Tag Archives: Chicago

PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE IN-PERSON Fulbright, U.S. Department of State & Chicago Council on Global Affairs Extravaganza!  The U.S. Department of State and Fulbright Association 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.

WHEN Thursday, January 25, 2024
TIME 6-9 pm
WHERE Chicago Council on Global Affairs
130 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601
RSVP *FREE – Register in the link below to attend* 
https://forms.gle/cgnC2EwJS2mkq4fQ9

PROGRAM AGENDA
6:00pm Event opens/Check-in 
6:00-6:15 Networking reception 
6:15-6:25 Welcome remarks 
Tatyana Noble, Chicago Council on Global Affairs 
Matthew Kelley, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago 
Mark Woods-Hawkins, Special Agent in Charge, DS-Chicago
6:25-6:40 Chicago Council on Global Affairs 
Topics and Speakers TBC
6:40-7:10 State Department panel discussion 
Jeannette Juricic, Senior Foreign Service Officer, Office of Foreign Missions 
Bryan Weiler, Supervisory Special Agent, DS-Chicago 
Donshay Peoples, Special Agent, DS-Chicago 
7:10-7:25 Q&A 
7:25-7:40 Nontraditional Partnerships in an Age of Insecurity
Dr. Donovan Chau, University of West Florida Professor, and I/R Analyst  
7:40-7:55 Community and Academic Involvement in Policing   
Kirsten Mahoney – UChicago Crime Lab
7:55-8:35 The Five-Minute Fulbright 
Kate Vergara PhD MPH, Fulbright Alum and Board Member (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.
8:35-8:40 Fulbright closing remarks 
Kate Vergara PhD MPH, Fulbright Alumna and Board Member
8:45-9:00 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. 

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. 

JEANNETTE JURICIC – Regional Director, Office of Foreign Missions/Chicago is an FS-01 Management Officer currently serving as the Office of Foreign Missions (OFM) Regional Director in Chicago.  Ms. Juricic joined the Foreign Service in January 2000.  Ms. Juricic has also served as OFM Regional Director in New York; International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Director in Bridgetown, Barbados; Management Officer in Erbil, Iraq; Supervisory General Services Officer in Vienna, Austria; Program Analyst in the Director General’s Office of Policy Coordination; Assessor in the Board of Examiners; General Services/Human Resources Officer in Santiago, Chile; Management Officer in Chengdu, China; Management /Consular Officer in Merida, Mexico; and as General Services Officer in Beijing, China.  She speaks and reads Mandarin, Spanish, and German.

Ms. Juricic has a BA in Political Science, Asian Studies, and Gender Studies from Central College and a MA in International Policy Studies with a certificate in Women and Development from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Ms. Juricic grew up in Wilmington, IL but now calls Barre, WI home.  She has no spouse or children but does have three cats.  

BRYAN WEILER – Supervisory Special Agent Weiler began working for DSS in 2009.  He was assigned to the Boston Field Office from 2010 to 2011 and was the ARSO-I at three different overseas posts (2011 – Lima, Peru; 2012-2014 – Belmopan, Belize; 2016-2019 – Panama City, Panama).  He also served as an ARSO in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from 2014 to 2016.  Bryan has 27 years of service in federal law enforcement, previously serving as an Immigration Officer in Chicago, IL for 13 years from 1996 to 2009.  He speaks, reads, and writes Spanish and Portuguese, and has a doctorate (PhD) in Spanish language and literature from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  Bryan came to the Chicago Field Office in December 2019 and is currently assigned to the PL Unit.   

DONSHAY ANTONIO PEOPLES – Special Agent began his career with the Department of State in 2021. Initially, he served as a Program Analyst for the Bureau of Budget in Planning in the System Resources and Operation division. In 2022, he accepted a position with the Diplomatic Security Service as a Special Agent and was assigned to the Chicago Field Office.  Prior to working for the Department of State, Donshay served four years in the United States Airforce as a Security Forces member and eight years doing security contracting throughout various locations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Donshay holds a BA from Xavier University, an AA from Cincinnati State, an English as a Second Language teaching certification from University of Cambridge and is one class from having a Masters in Intelligence Operations. Donshay speaks German. 

 KRISTEN MAHONEY –  Director of Policing Leadership Academy – University of Chicago. Kristen Mahoney serves as the Director of the Policing Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago.  In this role, Kristen is responsible for the day-to-day management, operations, and strategic leadership of the Policing Leadership Academy.  Kristen served as the Principal Deputy Director at the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice, and created the National Law Enforcement Knowledge Lab which is a trusted resource for law enforcement and the communities they serve.  Kristen also served as the Executive Director of the Maryland Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention. In that role, she led the planning, promotion, legislative, and investment strategies for the State of Maryland with government entities, private organizations, and the community to advance public policy, enhance public safety, reduce crime and juvenile delinquency, and serve victims. She came to the state government after serving as the Chief of Technical Services for the Baltimore Police Department and the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice for the City of Baltimore.

Kristen received her B.A. from Sweet Briar College and her J.D. from the University of Baltimore. She is a member of the Maryland Bar and has practiced law with the Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland, specializing in the representation of abused and neglected children.

Dr. DONOVAN CHAU is a faculty fellow in the Kugelman Honors Program at the University of West Florida. He teaches and supervises undergraduate and graduate students in the Government and Information Technology departments. He also works in law enforcement as a liason supporting cross-functional information sharing and serves in the US military as a member of an Intelligence Community element. Previously, Dr. Chau was an associate professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino. And before academia, he worked as a professional staff member in the US House of Representatives and a US government contractor in homeland security and counterterrorism. He received his PhD from the University of Reading (UK).

Dr. 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.