2022 World Affairs Council of the Year
Network of Independent World Affairs Councils of America

It’s What We Do

“..to make the world a better place..”

Last month the Tennessee World Affairs Council organized a careers and jobs panel of professionals from several international affairs career fields to talk about their experiences, insights and perspectives. We previously posted a summary of the event along with the complete video from the event. [Link here and below]

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This week Ms. Cassie Bates, a teacher at Centennial HS in Franklin, showed us a note she received from a student of hers who participated in the international careers and jobs event. We would like to share it with you as among the most eloquent ways to tell you what we do.

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“Dear Ms. Bates,

I enjoyed last night’s seminar on international careers. Getting to listen and learn about all the opportunities open to me was, simply put, eye opening. I’ve always adored human rights (especially gender, race and economic status) but was never aware about the professional application of my passion. Thank you for breaking down the wall that hindered my ability to find what I can do to make the world a better place.

Sincerely,

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Thanks to Ms. Bates for sharing the letter and thanks to all who made this great event possible: Dr. Susan Haynes of Lipscomb University for all of the logistics involved in hosting the event on the Lipscomb campus; and our panelists: Ambassador Charles Bowers, US Foreign Service (Retired), Moderator; Mr. Andrew Collier, Nashville Export Assistance Center, U.S. Department of Commerce; Col. Beverly Lee, USAF (Retired); Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, Former Advocacy Officer and Researcher in Non-Governmental Organizations including Amnesty International; Ms. Acquania Escarne, US Foreign Service; Ambassador Ronald Schlicher, US Foreign Service (Retired); and Mr. Bill Lintereur, Former U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, Mali. Special thanks, also, to the Lipscomb University professionals who recorded and produced a video that will enable many more students to share this experience.

Lastly, thank you to our Council members and donors who make what we do possible. If you would like to be among them we welcome you as a member and supporter. [JOIN] [DONATE]

The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonprofit (501c3), nonpartisan educational charity based in Nashville that works to build understanding of global issues in our communities. Learn more about the Council and find how you can join, donate and volunteer at: www.TNWAC.org  — Join / Donate / Volunteer

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Here’s our post that summarizes the international careers and jobs event including the video.

 

INTERNATIONAL CAREERS AND JOBS PANEL
November 5, 2015
Lipscomb University, Nashville, Tennessee

Among the regular programs presented by the Tennessee World Affairs Council are opportunities to connect specialists from a broad spectrum of global affairs occupations with people, especially students, who want to know more about jobs and careers in the international arena. We invite students — high schools and colleges from around town and across the region — and the general public to join us for these panels.

The Council recently held an international careers and jobs program at David Lipscomb University in Nashville. We were pleased to offer the insights and perspectives of seven international affairs specialists including:

Ambassador Charles Bowers, US Foreign Service (Retired), Moderator; Mr. Andrew Collier, Nashville Export Assistance Center, U.S. Department of Commerce; Col. Beverly Lee, USAF (Retired); Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, Former Advocacy Officer and Researcher in Non-Governmental Organizations including Amnesty International; Ms. Acquania Escarne, US Foreign Service; Ambassador Ronald Schlicher, US Foreign Service (Retired); and Mr. Bill Lintereur, Former U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, Mali.

The panel talked to a large group of students from a number of campuses across Middle Tennessee including Lipscomb University, Belmont University, Vanderbilt University, Middle Tennessee University and Tennessee Tech University.

Here is a very good quality video recording from the program that will be of great interest to anyone interested in learning about working and living abroad in general and in particular about the areas in which our panelists distinguished themselves.

The international careers and jobs panel will be a regular feature of Council programs. You can find more information on our Council calendar [Here] or on the program page for the series [Here].

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Run time: 01:22:17
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Ambassador Charles Bowers

Ambassador Charles R. Bowers, USFS (Ret) – Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the United States Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Councils and the Board of Directors of the United Nations Association Nashville Chapter. He is a former District Governor of the Rotary International District that covers half of Tennessee. [MORE]

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Ambassador Ronald Schlicher

Ambassador Ronald Schlicher, USFS (Ret) – Served as Principal Deputy Assistant Coordinator of Counterterrorism and served as U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus (2005-2008). Ambassador Schlicher served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA), where he served as Coordinator for Iraq. During the 2003 war with Iraq, Ambassador Schlicher was Director of the Iraq Task Force. He then served for six months in Iraq with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), first as Regional Coordinator for the North and then as Director of the Office of Provincial Outreach. [MORE]

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Mr. Andy Collier

Andy Collier – US Export Assistance Center, Nashville – Andy is currently working in the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), Nashville Export Assistance Center, where he helps Central Tennessee companies grow their business through exporting. Previously, Andy was Project Manager in the DOC Energy Division, responsible for helping U.S. energy companies compete for international energy projects. His first assignment was being in charge of all student programs (the most fun he ever had in a job). Previously he spent 14 years in Human Resources, which included three years as Supervisor of Recruiting for Dominion Resources. He has a BS in Business Economics from Chapman University.

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Mr. Beau Lintereur

Beau Lintereur

Beau is currently the Executive Director of Marketing and Aftermarket Sales for Cummins Filtration. He is responsible for leading a global team to profitably grow the Fleetguard brand of filters to protect and maintain on and off-highway vehicles and equipment operating around the world. Beau joined Cummins in 1998 at the Corporate Headquarters in Columbus, Indiana as a senior engineer of special projects in the Power Generation Business Unit and progressed to become the manager of global platforms leading the initiative to standardize commercial generators across various Cummins sites. After a two year spell serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, Africa, Beau rejoined Cummins in 2003 in Fridley, Minnesota as the business development manager of the Power Electronics Business and then in 2004 became the Director of the global transfer switch business. In mid-2006, Beau relocated to China as Director, Power Electronics, Asia Pacific, and then to India in April 2008 to lead the Power Generation Business Unit at Cummins India Ltd. Beau commenced his current role in 2012 and is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Beau has a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University, a M.S. in the same field from MIT, and a M.S. in Management and certificate in Public Management Policy from Stanford University. Beau is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, and has various levels of proficiency in French, Mandarin, Dogon, Fulfulde, and Bambara.

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Col. Beverly Lee, USAF (Ret)

Beverly Lee retired from the United States Air Force at the rank of Colonel after serving a career in worldwide posts. She is Vice President of the Tennessee World Affairs Council and a Member of the Board. She has worked as a senior advisor to U.S. government officials, corporate CEOs, entertainment executives, education administrators, embassy and coalition partners on international relations, crisis communications, media relations, public education, outreach campaigns for social change, and environmental issues.

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Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, Amnesty International staff member at the International Secretariat, London, UK, 20 December 2011.

Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus

Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus has over six years experience working on a wide range of international human rights issues. Following the birth of her daughter, Lisa moved back home to Nashville from NYC where she was the Advocacy Officer at Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, a network of international humanitarian and human rights organizations working to advance the United Nations Security Council’s agenda on children and armed conflict. Prior to working with Watchlist, Lisa was a Researcher on West Africa at Amnesty International where she was responsible for investigating, advocating, and campaigning to end human rights violations in the Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. She was based in Senegal. Lisa was also a Global Campaigner at Amnesty International, based in London, where she covered health and human rights issues. Lisa holds an MA in Conflict, Security and Development from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and a BSc in Nursing from Abilene Christian University. Lisa is currently working as the Policy Manager at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC).

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Acquania Escarne, US Foreign Service

Excerpt from Ms. Escarne’s State.gov Blog post

I am a product of the U.S. Department of State’s diversity recruitment and I represent America. While I have served at State for several years now, my story began much earlier when my 7th grade geography teacher first inspired me to travel. That year I sold candy so I could afford the school trip to Spain. My newfound passion for international affairs eventually led me to Washington, D.C., where the heart of policy beats daily. As a freshman and sophomore in college, I worked two jobs and continued to apply to scholarships to help me pay for my education. Finally, fate and a friend led me to apply for the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship in 2003. Prior to learning about this fellowship I had no idea about the Foreign Service or that this career was within my reach as a young African American girl from Georgia. At just 19 years old, I made one of the most important decisions of my life: accepting a fellowship that paid for my education as well as providing me a future career. – See more at: http://blogs.state.gov/stories/2015/10/22/iamdiplomacy-young-diplomat-s-journey#sthash.9HWxpgrj.dpuf

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH
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and the United States Department of State

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The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonprofit (501c3), nonpartisan educational charity based in Nashville that works to build understanding of global issues in our communities. Learn more about the Council and find how you can join, donate and volunteer at: www.TNWAC.org  — Join / Donate / Volunteer

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