Vice President, Global Public Affairs, Western Union

Responsible for policy, regulatory and consumer issues/advocacy including migration, financial inclusion, immigrant integration, economic development, underbanked/underserved consumers.

Key role in Western Union initiatives that focus on diaspora-driven development and job creation, financial literacy and small business entrepreneurship such as the African Diaspora Marketplace, a joint initiative with USAID to catalyze SME growth across the continent. Vice Chair, World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Migration; prior Chairman of the Board, Jobs for America's Graduates DC. Alumna, Northwestern University; Harvard Business School Strategic Program on Microfinance.

Sue Stephenson, a hotel executive with twenty-five years experience in the hospitality industry, relocated from England to the United States in 1991 to join The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC. The company, which is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, currently manages eighty-five hotels and resorts and forty-two clubs and residences across the United States, Caribbean, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  

From 2001 to 2006, Sue was the Senior Vice President, Human Resources. In this role, she worked closely with the Corporate Executive Committee as the company undertook a global expansion. Sue provided leadership and strategic direction to a human resources organization that is committed to the delivery of service excellence through innovative and sustainable human resources approaches. 

In 2006, Sue assumed the leadership of The Ritz-Carlton social responsibility program, Community Footprints®.  Reporting to the President & Chief Operations Officer, Hervé Humler, Sue is charged with expanding the company’s global efforts through a series of multi-faceted initiatives focused on child well-being, hunger and poverty relief, and environmental responsibility. Sue spearheaded the development and launch of Succeed Through Service®, a skills-based volunteer program designed to engage and inspire at-risk students in underserved communities.  To date, Succeed Through Service has impacted the lives of over 15,000 children around the world.

Dr. Juan “Kiko” Suarez likes to be described as a global citizen. Currently a permanent resident in the US, he was born in Europe (Spain), and brings a unique blend of global experience in marketing and communications, corporate responsibility and information technology in Fortune 500 corporations, entrepreneurial startups and strategic philanthropy.

He has served in leadership positions in two global companies, including CEMEX, the world’s largest building materials supplier, as global Director of Public Affairs; and DuPont as Director of Corporate Marketing and Public Affairs for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Mr Suarez has represented his employers in delicate international transactions and before governments and organizations such as the United Nations, European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Due to his passion for education and creating shared value, he is now Vice President of Communications and Innovation for Lumina Foundation, the largest private foundation with the national goal of raising the percentage of Americans with quality post-secondary credentials to 60%. Suarez has earned a doctoral degree in Leadership and Change with a dissertation on the topic of the role of wisdom in organizations and innovation processes.

Teri S. Blandon, Vice President, Institutional Advancement - Global Communities

Teri S. Blandon is currently the Vice President, Institutional Advancement for Global Communities, an international nonprofit organization that works closely with communities worldwide to bring about sustainable changes that improve the lives and livelihoods of the vulnerable.  At Global Communities, she is responsible for building partnerships with the private sector that bring together various stakeholders – corporations, foundations, governments and the communities themselves – to assist communities around the world in a manner that produces benefits for everyone involved.

Prior to joining Global Communities, Blandon was the Director for Foundation & Government Development for public broadcaster WETA TV 26 and Classical WETA 90.9 FM, where she secured millions of dollars for such projects as My Journey Home, The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo, Through Deaf Eyes and other programs and capital projects.

Teri has also worked at the two leading associations for the nonprofit sector, Independent Sector and the Council on Foundations.

Blandon earned a B.S. in Biology and an Honors Degree in Humanities from LeMoyne College in Syracuse NY, and an M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.

Lisa is the President of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a CEO-led

initiative aimed at helping to reduce obesity, especially childhood obesity, in America. In

August 2004, President George W. Bush appointed Gable as U.S. Commissioner General

to the 2005 World Exposition, Aichi, Japan. She held personal rank of Ambassador. Lisa

is Chairman Emeritus of the Pacific Research Institute and serves on the boards of Girl

Scouts of the USA, the Diplomatic Courier and is a member of the Institute of Medicine

Roundtable on Obesity Solutions.

Her background includes tenure as Global Brand Identity Manager for INTEL

Corporation; Member of the Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation

Commission; Board of Directors, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute; a Trustee of

Thunderbird School of Global Management; a Commissioner of the President’s

Commission on White House Fellowships; a U.S. Delegate to the United Nations; Vice

Chairman for the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Advisory Committee on Women in

the Services; Deputy Associate Director, Office of Presidential Personnel, the White

House; Special Assistant for Technology Transfer Policy, Office of the Secretary of

Defense.

Lisa holds a Bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of

Virginia and a Master’s degree from Georgetown University’s National Security Studies

program.

Dave is the President of Global Skills X-Change (GSX). Dave co-founded GSX to focus on the deployment and implementation of industry practices for using validated Skill and Knowledge information to provide tools to support the development of a high quality workforce. Currently, he is working with an array of organizations to develop strategies for achieving this objective. Dave was the former Executive Deputy Director of the National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) in Washington, DC. In this role, he was responsible for developing strategies for infusing industry skill standards and certifications in the Workforce Development and Educational Systems of the United States.

Experienced in management skills and business leadership development, Dave holds a Master of Science degree in both Counseling and Human Resources and Electrical Engineering, and is also a registered Professional Engineer. Dave created Wilcox Performance Systems and partnered with Executive Effectiveness Inc. prior to his associations with the NSSB. In these roles, he provided quality leadership and strategic management services for major corporations, the Department of Defense, and many public agencies. He serves on numerous national committees and has been recognized in many publications including "Who's Who in America."

Some X-Facts About Dave:

Dave holds a patent in electrophotographic imaging.Dave's early introduction into the training world was as a Dale Carnegie instructor for leadership and sales.Dave has three daughters: Terri, Cindy, Jana; and four grandchildren (two sets of twins).Dave created or co-founded four successful businesses after leaving the engineering profession.

Steve Delfin is President and Chief Executive Officer of America’s Charities.  He was a long-time volunteer member of the America’s Charities board and was the organization’s chairman. Delfin joined the organization after serving as Executive Director of the National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF) where he was responsible for providing leadership and strategy for America’s credit unions and their related foundations, philanthropic, and social responsibility initiatives.

He has 30 years of experience working in and with major national and international not-for-profit organizations and socially-responsible international corporations, including a long history of engagement with and leadership around workplace giving and employee volunteerism programs. 

It was while at Booz Allen and while serving on the America’s Charities board that Delfin worked with America’s Charities leadership and a Booz Allen technology team to conceive and create the first iteration of PledgeFirst, now the standard among national charitable federations for workplace giving. 

A highly respected leader in the both the not-for-profit and business communities, Delfin has delivered hundreds of speeches, seminars and workshops on a range of topics. In addition to his long volunteer service with America’s Charities, Delfin has also recently served as volunteer chairman of the board of trustees of the ePhilanthropy Foundation, as a board member of the National Cooperative Development Foundation, and continues as an uncompensated member of the advisory board of cMarket, a leading internet fundraising firm.

Delfin is a native Washingtonian and the son of a government executive. He holds a B.S. degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.

Sarah Magruder Lyle is Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), which represents over 400 companies from the refining and petrochemical industries. Magruder Lyle is responsible for developing and executing comprehensive outreach strategies that educate consumers, key stakeholders, policy makers and federal, state and local elected officials about how the products that AFPM's member companies manufacture make modern life possible and strengthen our economic and national security. 

Before joining AFPM, Magruder Lyle was Vice President of External Affairs at America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). In this role, she engaged policy makers and cultivated partnerships with local, state and national constituencies to promote ANGA's goal of expanding the use of abundant, clean, American natural gas. 

Prior to joining ANGA, Magruder Lyle was a consultant to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy (Energy Institute). 

Previously, Magruder Lyle was with the American Petroleum Institute (API) where she developed, managed and implemented advocacy strategies on behalf of API’s nearly 400 member companies on matters including the production and use of Canadian oil sands, energy markets and international energy issues. 

From 2005 to 2008, Magruder Lyle served at the U.S. Department of Energy (Department). As White House liaison, she advised the Secretary of Energy and senior staff on political issues as well as the Department’s policies and operations.

Magruder Lyle is a graduate of The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC, and received her undergraduate degree from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.

President Clinton nominated Patrick Theros as Ambassador to the State of Qatar in 1995.  Prior to that assignment, Ambassador Theros served as Acting Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism at the State Department, responsible for coordinating all US government counter-terrorist activities abroad.  Ambassador Theros also served with distinction in a number of other diplomatic positions, including Political Advisor to US Central Command, Charge d' Affaires in the UAE and Jordan, as well as in senior positions in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Nicaragua.

Ambassador Theros retired in 1998 after 36 years in public service.  He promptly entered the private sector.  Since leaving government, Ambassador Theros has led successful communications programs on behalf of the State of Qatar, Dr. Ayad Allawi, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and numerous corporate clients.  Ambassador Theros was instrumental in establishing diplomatic relations between Qatar and the Republic of Cyprus and Greece and in the opening of Christian churches in the region.  He is an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  Additionally, he advises a number of US lawmakers on foreign policy.

Ambassador Theros serves as Executive Director of the US-Qatar Business Council, the key trade facilitation organization between the United States and Qatar.  He has played a major role in the establishment of Education City, home to six prestigious American Universities.

Interview with Kyle Zimmer from First Book

www.FirstBook.org