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and International Studies Programs. Great Decisions Program, 2004 for Alabama World Affairs Council. SPEAKERS' BIOGRAPHIES, 2004: Page by Jeremy Lewis; last revised 8 June '04. |
Dr. Grant Hammond, AWC. |
Monday, January 12—The Media and Foreign Policy
Dr. Robert Wendzel, Air War College
Mr. Scarlett is the Senior Advisor for International Affairs to the Air University Commander. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Scarlett was Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., and Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Dublin, Ireland from 1998 to 2001. He was Director of Political Training at the Department of State’s George P. Shultz Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC) after several years of immersion in Balkan affairs. He served in Bosnia as a Political Advisor for the Civilian Implementation of the Dayton Peace Plan; in Yugoslavia as Deputy Head of International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia Border Monitoring Mission; and earlier as Political Officer at Embassy Belgrade. A Foreign Service Officer since 1976, Mr. Scarlett served twice as a political officer in Brazil, and in the Philippines (during the overthrow of President Marcos). In the State Department he has served as a Foreign Service Examiner and as Desk Officer for China (handling Tibet and during Tiananmen Square incident), and Somalia. Earlier he was posted to Cameroon. Mr. Scarlett was a Dean Rusk Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University where he taught and did a study on “Educating Minorities for Careers in Foreign Affairs”. Subsequently, he has served at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service as an Oral Examiner for candidates for Masters Degrees in Foreign Affairs.
Before entering the Foreign Service, Mr. Scarlett served in the U.S. Army in Fort Dix and Verdun, France. He was a social worker in New York (South Bronx) and Chicago (Cook County). Mr. Scarlett was Assistant Professor of Political Science and the Director of the African-American Studies Center at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California.
Mr. Scarlett studied at the City College of New York, the Sorbonne, London University and UCLA. He received the Martin Luther King Award of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Benjamin Franklin Award from the U.S. Department of State.
Mr. Scarlett has proficiency in Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Serbo-Croatian.
Mr. Scarlett has two daughters: Philippa, a graduate of Stanford University (BA), Harvard University (MA) and Columbia University Law School. Olivia is a senior at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Barbara A. H. Scarlett
A Foreign Service Officer since 1976, Barbara served most recently
as Public Affairs Counselor, American Embassy, Dublin, Ireland (1998-2001).
Previous assignments oversees were at American Consulate General in Sao
Paulo, Brazil as Cultural Officer (1992-1994); US Embassy Belgrade, Yugoslavia
(1990-1992); Manila, Philippines (1984-1987); Brasilia, Brazil (1979-1981);
and Yaounde, Cameroon (1977-1979).
In the United States, Barbara served on several Desks in the Bureau of African Affairs, Department of Television handling Latin America, Office of the Inspector General, and as Senior Advisor for Global Affairs to the Director of the former US Information Agency (USIA). She is a graduate of the National Defense University (1996) where she completed a Master’s Degree.
Barbara graduated from Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts and completed a Master’s Degree from the University of London. Barbara earned a Certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from UCLA.
Barbara is the recipient of Superior and Meritorious Awards.
Barbara was born in North Carolina, but lived in Tuskeegee, Alabama during her childhood. She’s married to a Foreign Service Officer and has two children: Philippa and Olivia. Philippa is a Law graduate from Columbia University Law School and is now clerking for an appellate court judge. Olivia is a senior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Barbara has proficiency in Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Serbo-Croatian.
Mr. Omar A. Bahlaiwa
· Secretary General, Saudi Committee on Development of
International Trade.
· BS in Electrical Engineering from King Saud University.
English language Diploma from
Georgia Institute of Technology. Industrial Training at Stone &
Webster.
· Mr. Bahlaiwa has worked for several companies as well
as the Saudi Industrial Development Fund.
· His English is fluent.
Mr. Vaughan Fitzpatrick
COLONEL MICHAEL W. RITZ
United States Air Force
Colonel Michael Ritz is the Air National Guard's Advisor to the Director, USAF Counter-proliferation Center (CPC) at the Air University. He also serves the USAF CPC as associate director. In addition to those duties, he's a professor of air power studies in the Department of Strategy, Doctrine and Air Power at Air War College, instructing courses in visual media, futurewar scenario development, warfighting, homeland security, total force issues and nuclear, biological and chemical warfare. He is currently researching futurewar defensive systems for countering chemical and biological attacks on the battlefield and in urban environments. Additionally, he is developing high-concept, futurewar scenario development methodologies for the US Air Force, Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Department of Defense.
Enlisting in the California Air National Guard in early 1968, Michael served the 146th Airlift Wing for more than nine years as a still and motion picture photographer and public affairs supervisor. Earning his commission in November 1977, he performed numerous missions at home and overseas as an active duty or reserve status wing public affairs officer before assuming the duties of the 146th Airlift Wing's executive officer in 1994. In 1998, he focused his talents and experience on the challenges of military intelligence as his wing's intelligence chief. He assumed the responsibilities of his current position in September 2001.
Michael's assignments in combat photography, public affairs and intelligence have taken him to a myriad of locations throughout the United States and around the world including Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean, the Pacific Rim, Korea, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, West Asia, the Middle East, the Arctic and Antarctic. His most recent tours of duty include assignments with Department of Defense, National Guard Bureau, Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, and Air Education & Training Command.
A military historian and visual media expert, Michael holds a bachelor's degree in drama & motion pictures and a master's degree in military history, with additional post-graduate work in mass communications and air power history. He's a resident graduate of Squadron Officer School, Air Command & Staff College and Air War College, graduating with honors in each of those schools.
Michael is a recipient the California Air Force Association's prestigious Air National Guard Field Grade Officer of the Year and Military Journalist of the Year awards, and was selected by the local Ventura County business community as the Oxnard Ambassadors Air National Guard Military Citizen of the Year. Among his military awards and decorations are the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Citation, and Humanitarian Service Medal.
When not pursuing his military endeavors, Michael is a screenwriter/producer
living in his hometown of Beverly Hills, California. He is married to the
former Mary Thompson. He studied theater and motion pictures at UCLA and
California State University, Northridge, honing acting, writing and production
skills he'd first learned while growing up in the entertainment business.
An exuberant, multi-talented renaissance man, he carefully balances his
great passion for the Air National Guard, Air Force and aviation with the
same strong passion for screenwriting and independent filmmaking. His most
recent screen works include: All Blood Runs Red, Hats In The Ring, Blue
Fire, The Cyclist, Desert Of The Lions, Santiago Blue, The Roundtable and
Oasis.