Alex Oliver is an Army Intelligence Officer currently assigned to the Defense Innovation Unit, part of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research & Engineering, in Mountain View, CA, where he works as a project manager, focused on autonomous maritime systems.

He began his career working in Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction policy and programs at the Pentagon, where he was responsible for international treaties and U.S. participation in the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. From 2010 to 2013, Alex served as an Infantry officer at the tactical level, leading maneuver forces directly, and from a supporting staff position. In 2013, Alex transitioned to the Military Intelligence career field. He served as a Company Commander and Team Chief, at the National Ground Intelligence Center, where he focused on West Africa extremist groups. He later served as the Senior Intelligence Analyst on a Special Operations Joint Task Force, combating extremist groups across North and West Africa. His most recent operational assignment was as the Director of Intelligence for a Joint Task Force focused on countering a nation-state adversary. Alex has deployments to Eastern Afghanistan, Iraq, and throughout West Africa. His military education includes the Basic Infantry Officers Course (Commandants List), the Military Intelligence Captains Career Course (Distinguished Honor Graduate), and Joint Professional Military Education Level 1 (Superior Achievement).

In addition, Alex has completed several tactical and technical military schools including Airborne, Air Assault and Mountain Warfare schools. Alex earned an undergraduate degree in International Relations from the Virginia Military Institute, where he was a distinguished graduate. He also holds graduate degrees from the School of International Service at American University, and the National Intelligence University. He was an Army Strategic Studies fellow at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in 2015. Alex is married to the former Sarah Nelson of Broadway, Virginia. They have one daughter, Sophie; who is an absolute gem.

In a distinguished career as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Ambassador Craig had numerous assignments both overseas and in the State Department. He pursued his career focus on economic analysis during assignments in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and Haiti. Craig speaks Arabic, French and Spanish.

He became deputy chief of mission at the American Embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus followed by a similar posting to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. In 1995, he was appointed to head the Office of Arabian Peninsula Affairs in the State Department’s Near East Bureau.

Then, in June 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated Craig to be the United States Ambassador to Oman. After three years in the post, he returned to the United States just after Sept. 11, 2001, to be appointed by President George W. Bush as a Special Assistant to the President for Combating Terrorism. He served on the staff of the National Security Council with Gen. Wayne Downing, Deputy National Security Advisor.

In 2003, he was appointed as Boeing International Corporation’s regional vice president in the Middle East. In 2008, the Ambassador joined The Jadwin Group (MENA) as full partner and provided high level investment services to private sector entities and high net worth individuals throughout the Gulf region.

In 2015, Ambassador Craig joined the Manaar Energy Group as a Senior Partner. The group provides clients all over the world with valued analysis of the energy market with particular focus on Iran and Iraq and the Arab Gulf producers.

Ambassador Craig has Ambassador-in-Residence in the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. He retains business activities in the Middle East, while basing his operations from central Pennsylvania.

Ambassador Craig and an important Middle Eastern client organized Working Group on the Plight of Christians and Religious Pluralism in the Middle East. The Working Group is a bi-partisan, multi-faith project of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, in Washington, DC. The goal of the Working Group is to identify results-oriented activities that will instill a sense of urgency and passion in interested parties, leading to outcomes that will save lives and restore stability to Christian populations as part of a religiously plural Middle East. The WG has been instrumental in proposing and implementing U.S. policy changes which have benefitted Christians across the Middle East.

Ambassador Craig received his BA at SIS, and the equivalent of an MA in International Relations from The National Defense University (National War College) in Washington.

Amanda Brenner is a policy analyst and a public policy practice social worker

My official name is Nancy J. Burke-Sanow but I am generally referred to as Nancy Sanow. I am a graduate of the School of International Service at American University. I was interested in international studies because I had learned Spanish in my elementary school and high school. I had dreams of living in a foreign country! I also had begged my parents to let me take Russian lessons at an elementary school that was not close to where we were living – and I admit that my parents were a bit confused as to why I wanted to take Russian lessons. I was employed as a legislative assistant for a Member of Congress and attended Georgetown University Law School in the evenings. After graduating from law school, I joined the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and worked in the division that oversees our nation’s securities markets. I am now retired and enjoy traveling.   

As Director of the Office of International Conferences, Sammie accredits some 4,000 delegates to hundreds of multilateral conferences and provides administrative support for up to two dozen of the largest international conferences. Previously, Sammie served as the State Department’s Senior Leader for the second Summit for Democracy. From 2016-2018, she managed U.S. activities to promote enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and regional multilateral organizations like the African Union. From 2014 to 2015, Sammie served at the National Security Council (NSC) as Director for Balkan, Black Sea, and Caucasus Affairs and coordinated U.S. policies towards twelve countries in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. In the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, Sammie served as a Country Director for the Balkans and advised on the U.S. defense relationship with southeastern European countries.  Previous assignments include multiple “desks” as a Foreign Affairs Officer, covering Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Ukraine.  She joined the State Department in 2007 as a Presidential Management Fellow and served in the Bureau of Human Resources, at the U.S. Embassy in Guinea, and in the Office of European Union Affairs.  Sammie began her career at the Department of Justice as an analyst, providing legal research and case management to attorneys in the Criminal Division. Sammie holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Tennessee and M.A. in U.S. Foreign Policy from American University. She lives in Maryland with her husband and son.

Rebecca Malone graduated from SIS with a B.A. in International Studies in 2016 as part of the Global Scholars Program. During her time at AU, she studied abroad at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. She works at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency as a Senior GEOINT Analyst and has previously held positions at the Office of Director of National Intelligence and the Pentagon. She received an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University in 2019. She lives in Arlington, VA, and during her free time enjoys traveling, running, and teaches Pure Barre fitness classes.

Graduated from SIS in 1964 with a BA.  1964 from June to November worked at the AU Admissions Office and part time pursuing a Masters. Spent Jr . year abroad at International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan.  I speak, read and write fluent  Japanese and limited French, Chinese - Cantonese and German .

US Army Nov 1964 to Nov 1967.  After Basic went to The Military Intelligence School at Ft. Holabird, MD and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA .  Vietnam 525th Military Intelligence in Saigon, Tay Ninh and undercover work in Cambodia and Laos.

Married July 1966 to Mary Finnicum.  Now married for 57 plus years.  She is a retired Early Childhood Educator with degrees from Northern Illinois U. And U. of Michigan.  

Supervisor International Banking, Continental Bank, Chicago, ILLINOIS. 1967 to 1968.

Sea Land Service Inc (subsidiary of RJ REYNOLDS and then CSX Industries. 1968 to 1987 (Sales, Chicago; Pricing, Hong Kong; Asia Pricing Mgr, Tokyo, Japan; Asia marketing, Oakland, CA. and Corporate Vice President Marketing for Sea Land Corporation.  

1987 - 2006 - Chairman and Managing Director (President) of Conference and approved Cartels of Transpacific Ocean Carriers in Hong Kong and San Francisco, CA. 1993-2006 simultaneously Chairman and Executive Director of Transpacific Conference Services, Inc, Oakland, CA.  (Holding Company for TP Conferences.) 

Retired 2007. Currently living in Henderson/Las Vegas, Nevada Active in volunteer work and Green Valley Presbyterian Church as an Elder and chair Worship and Music. 

Bio coming soon!

Jenna Glickman joined the IAF as a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Specialist in 2020. She previously served as an M&E Specialist and Data Analyst for the Peace Corps HQ. In this role, she facilitated sessions on project framework design, helped develop M&E plans for multiple countries and program sectors, and supported the modernization of the agency’s data collection processes. Jenna began working in international development as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia (2012-2015), where she focused on English education and microfinance. She holds a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Arizona and an M.S. in Development Management from American University. She enjoys intercultural exchange, swimming, and learning Portuguese.

Current employment: US Department of State, US Foreign Service Officer

Past employment: 

— Google, inc., public policy and international affairs

—US Department of Commerce, Special Advisor, Business Liaison to US Secretary of Commerce

—White House, Office of the Chief of Staff to the President

Education: 

AU SIS, MA, US Foreign Policy & National Security 

St. Norbert College, BA, International Relations & Political Science

Hobbies: 

USA Powerlifting Federation registered competitor, espresso, cooking. Married, one child and one cat who wishes they were a dog. 

Clare Polke is the Public Affairs Officer for the State Department's first ever Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice. Clare previously served in Zambia, Jamaica, and Egypt. Prior to joining the State Department, Clare worked as a print journalist, first for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette then for Reuters in Washington, D.C. Clare is a proud alumnus of Florida A&M University, a public historically black university in Tallahassee, Florida, and American University's School of International Service.

Emily Siegel is the founder and principal member of Fused Glass Community Strategies. As a consultant, Emily works to fuse together individualized support, community care, organizational development and international solidary. She specializes in organizational support around fundraising and communication, facilitation and event planning, ethical travel, and affordable home ownership.

Emily Siegel is based out of Washington DC, where she was born, raised, and where her passion for a just world for all was born. Growing up in the '80-'90s era of DC, with a mother who taught in DC Public Schools and a father who worked for the DC government, gave Emily both a unique insight into the structural, economic and social inequities within the city and taught Emily about her own privilege as a white person. Those lessons bloomed into a passion for community organizing towards peace, justice, and equity for all.

Emily is a proud graduate of DC Public Schools - the Capitol Hill Cluster Schools and Wilson (now Jackson-Reed) High School. She then graduated with a BA in International Relations with minors in Jewish Studies and Sociology from the University of Delaware. Emily also holds an MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from the School of International Service at American University. Her research there focused on the intersection of justice, peace-building, and social change through education.

From 2010 - 2022, Emily worked at Eyewitness Palestine (formerly Interfaith Peace-Builders), a transformational education program that inspires and trains participants to be accountable lifelong social justice advocates in the Palestine solidarity movement and within their own communities. There, Emily led the organization's programs, served on the management team, and as the necessity arose at this small non-profit, she became knowledgeable in many other areas of work. While the positions Emily held focused on the management, further development and expansion of the organization's programming, she also took on major roles in areas such as marketing and communications, organizational development, grant writing, and partnership acquisition.

Prior to her work with Eyewitness Palestine, she held consultant positions with Partners for Peace, AMIDEAST, and the US Institute of Peace.

Mac Krzyzewski is the Senior Vice President of Operations (East and Southern Africa) at mPharma, a Ghana-based scale-up company that operates 600+ pharmacies and primary care centers across 9 African countries. After graduating from SIS with a BA in International Studies in 2012, he started his professional career in the healthcare practice of Huron Consulting Group in New York and Chicago. In 2014, he moved to Zambia as a Global Health Corps Fellow before he joined mPharma as a Product Manager. He held a variety of operational and business development roles there until he left to join the non-profit Maisha Meds as its Chief Operating Officer in 2020. He re-joined mPharma in 2022 and now leads company operations in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia. 

Julia Kennedy is a USAID Foreign Service Officer currently assigned to the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). At DFC she serves as an investment officer underwriting climate finance transactions.  Prior to DFC, Julia was the Deputy Director of the Clean Energy and Environment Office for USAID/India and USAID’s Deputy Indo-Pacific Coordinator in South Asia. She has also served in Haiti and Ecuador and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania. Ms. Kennedy holds a Masters degree in Global Environmental Policy from American University and a Bachelors degree in Engineering from Brown University.