The Board of Directors (in alphabetic order):

• Ms. Rawaa Al-Saadi is Founder and Director of Global Dynamic Links in Austin, TX. (Syria to USA)
• Mr. Mauricio Cardenas is Senior Consultant with Behavioral Science Technology in Miami. (Colombia to USA) 
• Mr. Mark Horn is a consultant with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation in Sao Paolo, Brazil.  (USA to UK)
• Dr. Marianne Hattar-Pollara is Chair, Global Nursing and Health Expert Panel, American Academy of Nursing. (USA to Jordan)
• Mr. Torsten Kracht is a Partner at Hunton & Williams, LLP in Washington, DC. (USA to Germany)
• Dr. Clarisse Molad is Vice Dean of University American College in Skopje, Macedonia. (USA to Macedonia)
• Dr. Philip Rakita is Managing Director of Armour Associates in North Carolina. (USA to Russia)
• Mr. Daniel Wolf is Chairman of Advanced Earth Technologies in San Diego. (USA to Germany)
• Mr. Keith Zielenski is a Manager at Deloitte & Touche, New York City. (USA to Germany)

The Executive Committee

Mr. Torsten Kracht is the FAST Board Chair and a Partner at Hunton & Williams, LLC, in their Washington, DC office.  His practice is concentrated on the representation of clients involved with disputes in the United States and abroad. His litigation and arbitration experience includes: complex contract disputes; fraud and unfair competition claims; intellectual property disputes such as trade secrets, trademarks and copyright; securities arbitration; bankruptcy preference defense and the defense of multi-billion dollar restitution claims. He has particular expertise in the application of the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods and in issues arising from international service of process and discovery. Previously, he was with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and with Alston & Bird, LLP . He received a J.D. with International Law Honors and Distinction from Rutgers University in 1998, and a B.B.A. in Finance and Operations, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1993. He spent the 1995 - 1996 academic year studying law in Berlin, Germany, as a Fulbright Scholar.

Dr. Marianne Hattar-Pollara is Vice-Chair of FAST and Chair of the Global Nursing and Health Expert Panel, American Academy of Nursing. She was professor of nursing at Azusa Pacific University in California. Her three decades of academic and professional services have significantly contributed to the knowledge base of women’s health at both the national and international levels. She is recognized for her expertise, research and innovations in women’s health, particularly that of immigrant women. Her research and publications examine cross cultural and global women’s health issues and international nursing. At Azusa, she has developed and achieved full accreditation for the Nursing Ph.D. program. Previously, she held a faculty position at University of California Los Angeles, a joint clinical nurse specialist/lecturer position at the University of California Irvine Medical Center, a researcher and clinician position at the University of California San Francisco and a faculty and interim chair position of the Masters’ program at Dominguez Hill California State University. She holds a doctoral degree from the University of California, San Francisco. She received her master degree in psychiatric nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Her Fulbright research involved using saliva cortisol to investigate Jordanian women’s physiological stress responses. She holds Jordanian and American citizenships. 

Mr. Mark Horn is the Treasurer of FAST and a consultant with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. He conducted research in plant biochemistry as a Fulbright scholar at the Jodrell Laboratory in Kew, England. Working in collaboration with researchers at Oxford University, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and others, he discovered new sources polyhydroxy alkaloid compounds. He has a Masters in Corporate Communications from Seton Hall University and studied biology at Brandeis University and UC-Irvine. Mark has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare industries. He served as Director of R&D Finance and Portfolio Management for Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, where he managed a budget exceeding US $100 million. A frequent speaker at industry conferences, he served as a chair of Biologic Europe in Geneva in September 2008 and has spoken recently on changes occurring the pharmaceutical industry. Mark is a fluent Portuguese speaker with connections to Brazilian biotechnology, pharmaceutical and venture capital firms. He has traveled throughout Brazil, including the Pantanal, the Amazon and Chapada Diamantina, and would like to live there one day.

Dr. Philip Rakita is the Secretary of FAST and Managing Director of Armour Associates in North Carolina. He is a senior executive with more than thirty years of international experience in the chemical and related industries. For eighteen years he held various management positions in fine and specialty chemicals and plastics for the Elf Aquitaine Group. He also served as CEO of Syrgis Performance Products, LLC, a privately held $50 million diversified group of specialty chemical companies. He has lead numerous successful projects in new business development, technology assessment and transfer, divestitures and acquisitions. He has worked and lived in France, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, and the United States and has extensive experience with multinational technical and cultural interfaces within organizations. Prior to his industrial career he was Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Minnesota, and Senior Fulbright Visiting Professor at Moscow State University (USSR). 

Board of Directors

Ms. Rawaa Al-Saadi is Founder and Director of Global Dynamic Links in Austin, TX. (Syria to USA)

Mr. Mauricio Cardenas is Senior Consultant with Behavioral Science Technology in Miami. (Colombia to USA)

Dr. Clarisse Molad has over 25 years experience in leading mission critical global change efforts. She has a proven track record in successfully initiating industry-wide global change. She is an active member of several organizations promoting women's careers in science and technology and is a distinguished recipient of numerous awards and commendations. She was twice a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship of the US State Department. For her Fulbright mission, Dr. Molad was sent to the Balkans, where she provided advising and lecturing to regional universities on the use of e-learning technologies and e-Business. During this time, she also served as a USAID advisor on major e-business initiatives in South Eastern Europe and consulted USAID on making key economic investments. 

Mr. Daniel Wolf is Chairman of Advanced Earth Technologies in San Diego. (USA to Germany)

Mr. Keith Zielenski is a Manager at Deloitte & Touche, New York City. (USA to Germany)

In Alphabetical Order - detailed bios are below:

• Dr. Dennis Anderson - Professor of Information Systems at Pace University. 
• Dr. Lynn Clark Callister - Professor of Nursing at Brigham Young University.
• Dr. Gautam Dasgupta - Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University. 
• Mrs. Harriet Fulbright - President of the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center.
• Dr. Robert George - Research Professor for Marine Fisheries University of Miami
• Ambassador Manuel Gutierrez-Ruiz - Advisor to FUSADES, El Salvador.
• Mr. David Nothmann - Americas Product Management Lead, Seminis Vegetable Seeds, a division of Monsanto.
• Dr. Karl Reinhard - Associate Director at the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences.
• Dr. Khalid R. Temsamani – National Coordinator for Materials Sciences & Professor of Electrochemistry at University Abdelmalek Essaadi, Morocco.
• Mr. Mark Vlasic, Esq. - Senior Fellow, Institute for International Law & Politics, Georgetown University.

Dr. Dennis Anderson - Professor at Pace University's Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. He received his Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Mathematics Education from Columbia University. He also received an Ed.M. in Instructional Technology and Media from Columbia University. In addition, He holds an M.S. in Computer Science from New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and his B.A. in Computer Science from Fordham University. In 2005, he attended Harvard University's Institute for Management and Leadership in Education Program. He has presented at numerous international conferences in the areas of computer science, information systems, and distance and mathematics education. He has been named to the roster of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board's Fulbright Senior Specialist (2002-2006) program as an expert in information technology. Recently, he was appointed to the Review Committee for Fulbright Senior Specialist Program. Prior board service includes the Microsoft Faculty Advisory Board, ACM Computers in Entertainment Editorial Board, CIO Executive Programs, Computerworld’s Strategic Programs, NYC Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education. In 2004, he was appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Science, Technology and Society, in Graz, Austria. Recently, he was also a Visiting Professor at the Université de Mons-Hainaut’s Waroque Business School, Belgium, where he gave lectures on e-commerce and emerging technologies. He is a high-level Adviser to the United Nations Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development (GAID). Back to the top

Dr. Lynn Clark Callister - Professor of Nursing at Brigham Young University. She has conducted cross-cultural studies of childbearing women in Canada, the United States, Guatemala, Finland, Jordan, the Peoples Republic of China, Armenia, South Africa, and the Russian Federation. She was a 2004 Fulbright Scholar to the Russian Federation, and has consulted and taught in Russia for the past six years. Dr. Callister is the vice-chair of the American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel on Global Nursing and Health. As a member of the National March of Dimes Nursing Advisory Council, she chairs the subcommittee on Global Health. Dr. Callister writes the global health and nursing editorial column for MCN: The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing. Back to the top

Dr. Gautam Dasgupta - Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics in Columbia University. His research concentration is on (theoretical) engineering modeling and (computer algebra) simulation of forces and deformations that account for randomness in geometrical and material properties. His current publications focus on wave propagation (eg. seismic phenomenon), shape comparison in life-science (cranio-facial features for biologists and anthropologists), efficient planning and management of civil infrastructure from natural (fire) and manmade (terrorist) attacks and modeling socio-economic development tracking the changes (in nutrition, sanitation, education and recreation). Born in India, he completed his BE (civil engineering) and ME (applied mechanics) at Calcutta University, West Bengal and PhD (structural mechanics) at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been at Columbia since 1977, but has also been a guest faculty member in Austria, Germany, India, and France. His Fulbright professorship was at the IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Kharagpur (in Aerospace Engineering) and ISI (Indian Statistical Institute) Calcutta, (in Mathematical Physics and Applied Mathematics). Back to the top

Mrs. Harriet Fulbright - President of the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center. Mrs. Fulbright shares her late husband's dedication to education and the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts throughout the world. Harriet Fulbright has spent much of her adult life teaching and working in international and arts affairs. She has a BA from Radcliffe College and an MFA from the George Washington University as well as seven honorary degrees. She was assistant director of the Congressional Arts Caucus, director of the International Conference of Art Historians and, later, of the Fulbright Association. She was appointed executive director of President Clinton's Commitee on the Arts and Humanities. In 1996, she was unofficial ambassador for the Fulbright Program's 50th aniversary and today travels widely to address Fulbright and other events. She now directs the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center, which promotes the late Senator's vision of world peace and nonviolent means of resolving conflicts. The Center's purpose is to ensure effective engagement in all international collaborations - cultural exchange, study abroad, and life-long learning programs. Back to the top

Dr. Robert (Bob) George is Research Professor for Marine Fisheries University of Miami and Director of the George Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability (GIBS). His undergraduate and graduate studies were conducted in Madras, India. He came to the US as a postdoctoral fellow, at the University of Washington in 1964 and then worked at the Duke University Marine Lab and the Graduate Department of Oceanography at Florida State University. He has been a professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington since 1973. He held a Fulbright Professorship to India for work in the Indian Ocean in 1984 and again in 1988. He was twice a recipient of NSF Antarctic Service Medal for research on Antarctic Krill in McMurdo and in the Scotia/Weddell Sea – Palmer Station. He was awarded the ‘Wallenberg Grant’ as a visiting scientist to Kristineberg Marine Research Station in Sweden and has been a fellow of the Russian and the Romanian Academy of Sciences. Prof. George was appointed in January 2005 as member of the working-group for ecosystem conservation/deep-sea coral reefs for the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Back to top. Back to the top

Ambassador Manuel Gutierrez-Ruiz - Mr. Gutierrez-Ruiz served as Ambassador of El Salvador to the Court of St. James (the United Kingdom).  He was a 1973 Fulbirght Scholar to the University of Indiana-Bloomington, where he studied business management.  He is currently serving as an economic development advisor to the government and to organizations in El Salvador. Back to top. Back to the top

Mr. David Nothmann was the President of the FAST board of directors from 2003-2007. He is currently Americas Product Management Lead for Seminis Vegetable Seeds, a division of Monsanto. Before taking this position in 2008, he led a multi-functional team responsible for launching new biotechnology soybean products such as Roundup Ready® soybeans. He also served as Director of Trait Licensing for Corn States, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsanto. He has successfully led multi-million dollar licensing transactions and acquisitions, handled technology divestitures and program closures, and helped structure international joint ventures. In 1994-1995, David taught English at a junior college in Ilmenau,Germany, via the Fulbright exchange program and has since worked and traveled extensively throughout Europe and South America. He graduated summa cum laude with high thesis honors from Tufts University (B.A.) and holds an M.B.A from NYU's Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where he was a research associate on two National Science Foundation grants. In addition to his volunteer service with FAST, he is also a top fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society via the MS Bike Tour. Back to the top

Dr. Karl Reinhard is an Associate Director at the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences. He has worked on numerous forensic studies in the United States and has conducted research in South America for many years. In July 2000, he found a 10,000 year old louse egg on human hairs at a site in northeast Brazil - the oldest evidence of lice found to date anywhere in the world. According to his research, lice hitched a ride to the New World on the heads of its very first colonists, adapting to the changing conditions and perhaps evolving into new strains as people dispersed. He is also an Associate Professor, School of Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he teaches archeoparasitology. His Fulbright experience was to the National University of Public Health in Rio de Janeiro in 2001, where he lectured and conducted research on evolutionary perspectives on parasitic diseases. Back to the top

Dr. Khalid R. Temsamani – National Coordinator for Materials Sciences & Professor of Electrochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of Tetouan, University Abdelmalek Essaadi, Morocco. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) in 1988. He also certified in immunology and cancerology in 1987. In 1989, he was appointed Maitre de Conference at the Faculte des Sciences de Tetouan and in 1993 he became a full professor at the same institution. He founded the Bioelectrochemistry Research Unit in 1990 and the Equipe de recherche Electrochimie et Systemes Interfaciaux (ERESI) in 2005. Since 1990, he has worked with several US institutions, conducting research in the field of chemically modified electrodes as electrochemical sensors for biological and environmental monitoring. In 1993 he received a Fulbright to conduct research at the University of Miami, Florida. In June 2005, he was appointed by the Moroccan Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research as National Coordinator in Materials Science and Representative of Morocco to the US National Science Foundation. Recently, Dr. Temsamani joined Morocco’s National Biosecurity Council and has been assigned the duty of preparing a National Code of Conduct for Bioethics. Back to the top

Mr. Mark Vlasic, Esq. - Senior Fellow, Institute for International Law & Policy, Georgetown University. Mark Vlasic had practiced law at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP before serving as a White House Fellow working for the Secretary of Defense in 2006-07. Prior to private practice, he served as a prosecutor on the Slobodan Milosevic and Srebrenica trial teams at the UN War Crimes Tribunal. An Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, he has lectured throughout Europe, taught the Iraqi judges trying Saddam Hussein, backpacked around the world, and provided commentary to CNN, FOX, CBS and NPR. He has served as an Army officer on Capitol Hill and at the Defense Attaché Office at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague. Originally from Thousand Oaks, CA, he received his B.S.B.A. and J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University, his Certificate in International Law from The Hague Academy of International Law, and conducted his post-graduate research at Universiteit Leiden as a NAF-Fulbright Scholar to the Netherlands. Back to the top

Several members of the Board of Directors or the IAC represent regions outside of North America.  Gaps will be filled in the subsequent board appointments.

• Africa - Dr. Temsamani (IAC)
• Asia - Dr. George (IAC); Dr. Kim (Board)
• Australia & Oceania - none
• Europe -  Ms. Shaxson (IAC)
• Middle East - Ms. Al Saadi & Dr. Hattar (Board)
• Latin America & Caribbean - Ambassador Gutierrez-Ruiz (IAC)

 

The Executive Committee and the Board of Directors guides the long-term growth of the Fulbright Academy and oversees the executive director and the alumni/volunteers who play an important role in FAST's programming. Board members meet once per month via conference call, and twice per year in person. The annual meeting of the board and the membership takes place in late winter at the Fulbright Academy's annual conference.  A second meeting is held in the fall.

We are in the process of expanding the board of directors to twelve members.  Members are appointed to the board for a three-year term by a super-majority vote (75%) of the current board.  If you are interested in serving the Academy in any capacity, please send an email to the Academy with a copy of your resume/CV.  We are also seeking alumni to serve on the International Advisory Council (see below).

In 2007, FAST established an International Advisory Council. The primary objective of the Advisory Council is to represent the interests of the Academy’s members and external stakeholders and offers counsel to FAST on its direction, focus and future. The Advisors also promote the Academy’s mission and enhance the Academy’s public image through communication, advocacy, and support. Members serve in a voluntary, advisory capacity.

Academy members recommend individuals to serve on the Advisory Council. The Board’s nominating committee will review candidates and appoint members so that the Council’s membership reflects the diversity of the Academy’s members and stakeholders. We are currently seeking nominations - in particular from the business and government sectors.

The Advisory Council will consist of up to twenty-five members. Their terms of service shall be for two years from the date of appointment, and an individual member will serve for no more than three consecutive terms. Service on the Advisory Council is voluntary; members receive no compensation for their service. The Academy will not cover the costs of hospitality, room and board for those requiring overnight stays.

The Advisory Council will meets at our Annual Research Conference and may also elect to meet at other strategic locations, such as in Washington, DC, or at major scientific conferences.

Summary – the Mission of the Advisory Council:

• Serve as the Academy’s ambassadors to friends of the Academy, corporate and foundation executives, government leaders and members of the media – with a particular focus on helping the Academy build strategic partnerships.
• Provide information and expert advice regarding new and emerging trends that may impact the Academy. Share new perspectives and the benefits of their experience in various careers, disciplines and fields.
• Assist the board and staff in our ongoing efforts to assess the effectiveness of the Academy, offering advice and counsel on broad matters of policy and planning.
• Support our efforts to ensure that adequate financial resources are available to achieve the organization’s goals; Council members must be active, paid members of FAST, and some members may be asked to give an additional financial contribution.
• Support FAST and its programs through indirect contributions, such as hosting a Forum or assistance in soliciting memberships, grants, foundation support or funds from other sources.
• Perform supplemental functions as agreed upon by the Council and the Board.