YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND a USUBC small, private, off-the-record, informal invitation only, working dinner with George Kent, the new Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The working dinner will take place on Tuesday, July 19, in a private room at the Holiday Inn, Kyiv, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The address is: 100 Chervonoarmiis'ka Street, Kyiv, Ukraine, 03150.  George became DCM on July 1, 2016.  The Holiday Inn is a member of USUBC, www.USUBC.org.

George has been active regarding  Ukraine for many years.  He was posted in the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine as the deputy Political Counselor during the time of Ukraine's "Orange Revolution," 2004-2997.  USUBC has known George for many years and found him to be an outstanding diplomat and very supportive of business and economic development.  The new DCM will bring opening remarks followed by an open Q&A/Discussion session.  Morgan Williams, USUBC, will moderate the working dinner.

BIO:  George P. Kent currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), as of July 1, 2016, at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.  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. 

RSVP:  Please register your attendance at the small USUBC working dinner (25 or less) with DCM George Kent by sending an e-mail immediately to Morgan Williams, mwilliams@usubc.org.  

INVITATION: 

USUBC SMALL WORKING DINNER WITH GEORGE P. KENT,

NEW DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION, U.S. EMBASSY, KYIV
Tuesday, July 19, 2016, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Private Room, Holiday Inn, Kyiv, Ukraine

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