Carol Castiel, International Broadcaster, Voice of America
Carol Castiel is in charge of producing and managing three 30-minute weekly current affairs programs for VOA’s English Language Division. She hosts Press Conference USA, a newsmaker interview program, and Encounter, a news analysis show that elicits opposing perspectives on a critical foreign or domestic policy issue. Ms. Castiel also oversees the production of Issues in the News, a round-up of the week’s top stories by distinguished Washington journalists.
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Before joining the Voice of American in 1999, Ms. Castiel was a consultant and freelance journalist specializing in the promotion of trade and investment between the United States and Africa. She was also a contributing editor to the London-based West Africa Magazine and managed scholarship programs for Portuguese-speaking Africa at the New York-based Africa-America Institute. Ms. Castiel is fluent in Portuguese, French and Spanish.
Ms. Castiel spearheaded the recovery of Jewish heritage in the Cape Verde Islands in the mid -1990’s. After years of preparatory work, she founded in 2007 the non-profit Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project, Inc., to honor the memory of the many Sephardic Jews who immigrated to Cape Verde from Morocco and Gibraltar in the 19th century.
Allan Reich, Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Allan Reich is a senior partner with Seyfarth Shaw LLP, a US national law firm with eleven offices in the United States and Brussels. Mr. Reich specializes in corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, securities financings and governance matters. He also serves as anindependent trustee of the Oakmark family of domestic and international mutual funds (approximately US $30 bn) and a director of Kemper Sports Management, Inc.
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Mr. Reich is a member of the Executive Council of the Board of Directors of the American Jewish Committee. He chairs AJC’s International Relations Commission and is a member of the Policy Advisory Board of AJC’s Ramer Center in Berlin. He is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Jack Edlow, CEO, Edlow International
Mr. Edlow is a business man with international activities and travels widely. He has served on the Boards of: Beth El of Montgomery County, Foundation for Jewish Studies, Board of Jewish Education of Montgomery County Maryland, and Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
Ambassador Herman Cohen, Former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; President, Cohen and Woods International
A retired career diplomat and specialist in African affairs, Ambassador Herman J. Cohen is the President of Cohen and Woods International. The firm provides strategic planning services to African governments and multinational corporations doing business in Africa. During distinguished 38-year tenure with the U.S. Foreign Service, Mr. Cohen served in a variety of senior diplomatic capacities. His last position prior to retirement in 1993 was Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under President George H.W. Bush (1989 -1993).
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Throughout his career, Ambassador Cohen served in five African countries and twice in France. During assignments in Washington, he also served as Special Assistant to President Reagan for African Affairs (1987-89), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Personnel. Ambassador Cohen has been a Professorial Lecturer in African studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) since 1998. His honors and awards include the French Legion of Honor, the Belgian Order of Leopold II, the US Foreign Service rank of Career Ambassador, and the Distinguished Alumni Award of the City College of New York. Ambassador Cohen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Diplomacy. He is also a member of the boards of directors of the Council for a Community of Democracies and the Constituency for Africa. Cohen and Woods International is a member of the United States Corporate Council on Africa.
Mr. Edlow is a business man with international activities and travels widely. He has served on the Boards of: Beth El of Montgomery County, Foundation for Jewish Studies, Board of Jewish Education of Montgomery County Maryland, and Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington.
