International Career Advancement Program (ICAP)

Conference on Diversity in International Affairs and Mid-Year Reunion Highlights:

The 2015 Conference on Diversity in International Affairs was held at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC on April 10-11, 2015. The annual event is the collaborative effort by the International Career Advancement Program, the Council on Foreign Affairs, and the Global Access Pipeline project, which aims to connect students and professionals from diverse backgrounds to career opportunities in international affairs. This year’s event including over 370 participants from across the country, over 35 senior executives and foreign policy subject matter experts as speakers and moderators for the 10 session program. This year’s feature keynote speaker, Carla Harris, Chair, National Women’s Business Council; Director, Investment Banking Division, Morgan Stanley led us with an inspirational and dynamic address on “Strategizing to Win” also the title of her second book. New to the program this year were sessions on the importance of Human Rights Defenders and Entrepreneurialism.   The two days concluded with the 2015 ICAP mid-year reunion and the ICAP Alumni Association Annual Diversity Award Recipient for the first time a ICAP Alum, Ken Payumo (ICAP 02).  

News on the ICAP 2015 Class:

As you all know, the ICAP Alumni Association Fundraising Committee and the ICAP AA Board have had a vigorous two -year long effort at fundraising to get the ICAP Fellowship Program back on schedule for the 2015 year and beyond. ICAP alumni and senior mentors, faculty and friends have given more generously than at any previous time. Moreover, with help from the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, the United Nations Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture funding, we are pleased to announce that ICAP 2015 will be held in Aspen, Colorado, from October 10 to October 17, 2015.

Upcoming Event: CFR International Affairs Fellowship Opportunity Discussion:

ICAP is hosting for alumni a discussion with Janine Hill, Director of Fellowship Affairs, and Victoria Alekhine, Deputy Director of Fellowship Affairs, to discuss Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship (IAF). 

Launched in 1967, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) International Affairs Fellowship program is designed to assist mid-career scholars and professionals by advancing their analytic capabilities and broadening their foreign policy experience. The distinctive character of the IAF program derives from the transformative experiences that fellows obtain throughout their twelve-month appointments. Fellows selected from academia and the private sector spend fellowship tenures in public service and policy-oriented settings while government officials spend their tenures in a scholarly atmosphere free from operational pressures. The goal is to expand their range of thinking on policy research and formulation as well as prepare them to embark on policy relevant work at a pivotal moment in their careers. Applicants for the fellowship are vetted through a highly competitive selection process.  Fellows are posted to institutions in the United States and abroad or at CFR headquarters in New York and CFR’s office in Washington, DC.

Joining this call include ICAP Fellows Kim McClure and Sundaa Jones who participated in the IAF Fellowship at CFR. They will discuss their experience as an IAF.

ICAP Fellows in the News:

Channapha Khamvongsa and her organization Legacies of War were featured (April 6) in the New York Times on her journey back to Laos and the important efforts to rid Laos of the millions of cluster bombs remaining (and still killing and injuring Laotians) from the US bombing campaign from 1964-1973.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/06/world/asia/laos-campaign-to-clear-millions-of-unexploded-bombs.html?_r=0

Tilly Chang, ICAP Alum and Executive Director, San Francisco County Transportation Authority was featured as one of the most influential women in the Bay Area in the San Francisco Journal.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/morning_call/2015/05/influential-women-in-bay-area-business-2015.html#g26

ICAP Fellow and The Hill Contributor, Eric Ham was a guest, May 16^th on WJLA’s “Right-Side Forum” a hour-long news and talk show hosted by Armstrong Williams. Eric was discussing the growing threat posed by Iran in the Middle East and U.S. National Security interests.

Abigail Golden-Vazquez, ICAP Fellow Alum and Executive Director of the Latinos and Society Program at the Aspen Institute. Abigail was featured on CNN, May 14, 2015, on bridging the gap between the Latino community and mainstream society in order to make better informed decisions that affect our country. 

http://www.cnn.com/…/exp-cnne-aspen-institute-latinos-and-s…

ICAP's own Sylvia Cabus, Gender Advisor for USAID’s Bureau for Food Security, spoke at “The Sahel, Beyond the Headlines: Population, Environment, and Security Dynamics” at the Wilson Center on May 12. Her contributions to this topic was covered by the New Security Beat with an article “ We Help Farmers and Their Husbands” by Carley Chavara

http://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2015/05/usaids-sylvia-cabus-sahel-we-farmersand-husbands/