The relationship between the United States and Central America is complex, shaped by conflict, patterns of migration, economic interdependence, and political partnership. Dial in on August 21 at 5 pm PT for a critical examination of how U.S. policies are shaping the region and how Central American nations are responding and redefining their roles in this longstanding relationship.

Participants will hear from Dr. Cynthia Telles, Former Ambassador to Costa Rica, who will soon return as a Pacific Council Board Director. This event will be moderated by Dr. Jerrold D. Green, Interim President & CEO of the Pacific Council. 

Why it’s important:

• In March, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act in response to the alleged invasion of Tren de Aragua gang members into the United States. This invocation prompted the Trump administration to deport a number of migrants to El Salvador. 
• U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg ruled that the Trump administration must allow more than 100 migrants currently detained in CECOT the opportunity to contest their removal from the United States 
• Trump wants to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, partly to ensure U.S. commercial and Naval interests, as well as to drive Chinese influence from the region.

Please send questions in advance to events@pacificcouncil.org.

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.

Guest Speaker

Dr. Cynthia Ann Telles was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica on January 30, 2022. 

Dr. Telles was previously on the faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, and was the Director of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute Spanish-Speaking Psychosocial Clini, where she was responsible for managing the clinical operation of its model psychiatric clinic, as well as the training program, research, and budget. Dr. Telles serves on the Board of Directors of General Motors Co., Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, the California Community Foundation (Board Chair), the Pacific Council, the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County, and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. She also has served on the Board of Directors of The California Endowment (Board Chair), the Public Policy Institute of California, Pitzer College, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (Board Chair), and Rosalyn Carter's Mental Health Task Force, The Carter Center. 

Recently, she was appointed by President Obama to the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. She served as Commissioner of the City of Los Angeles for 13 years. Between 2004-2006, she was the Vice President of the Board of Library Commissioners and previously was elected President of the Commission on the Status of Women. Dr. Telles was also elected Vice President of the City of Los Angeles Ethics Commission and served as a member of the Commission on Children, Youth, and Their Families. 

During the Clinton Administration, she was appointed by Secretary Shalala to the National Advisory Council of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Previously, she served on the advisory group to the Presidential Task Force on Health Care Reform and on the Regional Selection Panel for the White House Fellows Program. Throughout her career, Dr. Telles has received many awards and commendations from organizations and governmental entities across the nation and was also selected by the Hispanic Business Magazine (2006) as one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the Nation.

Moderator

Dr. Jerrold D. Green is the Global Advisor to Cedars-Sinai Hospital, a Los Angeles based healthcare organization and a Senior Fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations. He is also the Interim President and CEO of the Pacific Council on International Policy, a position he previously occupied for 16 years while serving as a Research Professor of Communication, Business, and International Relations at the University of Southern California. Green was a Partner at Best Associates in Dallas, Texas, a merchant banking firm with global operations. He also occupied senior management positions at the RAND Corporation where he was awarded the RAND Medal for Excellence. Dr. Green has a B.A. (summa cum laude) from the University of Massachusetts/Boston, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. His academic career began at the University of Michigan and he subsequently joined the University of Arizona where he became a Professor of Political Science and Sociology as well as Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

Green has lived and worked in Egypt, where he was a Fulbright Fellow, Iran, and Israel. He has been a visiting fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Science's West Asian Studies Center in Beijing; a visiting lecturer at the Havana based Center for African and Middle East Studies (CEAMO), a fellow at the Australian Defense College, and delivered papers at conferences sponsored by the Iranian Institute of International Affairs in Tehran. Dr. Green led three U.S. Department of Defense sponsored fact-finding delegations to Afghanistan, one to Iraq, and has served as an observer at the legal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Green is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the London based International Institute for Strategic Studies, The California Club where he serves as the Global Advisor, the Lincoln Club, the Advisory Board of the Center for Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and the Bill Richardson Center for Diplomacy/FBI Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell Influencers Group. He has served on the Selection Committee for the U.S. Department of State Herbert Salzman Award for Excellence in International Economic Performance by a Foreign Service Officer. Green serves as a member of the Agenda Committee for the annual Halifax International Security Forum where he is an HFX Fellow. Dr. Green is a Reserve Deputy Sheriff with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and was accorded the department’s Meritorious Service Award. He previously served as a Specialist Reserve Officer with the Los Angeles Police Department where he advised on terrorism and intelligence issues. Green was honored by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce with its World Trade Week Stanley T. Olafson Bronze Plaque Award that honors “a member of the international trade community whose outstanding dedication, efforts and achievements have advanced trade in the Southern California region.”

Dr. Green currently serves as a Director of the Whittier Trust Company, on the American Advisory Board of the Thomas Mann House, the Global Council of the Colburn School, the Steering Committee of the USA Eisenhower Fellowships, the Honorary Advisory Council of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS), and served for over a decade on the selection committee for the Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowships conferred by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Green was a member of the United States Secretary of the Navy Advisory Panel for 8 years and was awarded the Department of the Navy, Distinguished Civilian Service Award for his service. He also served for 8 years on the U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy (ACIEP), the Board of Directors of the California Club, was a member of the Global Taiwan Institute Bipartisan Task Force on US-Taiwan Relations in the 21st Century, on the Advisory Committee of The Asia Society of Southern California, the Advisory Board of Whitney International University, the Board of Falcon Waterfree Technologies, the Board of Columbia University’s Middle East Institute, and as an International Medical Corps Ambassador. Dr. Green served as a technical advisor to Activision Publishing in Santa Monica, California, where he consulted on the highly successful Call of Duty series.

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.