings Institution. He specializes in U.S.-European relations and the domestic politics of U.S. foreign policy.