Professional Documents
Culture Documents
“Career Networking”
November 13, 2008
1-3:00pm
Participants
Ms. Gayane Afrikian has served as CEO of the National Competitiveness Foundation
of Armenia and as Senior Advisor to the CEO of “Kazyna” Sustainable Development
Fund of the Government of Kazakhstan. Prior to this, Gayane was an Associate of
the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University pursuing her
research on Armenia’s national competitiveness and regional cooperation. A native
of Armenia, born during the communist regime of the Soviet Union, from a young
age Gayane has thrown herself into the front lines of activism, be it her crusading
journalism behind the Iron Curtain, or her humanitarian work in a variety of still-
hot conflict regions around the world. Before coming to Harvard, she most recently
served as Political Affairs Officer with the United Nations Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan. During this assignment, she worked directly with the local
government, opposition and tribal leaders, warlords, civil society organizations, and
others on issues related to good governance, disarmament and peace building.
Gayane also served with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, as Regional Labor
and Social Welfare officer, and with the European Commission Delegation for
Armenia, as Head of the Information and Public Relations office. She has been a
working journalist, with stints at Agence France Presse, The Philadelphia Inquirer,
The Economist Intelligence Unit, and London’s daily newspaper, The Independent.
As the only non-Soviet Union sanctioned journalist reporting from Estonia in 1989-
1991 for the Armenian media, her reporting shone a spotlight on the fledging
democratic movement in that country. Her articles were published in the London’s
Financial Times, and her reports from the conflict zone in the 90’s from the
Southern Caucasus were covered on the front pages of the most prestigious
international media.
Ms. Afrikian was a Mason Fellow and received her Master in Public Administration
degree from Harvard Kennedy School in 2005. She was also educated at The
London School of Economics (Masters in Russian and Post Soviet Studies, 1996)
and the Yerevan (Armenia) State University (Masters in Journalism, 1991). As a
result of her work, Ms. Gayane Afrikian has been awarded with the “Exceptional
Woman” title by Boston’s Magic 106.7 radio. The interview with her on her
remarkable life journey aired on June 11, 2006.
Jeff Amestoy is a 1982 mid-career MPA graduate and Fellow at the Center for Public
Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School. He served as Chief Justice of the Vermont
Supreme Court (1997-2004) and Attorney General of Vermont (1985-1997). Chief
Justice Amestoy was the author of Baker v. State, the decision of the Vermont
Supreme Court which held that same-sex couples were constitutionally entitled to
the rights and benefits of marriage and led to the nation's first civil union law. He
was first elected Attorney General in 1984 and was re-elected six times. In five
elections Attorney General Amestoy was the nominee of both the Republican and
Democratic parties. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference
of Chief Justices, served as President of the National Association of Attorneys
General, and was a 1994 Fellow with the Institute of Politics at HKS.
Before coming to the Kennedy School I served as an attorney with the U.S.
Department of the Interior. Prior to law school I worked as a program evaluation
specialist in public school districts. At HKS my interests expanded to more global
environmental issues. I currently am pursuing a doctorate in Environmental
Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. My research interests focus on
international environmental governance, the politics of science, and the ethical
implications of environmental issues, particularly in the context of global climate
change. I currently am studying the use of science and the treatment of
uncertainty in litigation relating to climate change and the effects these cases may
have on law, science, and policy. I am particularly interested in the role the courts
and climate litigation play in a democracy by educating the public about climate
science and ethical disputes, by stimulating public debate, and by shaping public
policy on controversial issues.
Rudy Brioché is Legal Advisor for Media Issues for the Federal Communications
Commission. He most recently served as legislative counsel to Senator Frank R.
Lautenberg (D-NJ). In the Senate, his portfolio included business, communications,
judiciary and labor. His prior experience includes serving as counsel to the NAACP
Washington Bureau, law clerk to U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis and to Chief
Judge Robert M. Bell of the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and practicing commercial
litigation in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York. Rudy has served as an
international monitor of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Rudy received his Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, where he
worked for the late Judge A. Leon Higginbotham and served as editor-in-chief of the
Harvard Journal of African American Public Policy. Rudy also earned his J.D. from
the University of Maryland Law School, where he was student body president and
editor of the ABA's business law journal, The Business Lawyer. Rudy, a native of
Brooklyn, received his B.A. from Rutgers College.
Rosario Calderon is a principal of Lawin Energy LLC in San Francisco that addresses
the global energy and climate change crises with clean and sustainable energy
development. Chato forms strategic alliances for the development of power projects
in solar, wind, small hydro and biomass; and for promoting energy efficient and
alternative vehicle fuels projects in the United States and emerging economies of
Asia. She pursues research, development and commercialization of cutting edge
technologies that will revolutionize and make competitive renewable energy and
energy efficiency. She provides consulting services on business, project and policy
development on clean energy and carbon trading.
Passion drives Chato. Having spent her professional life in both the private and
public sectors, Chato is passionate in dealing with the challenges of reform and
governance in corporations and in government, with the benefits of public-private
partnerships in leveraging resources, and with the goals of corporate social
responsibility in putting a human face in technology and reducing poverty. Her
faith in God has influenced her lifestyle in the market place and public square. As
Vice-President of Business Development and Government Relations for CalEnergy
International, she was involved in the power production from $1.4 billion
geothermal and hydro electric plants in the Philippines. Chato managed multi-
million dollar grant programs to the Philippine Department of Energy on energy
independence, climate change and rural electrification as the Senior Technical
Advisor of the United Agency for International Development (USAID) in Manila. At
USAID, Chato emphasized the critical collaboration with US Departments of State,
Energy, Commerce, and Environment; with Federal and State Regulatory
Commissions; and multilateral donor agencies like World Bank, Asian Development
Bank and United Nations Development Program in achieving sustainable economic
development. In the US East and Gulf Coasts, Chato worked on natural gas
production, transmission and cogeneration; clean coal technology for power
generation; and alternative vehicle fuels.
Chato’s professional career in energy has opened opportunities to travel in Asia and
the United States where she had the chance to have a proactive outreach to the
HKS Alumni. While in the Philippines, she was President of the HKS Alumni
Foundation (www.ksgphil.org). She is a founding and a current Board Director of
the Association of Harvard University Alumni Clubs of Asia (AHUACA). As Board
Director of HKSAA, Chato takes seriously the role of Ambassador to bring mutually
beneficial relationships among the Dean, the school and students with over 20,000
degree and 15,000 non-degree alumni.
Chato has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of the
Philippines, a Masters in Business Administration from Syracuse University in New
York and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University Kennedy School
of Government.
Mr. Yemi Cardoso holds a Bachelors degree in finance and accounting from Aston
University UK and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy
School, USA. He was a Mason Fellow at the Kennedy School at Harvard University.
He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers.
He has several years of banking experience with Chase, Citibank and Citizens
International Bank. He attained the position of Vice President at Citibank and
Executive Director at Citizens. In 1999 he was approached by the Government and
appointed to the cabinet as the first Commissioner for Economic Planning and
Budget in Lagos state, a state with dominant strategic and economic importance on
the African continent. In this capacity he championed the reform process creating
awareness of the challenges of managing the world’s 6th largest mega city. He held
the cabinet portfolio until 2005 when he voluntarily relinquished his position and
returned to private life. Since returning to private life he runs his investment
banking business, FBC Associates, consulting on capital market and developmental
activities. He has forged working alliances with several donor agencies such as
World Bank, Ford Foundation, UN Habitat, Clinton Foundation, DFID and Swedish
International Development Agency. FBC Associates is rating advisor to the Lagos
State Government and serves as interlocutor with international rating agencies such
as Standard and Poor’s.
His non-profit activities include being Co-Founder (along with two other HKS
Alumni) and board member of the Africa Policy Institute; and the Afro-Brazilian
Heritage Foundation. His efforts with the Afro-Brazilian Heritage Foundation are
bringing about a twin city relationship between Lagos and Salvador.
Mr. Cardoso sits on the board of directors of several companies including Chevron
Oil Plc. He is Chairman of Citibank’s Board Audit Committee and was appointed
Chairman of the Project Steering Committee of the World Bank’s Lagos Metropolitan
Development and Governance Project (LMDGP). LMDGP is the largest World Bank
project ever granted a sub national government. The project will positively impact
the lives of over one million slum dwellers through sustainable access to roads,
drains, water, schools and clinics.
Dr. Gant is a member of the National Senior Intelligence Service and Director of the
ODNI Intelligence Community (IC) Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) Program
Office. She served on a two-year academic sabbatical at Trinity University,
Washington, DC as a visiting professor, scholar-in-residence, Programs in
International Affairs. Dr. Gant directs the ODNI IC CAE Program Office that is
comprised of ten (10) universities. She oversees, establishes guidance and
monitors university CAE budgets and execution strategies aligned with
measures/metrics outlined in policy guidance. She directs and oversees a multi-
million dollar grant budget that is disseminated among the ten CAE universities on
behalf of the ODNI for IC agencies/elements. Dr. Gant establishes and maintains
collaborative partnerships for 16 national-level Intelligence agencies with federal
agencies, academia and industry in support of the Director of National Intelligence.
Her career expands more than 20 years and includes positions with the Department
of the Navy and Marine Corps (Japan), U.S. Air Force (England), U.S.
Army/Resources, Marine Corps Institute, Office of the Secretary of Defense, the
Defense Intelligence Agency — National Defense Intelligence College and the Joint
Military Intelligence Training Center. Dr. Gant performed duty assignments in
Okinawa, Japan, Oxfordshire, England, NATO in Brussels, Belgium and other
locations to include Washington, DC. Dr. Gant lectured at the Business Institute at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her academic credentials include a B.S.
School of Business and Industry, Florida A and M University; M.A., George Peabody
College of Vanderbilt University; and Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University. She is a graduate of several executive programs including The
Brookings Institute Senior Level Benchmarking Program and Harvard University
John F. Kennedy School of Government programs. Over the past 3 years, she has
been actively involved with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Alumni
Board and the Harvard HKS Alumni Council in Washington, DC.
Andrea is involved in investments in the power, water and clean technology sectors.
She is a former portfolio manager at Regency Capital and Caxton Europe with 15
years experience in the utility sector and 4 years experience in the renewable
energy space. Andrea started her career in McKinsey & Co. in Madrid, and then
moved to London to join the financial sector where she continues today. Her
experience in the utility sector is both is the sell side as research analyst at
Kleinwort Benson and Goldman Sachs and in the buy side, as portfolio manager at
Caxton Europe and Regency Capital. Andrea also worked in private equity projects
on renewable energy and clean technology for The Carbon Trust and helped set up
a hedge fund focusing on power, water and environmental services at Impax Asset
Management.
Throughout her career, Andrea has been able to work on a number of critical policy
issues, from within the private sector. She has worked on the restructuring and
subsequent privatization of electricity, water and gas monopolies in Latin America
and has advised governments in the deregulation of their electricity markets in
Europe and USA. In the last four years, Andrea has worked on projects aimed at
reducing carbon emissions and fostering carbon trading and has become actively
involved in global climate change issues involving sustainable development.
Overtime, Andrea has also become an active member of non-profit organizations
such as microfinance operations in Latin America and other venture philanthropy
groups that focus on education and on women’s development and standing in
society. Andrea holds and MPA2 degree from Harvard University (Fulbright Scholar)
and an Economics degree from University of Buenos Aires.
A 1998 graduate of the HKS MPA program, Kate has been very active in alumni
affairs since 2000. As a member of KSG New England Alumni Association, Inc.,
since 2001, and the Association’s former chair, Kate facilitated the development of
KSGne as a 501(3) corporation as well as a variety of KSGne’s programs and
events, including introductory and intermediate level negotiation courses, annual
dinners, on-going programs and special events.
As a member of the HKS Board of Directors since 2004, Kate has served on the
Constitution and By-Laws Committee and the Regional Associations Committee.
Kate would like to serve another term on the Board in order to help revise the
Board’s Constitution and By-Laws to address issues she identified concerning the
Board’s internal governance and communication. As a member since 2004 and
then Co-Chair of the Regional Association Committee since Fall 2007, Kate has
helped foster the development of regional alumni associations worldwide. She
helped implement the Global Liaison Program and was instrumental in developing a
comprehensive, on-line “tool-kit” containing best practices for regional associations.
In the last six months, strong interest has emerged for the creation of sixteen new
and ten well-established regional associations world-wide. Kate would like to serve
another term on the Board in order to continue to develop a strong partnership
between the Board, the Alumni Programs Office and the school in order to connect
HKS alumni to each other and the school and develop and strengthen the HKS
community world-wide.
In her professional life, Kate is currently transitioning to a new position working for
Partners Harvard Medical International in Dubai Health Care City, Dubai, United
Arab Emirates. PHMI has been helping develop DHCC into a world-class location for
health care, medical education, and life science research. As Director of Licensing,
Kate will be developing a program for licensing and accreditation for DHCC.
Previously, Kate served as Chief Counsel and a senior manager of the
Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure. Prior to that, Kate worked as a
litigator, regulatory specialist and counselor, specializing in a broad range of
environmental, business and health care issues. She also gained business
experience as corporate counsel for an internet start-up and as a director of new
business development for a corporation developing public/private partnerships.
Earlier in her career, Kate was a registered nurse and a public health specialist,
working domestically and internationally.
Gary Schwarz currently is a Visiting Fellow at the Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences at Harvard University. He is the recipient of the 2008 “Dean’s Award for
Excellence in Student Teaching” for his work as a Teaching Fellow for the HKS
course “Strategic Management for Public Purposes.” He also facilitated sessions at
HKS Executive Education programs and conferences.
He has traveled to more than fifty countries and lived at least half a year in eight
countries in various parts of the world. During his studies at HKS, he represented
his classmates in the KSSG and served on the Academic Advisory Committee,
including acting as a student representative during the faculty search process.
Before coming to Harvard, Mr. Schwarz, whose parents were both lifelong civil
servants, and who has received the Medal of Bronze for serving in the military,
worked in the consulting department of Deloitte. Holding various positions,
ultimately as the Service Line Leader Performance Management, he advised
numerous public sector organizations on strategy and public policy issues.
He co-edited and co-authored a book that reached the top-5 of the Financial Times
list for German business books. He was named a 21st Century Fellow, a leader
below the age of 40 who will influence this century, by Oxford’s 21st Century Trust.
I hold a deep passion for education. I received my MPA from the Kennedy School
in 1987. I have an MA in speech pathology from the University of Kansas and a BA
in communication from the University of Massachusetts.
In the 90’s, I began working with glass beads to fabricate jewelry. In 2004, I
started a jewelry design business. I am a member of the Northwest Bead Society.
Additionally, I have or currently serve on the boards for the Sierra Club,
Washington Environmental Council, PTA and the Metropolitan Democratic Club of
Seattle. My family and I enjoy traveling, skiing/snowboarding, theater, music and
reading.
The Honorable Jackie K. Weatherspoon served six years in the New Hampshire
House of Representatives. She served as a Minority House Whip and served on the
Election Law Committee, holding the position as 3rd from the Chair of the opposition
party. Jackie was the chief sponsor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, the last
state in the United States to adopt the holiday. She co-sponsored Banning the
Death Penalty Bill. She served a total (2 ½) seconded to the State Department to
OSCE, Organizational for Security and Cooperation in Europe to Implement the
Dayton Agreement. UN Secretariat, since 2004, EAD, Electoral Assistance Division,
United Nations, New York. Jackie also worked on the Presidential Election Team,
Vice President Al Gore for President, Senator John Kerry for President, and was a
member of the Women for Hillary Clinton Team for President.
While at the Kennedy School, Giles was active in Student Government, wrote on the
staff of The Citizen, and captained the Harvard Crew and Triathlon Teams.
Immediately following the MPP program, Giles returned to the Air Force where he
served as a physicist. His service complete, he accepted a consulting position with
McKinsey & Company focusing on economic development and emerging markets.
In that position, Giles has worked on projects throughout the world and is a firm
expert in economic development and infrastructure.
Giles currently resides in New York where he is a founding member of the New York
Kennedy School Alumni Steering Committee; his focus is strengthening the
connectivity of the chapter. Giles is also a member of the Harvard Clubs of New
York and Boston.