This year (2018) the Council of American Ambassadors celebrates the 15th anniversary of its International Affairs Fellowship Program! The program's co-chairs Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch and Abelardo Valdez join podcast host Ambassador Philip Hughes to discuss the development of the International Affairs Fellowship. The program offers scholarships to accepted State Department interns, supplementing their internships with mentoring from former U.S. ambassadors and academic studies in international affairs.
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Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch
Ambassador Bloch served as U.S. Ambassador to Nepal from 1989 to 1993 and currently serves as a co-chair for the Council of American Ambassadors' International Affairs Fellowship program. She is the President of the U.S.-China Education Trust, a non-profit organization working in China to promote U.S.-China relations through education. Ambassador Bloch served at the U.S. Agency for International Development as Assistant Administrator for Food for Peace and Voluntary Assistance, and as Assistant Administrator for Asia and the Near East.
Ambassador Abelardo Valdez
Ambassador Valdez served as Chief of Protocol for the White House from 1979 to 1981 and as Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean of the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1977 to 1979. He currently serves as founder and co-chair for the Council of American Ambassadors' International Affairs Fellowship program.
Ambassador Hughes served as U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and Eastern Caribbean from 1990 to 1993 and currently serves as the Council of American Ambassadors Vice President. Previous assignments include Executive Secretary of the National Security Council, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs, Director for Latin American Affairs on the National Security Council staff, Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs, and Assistant Director for Intelligence Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is currently Senior Director of the White House Writers Group in Washington, DC.