MEDIA ADVISORY | August 30 Press Briefing with Sarah Heck, Director for Global Engagement on the National Security Council at the White House, and Gonzalo Gallegos, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State
EVENT:
Please join us on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 for a telephonic press briefing with Sarah Heck, Director for Global Engagement on the National Security Council at the White House, and Gonzalo Gallegos, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, in the Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. They will discuss the announcement of 250 Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Professional Fellows that will travel to the United States later this fall. YLAI brings promising young entrepreneurs from across the Americas to partner with their U.S. counterparts, incubating and accelerating the work of young leaders who are making their communities and countries more prosperous and secure throughout the hemisphere. YLAI is a part of President Obama’s commitment to empower young people around the world and ensure they have the tools, skills, and networks to tackle our shared global challenges. For additional information on YLAI, visit ylai.state.gov/
DETAILS:
Speakers: Sarah Heck, Director for Global Engagement on the National Security Council at the White House;
Gonzalo Gallegos, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Date: August 30, 2016
Time: 11:30 EST (Washington, DC) | 10:30 Bogota | 12:30 Buenos Aires
Language: English, with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish
Ground rules: ON THE RECORD
Dial-in Info:
English:
United States: (800)
International: +1 612
Request “YLAI Call”
Spanish:
United States: (800)
International: +1 612
Request “YLAI Call Spanish”
*Please note this is a listen-only line. Questions can be submitted in Spanish to BarrazaLB@state.gov in advance or during the call.
RSVP: RSVP to BarrazaLB@state.gov by Tuesday, August 30 at 9:00 EST.
Please indicate if you will dial in, or if you would like the operator to dial out to you. If you would like the operator to dial out to you, please provide the phone number to be used.
BIOs:
Sarah Heck
Director for Global Engagement, White House National Security Council
Sarah Heck serves as Director for Global Engagement on the National Security Council at the White House. Her portfolio includes entrepreneurship, private sector engagement, youth, and public diplomacy. Prior to this appointment Sarah worked at the State Department serving as Chief of Staff for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Special Assistant to the Special Representative to Muslim Communities, in the Office of 21st Century Statecraft, and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Before joining the government, Sarah worked at McLarty Associates in the Latin America practice, engaging multinational corporations across industries. Sarah also worked with Amigos de las Americas, where she served as their Country Director in Paraguay, creating and managing rural community development and youth entrepreneurship and leadership projects.
Sarah is a graduate of the University of Maryland and Georgetown University. She is a Truman National Security Project Fellow and a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member.
Gonzalo Gallegos
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy
Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
Gonzalo Gallegos, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy for the Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He served most recently as the Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica. Previously, he was the Director of the Office of Central American Affairs, the Director of the Foreign Policy Advisor and State-Defense Exchange Programs Office in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the Director of Caribbean Affairs, was seconded to the Organization of American States as the Secretary for the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism, the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, and the Director of the State Department’s Office of Press Relations.
Gallegos has also served as Spokesman and Public Affairs Advisor for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and as the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, and at the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He served in the Department’s Bureau of European Affairs, and has been assigned to postings in Nicaragua, Colombia, and Costa Rica.
He has a Dual B.S. in Political Science and Journalism and Mass Communications from Kansas State University, and a Master’s of Science in National Security Strategy from the National War College.
LOGISTICS:
- Callers should dial in to the conference call 5 minutes before start time.
- The operator will ask for your name, press affiliation, and location.
- Sarah Heck will give brief opening remarks, followed by DAS Gallegos, and then the operator will open the line to questions.
- Participants will be instructed to push the “*” and “1” buttons on their phones to enter the question queue. Questions on the phone line can only be accepted in English. Questions in Spanish may be submitted in advance or live during the call to BarrazaLB@state.gov.
- Journalists may also submit questions in advance via email to BarrazaLB@state.gov in English or Spanish.
- An audio recording of the call will be available for 48 hours after the call and an English transcript will be provided to participants.
