WASHINGTON, D.C.-- USUBC IS MOST PLEASED TO INVITE YOU to attend a USUBC Roundtable Working Luncheon with George P. Kent, the new Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS), EUR, U.S. State Department for Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The new DAS assumes his duties on Tuesday, September 4, 2018. 

The USUBC Roundtable will be held from 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the White House Conference Room, Law offices of Baker McKenzie,  815 Connecticut Avenue, 12th Floor, Washington, D.C., A light lunch will be served. Attendance at the luncheon is by invitation only.

George most recently served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, from July 2016 through August 2018.  USUBC has known and worked with George for many years.  He was posted in the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine as the deputy Political Counselor from 2004-2007, which included the time of Ukraine's "Orange Revolution.   

George Kent served with distinction during his two assignments in Ukraine and has been very supportive of business and economic development.  USUBC has worked closely with George and hosted George for a "Welcome to Ukraine" dinner in Kyiv on July 19, 2016.  

The new DAS will bring opening remarks followed by an open Q&A/Discussion session.  Morgan Williams, USUBC, will moderate the working luncheon.

RSVP:  REGISTRATION IS BY INVITATION ONLY.  Please register your attendance by sending an e-mail immediately to Morgan Williams, mwilliams@usubc.org.  

BIO:  DAS GEORGE B. KENT -----

George P. Kent has been serving as the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), as of July 1, 2016, at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, until August 2018.  From 2014-2015, he served as the Senior Anti-Corruption Coordinator in the European Bureau.  The European Bureau is prioritizing the fight against corruption as a strategic component of the vision of a Europe whole, free, and a peace.  Mr. Kent led development and advocacy of anti-corruption messages across Europe and Eurasia.

A Senior Foreign Service officer, Mr. Kent previously served as Director for the Office of Europe and Asia programming in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL/EA), overseeing $200 million in annual programming for the rule of law, law enforcement, and judicial system capacity building in the Balkans, Eurasia, parts of South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Mr. Kent’s assignments since joining the foreign service in 1992 have spanned Central Europe, Central Asia, and East Asia.  Mr. Kent was posted in Kyiv, Ukraine as the deputy Political Counselor during the time of Ukraine’s “Orange Revolution” (2004-07).   In Warsaw, Poland, he served as an economics officer in charge of trade issues, the environment, and counter-narcotics (1995-97). 

Other assignments include: Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand; Political-Military officer at Embassy Bangkok; Thai desk officer; Watch Officer in the Operations Center; and Consular/General Services Officer in the then newly established U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  

Mr. Kent holds an M.S. in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF Distinguished Graduate, 2012); an M.A. from Johns Hopkins' SAIS (School for Advanced International Studies) in American Foreign Policy and International Economics (1992, honor graduate), and an A.B., summa cum laude, from Harvard College in Russian History and Literature (1989).  He also studied for a year at Edinburgh University, Scotland, on a Rotary Scholarship.  He is married; he and his wife Velida have three children.  Mr. Kent speaks Russian, Thai, Polish, and some Ukrainian, Italian, and German.  He is a Kirby Simon Fund Trustee and a proud member of Red Sox Nation. 

USUBC ROUNDTABLE LUNCHEON WITH GEORGE P. KENT

NEW DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY (DAS), EUR, STATE DEPARMENT

For Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
(was DCM at the Embassy of the United States in Ukraine from July 2016 through August 2018)

When: Friday, September 7, 2018, 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Where: White House Conference Room, Law offices of Baker McKenzie,
815 Connecticut Avenue, 12th Floor, Washington, D.C.