Join a Policy Circle Conversation Call about Venezuela

By The Policy Circle Team

March 22, 2019

The Policy Circle is pleased to announce the topic for its next Conversation Call on Tuesday April 9, at noon CST, is A Closer Look at Socialism: Venezuela a case study. The Policy Circle’s President and co-founder, Sylvie Légère will interview Katya Rimkunas, Regional Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for IRI, Juan Gonzalez, Associate VP at The Cohen Group and a Senior Fellow at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, and special guest, Emilio Pacheco, who was born and raised in Venezuela where he lived until 1987.

Participants in this Conversation Call will have a unique opportunity to hear about the current US policy as well as to hear personally about the challenges on the ground for private citizens currently living there. Register for the call and bring your questions.

Katya Rimkunas is Regional Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for IRI. In this capacity she has worked on-the-ground in Venezuela with the leaders who have long been leading the fight for freedom and democratic principles while also working closely with U.S. policy makers and government officials. Katya brings more than 14 years’ experience in international political development and democratic governance, and is an expert on issue-based policy development, civil society strengthening and government accountability. Katya leads programs on strengthening democratic institutions and processes in 15 countries, and oversees the Institute’s Washington-based and regional staff. She was born Peru, grew up in Arizona and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in political science and Latin American studies.

Juan Gonzalez is an Associate VP at The Cohen Group and a Senior Fellow at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. Prior to joining The Cohen Group, Juan Gonzalez spent 16 years of government service focused on Latin America and the Caribbean within the State Department, the National Security Council, and the Office of the Vice President. Venezuela has been a topic of interest and engagement for each of these departments during all of Juan’s 16 years of service. As Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, he led U.S. diplomatic engagement in Central America and the Caribbean, during which he oversaw nearly one billion dollars in U.S. aid toward Central America. As Special Advisor to Vice President Biden from 2013-2015, he was the principal architect of Vice President Biden’s regional engagement during the second term of the Obama-Biden Administration. From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Gonzalez served as National Security Council Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

This is an exclusive event for Friends of the Policy Circle. Please click here to sign up for the call.

Friends of the Policy Circle will receive the registration code via email on 3/22/2019.

For those of you who are not yet Friends, become one today with a donation of $50. Friends will receive a Policy Circle lapel pin and are invited to participate in the Policy Circle Conversation Call series throughout the year. We hope you’ll join us for this and future calls!

The Policy Circle is a 501(c)3 that provides a fact-based, nonpartisan framework built to inspire women living in the same community to connect, learn about and discuss economic policies that impact their lives. Women across the nation are taking a leadership role in the public policy dialogue on what human creativity can accomplish in an open economy.