Professional Development Programs from my time in Academic Affairs, 2026 - Present
Professional Development for 2026
17 April 2026 - "Fulbright Administration Training"
This was a professional development opportunity in support of the San Antonio Chapter of the Fulbright Association.
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15 April 2026 - "The Overlooked Enemies of Peace:
Rethinking Modern Peacekeeping Program"
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Join us for a discussion on sustainable peacebuilding in the modern age, The Overlooked Enemies of Peace: Rethinking Modern Peacekeeping Program, a conversation you won’t want to miss.
In-Person Reception: 6:00 PM Central Time (CT) In-Person & Zoom Program: 6:30 PM Central Time (CT) / 7:30 PM Eastern Time (ET) This timely event will explore recent and ongoing conflicts: Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gaza, Kosovo and other conflict regions. The program will feature three distinguished experts in peacebuilding: Ambassador Luis G. Moreno Tressa Guenov Dr. Michael Dziedzic, Col. (Ret.) Admission: Members: $10 Students: No cost Voluntary gift appreciated! Donate Non-Members: $20 New Member (admission + 1-year membership, you save the $20): $100 |
Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of meaningful change. Learn how you can contribute to peacebuilding in your own way.
Come and be part of the conversation!
Register Here to Join the Zoom Webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_j7F640ehR6eHJeJPXdDvyg |
15 April 2026, 6:00 PM, Palmetto Center for the Arts at Northwest Vista College, 3535 N Ellison Drive, San Antonio, TX 78251
Retired U.S. Ambassador Luis G. Moreno
Ambassador Luis G. Moreno, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica in 2014. He has served in senior roles in Madrid, Tel Aviv, Baghdad, Mexico, Haiti, Colombia, and Panama, with expertise in political-military affairs, counternarcotics, and refugee coordination.
During his tenure in Israel, Ambassador Moreno served as the Oslo Accords Roadmap Deputy and played a key role in negotiating humanitarian corridors and the evacuation of American citizens from Gaza during Operation “Cast Lead.”
Ambassador Moreno has received numerous awards, including the James Clement Dunn Award for Excellence in Diplomacy and the Presidential Meritorious Service Award. He holds a B.A. from Fordham University and an M.A. from Kean College, and speaks Spanish, French, and some Haitian Creole.
Read the full bio at this link: Moreno, Luis G.
Ambassador Luis G. Moreno, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica in 2014. He has served in senior roles in Madrid, Tel Aviv, Baghdad, Mexico, Haiti, Colombia, and Panama, with expertise in political-military affairs, counternarcotics, and refugee coordination.
During his tenure in Israel, Ambassador Moreno served as the Oslo Accords Roadmap Deputy and played a key role in negotiating humanitarian corridors and the evacuation of American citizens from Gaza during Operation “Cast Lead.”
Ambassador Moreno has received numerous awards, including the James Clement Dunn Award for Excellence in Diplomacy and the Presidential Meritorious Service Award. He holds a B.A. from Fordham University and an M.A. from Kean College, and speaks Spanish, French, and some Haitian Creole.
Read the full bio at this link: Moreno, Luis G.
Tressa Guenov, Director for Programs and Operations and Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council
Tressa Guenov is director for programs and operations and a senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, overseeing core initiatives and nearly 200 fellows. She previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs (2022–2024) and as acting assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs (2015–2017). Guenov has held senior roles in the State Department, U.S. Senate, Lockheed Martin, and CSIS. She holds a BA from the University of Oregon and master’s degrees from Oxford and Washington University, and has received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service twice.
Read the full bio at this link: Tressa Guenov - Atlantic Council
Tressa Guenov is director for programs and operations and a senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council, overseeing core initiatives and nearly 200 fellows. She previously served as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs (2022–2024) and as acting assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs (2015–2017). Guenov has held senior roles in the State Department, U.S. Senate, Lockheed Martin, and CSIS. She holds a BA from the University of Oregon and master’s degrees from Oxford and Washington University, and has received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service twice.
Read the full bio at this link: Tressa Guenov - Atlantic Council
Dr. Michael J. Dziedzic Col. (Ret.), Peace & Stability Operations Expert, Special guest author
Michael Dziedzic is a retired Colonel with over 20 years of experience in the international civil/military and stabilization field whose career blended the worlds of theory and practice. His scholarly positions have included Professor at the Air Force Academy, the National War College, Georgetown University, and George Mason University and Senior Fellow and Senior Program Officer at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Institute for National Strategic Studies, and US Institute of Peace. His field experience includes postings in a number of societies emerging from protracted conflict, including El Salvador, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. His publications include works that have shaped the way the U.S. approaches peace and stability operations: Policing the New World Disorder identified a recurring “public security gap” in international interventions which led to the creation of the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units;Quest for Viable Peace proposed that “conflict transformation” is the essence of the transition from war to sustainable peace, and this concept was adopted by the State Department’s Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization as the paradigm for U.S. strategic planning and was incorporated into the US Army Field Manual 3-07 on Stability Operations. His most recent publications (2016) are Criminalized Power Structures: The Overlooked Enemies of Peace and Combating Criminalized Power Structures: A Toolkit provide empirical evidence that criminalized power structures are the predominant spoilers of peace and stability operations and propose strategies for dealing with them.
Michael Dziedzic is a retired Colonel with over 20 years of experience in the international civil/military and stabilization field whose career blended the worlds of theory and practice. His scholarly positions have included Professor at the Air Force Academy, the National War College, Georgetown University, and George Mason University and Senior Fellow and Senior Program Officer at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Institute for National Strategic Studies, and US Institute of Peace. His field experience includes postings in a number of societies emerging from protracted conflict, including El Salvador, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. His publications include works that have shaped the way the U.S. approaches peace and stability operations: Policing the New World Disorder identified a recurring “public security gap” in international interventions which led to the creation of the Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units;Quest for Viable Peace proposed that “conflict transformation” is the essence of the transition from war to sustainable peace, and this concept was adopted by the State Department’s Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization as the paradigm for U.S. strategic planning and was incorporated into the US Army Field Manual 3-07 on Stability Operations. His most recent publications (2016) are Criminalized Power Structures: The Overlooked Enemies of Peace and Combating Criminalized Power Structures: A Toolkit provide empirical evidence that criminalized power structures are the predominant spoilers of peace and stability operations and propose strategies for dealing with them.
The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Arnold Vela
Dr. Arnold Vela, PhD in Latin American Studies, is a Rio Grande Valley native whose career spans the military, foreign service, and education. He earned degrees in Philosophy (Kilroe Seminary College), an MBA (Chapman College), and a PhD in Latin American Area Studies (UT Austin). He served in the Air Force as a B52 Radar Navigator and later as an instructor and Associate Professor at the Air Force Academy, where he modernized Spanish and foreign language programs and taught interdisciplinary courses in politics and economics. Following retirement, he joined the State Department, serving in consular, management, and peacekeeping roles, including a UN mission monitor assignment and as Deputy at the School of Democracy and Human Rights at Fort Benning, earning the Army Superior Civilian Service Award. He also served as a Pearson Fellow in the U.S. Senate, contributing to labor protections in the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. At Northwest Vista College, he integrates global perspectives into government courses and remains active in community affairs, particularly with the World Affairs Council.
Dr. Arnold Vela, PhD in Latin American Studies, is a Rio Grande Valley native whose career spans the military, foreign service, and education. He earned degrees in Philosophy (Kilroe Seminary College), an MBA (Chapman College), and a PhD in Latin American Area Studies (UT Austin). He served in the Air Force as a B52 Radar Navigator and later as an instructor and Associate Professor at the Air Force Academy, where he modernized Spanish and foreign language programs and taught interdisciplinary courses in politics and economics. Following retirement, he joined the State Department, serving in consular, management, and peacekeeping roles, including a UN mission monitor assignment and as Deputy at the School of Democracy and Human Rights at Fort Benning, earning the Army Superior Civilian Service Award. He also served as a Pearson Fellow in the U.S. Senate, contributing to labor protections in the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. At Northwest Vista College, he integrates global perspectives into government courses and remains active in community affairs, particularly with the World Affairs Council.
15 Apr 2026,
6:00 PM,
Palmetto Center for the Arts at Northwest Vista College,
3535 N Ellison Drive,
San Antonio, TX 78251
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30 March 2026 - "The ESIL Teaching Corner Webinar"
presented by The European Society of
International Law, "Movies, TV Series, and
Teaching International Law."
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗟 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻
“𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗧𝗩 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗮𝘄.” 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 This first 2026 episode brings together academics to discuss how films and TV series shape perceptions of international law—and how they can be used effectively in teaching. The conversation will cover practical approaches such as selecting clips for classroom use, creating curated viewing lists, and strategies for engaging students through audiovisual content. 🎙️ 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: 🔵Markus P. Beham 🔵 Olivier Corten 🔵 Moritz Vinken 🔵 Chiara Vitucci 🔵 Sarah Zarmsky 🎤 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿: Giulio Bartolini 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 📅 Monday, 30 March 2026 🕚 16:30 –18:00 CET 📍 Online via Teams at https://lnkd.in/d8CDEakA Whether you're a seasoned professional or a curious student, don’t miss out — let’s shape the future of international law education together! |
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14 January 2026 - "The International Student Services
Orientation and Luncheon," presented
by "The Office of International Programs,"
of the Alamo Colleges District
This was a professional development opportunity in support of the Office of International Programs.
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