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Speaker BiosChime Asonye of Chicago, Illinois, is a senior Chancellor’s Scholar studying philosophy, political science; pre-law. He attended Whitney Young Magnet H.S and currently, serves as a student member on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees representing the Urbana-Champaign campus. State of Illinois Governor Blagojevich gave Asonye the executive appointment to have an official vote on the Board. Last year, he served as the Vice-President of the African Cultural Association; Vice-Chair of Illinois Student Senate's Cultural & Minority Student Affairs Committee; a Board Member on the African American Cultural Center Advisory Board; and on a special ad hoc committee with the Urbana Chancellor. From Fall 2005- Spring 2007, he was the President and Co-founder of the Illinois Policy Debate Team and recently became one in thirty students in the country to be named an All-American Debater. Mr. Asonye, in the past, has worked with organizations like Generation Change, Inc. in New Orleans to help with the post-Katrina relief effort. Also, as a Research Associate with the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues, consultant for the United States Agency for International Development, and as part of Nigeria's delegation to the United Nations. Cara Herman recently returned to the U.S. after an insightful year abroad: spending the spring 2007 semester in France through the Illinois Program in Paris and the fall 2007 semester in Amman, Jordan. Her passion for foreign languages, cultures, and travel led Cara to apply for a Department of State summer 2007 student internship at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia. There she gained valuable work experience abroad, as well as a firsthand look at how the U.S. manages foreign policy in North Africa. She hopes to continue with the study of French and Arabic during her final semester on the UIUC campus. This semester, Cara has an internship at the Intensive English Institute, as well as participates in AIESEC Illinois and the International Studies Students Association. Brian Flora grew up as the son of a career military officer, living in eleven different States and Europe. He himself served in the U.S. Army from 1968-1972, including a tour of duty as an Infantry Officer in Vietnam. He graduated from Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts in 1968 and, following his military service, received a Doctorate in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He joined the U.S. Department of State in 1976 and has become a multi-functional officer with a variety of career experiences. During his developmental years, with assignments in Washington, East Asia, Africa and Europe (East and West), he performed as a consular officer, was detailed to Congress, did a tour with the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and was special assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. He then served as Political Counselor at Embassy Bucharest during the Romanian Revolution, receiving a Valor Award for his service, and stayed on to advise the new government as undertook its democratic reforms and began to forge closer relations with the West. During these assignments he developed his foreign language skills, which include French, German, Dutch, and Romanian. Since entering the ranks of the Senior Foreign Service in 1994, he has twice served as Consul General (in Bern and Berlin) where he managed large multi-post consular operations, including during and in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack that resulted in major changes in visa law and procedures and protective services for American Citizens. Twice (in Bonn and Ottawa) he served as chief of the Embassy’s Political Section and Political Counselor to the Ambassador in countries that rank among our most important allies. His assignments coincided with major political shifts and policy reorientations in both countries that affected our bilateral relationships with them. He has on many occasions filled in as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires, including one five-month stint as Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland. He is currently serving as Diplomat in Residence at the University of Illinois in Chicago where he represents the State Department and recruits for the Foreign Service in the upper Midwest. Lila Laborde-Casterot graduated in 2007 from ENSBANA, a French engineering school that specializes in food science, food safety and nutrition. Before coming to the French Consulate in Chicago, she worked at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation researching the formulation of fiber-enriched breads. She also did an internship in the Genetics Department of Griffith University in Australia studying the influence of GABA receptor genes on migraine headaches. Amanda Liethen is from the small town of Kimberly, Wisconsin. In 2003 she graduated with honors in the top ten of her high school class. Amanda attended Ripon College where she studied a variety of subjects while earning a major in French and minors in philosophy and politics. During her college years, Amanda was inducted into the Laurel Society, Ripon?s local honor society; Phi Sigma Iota, an international foreign language honor society; and Phi Beta Kappa, the nation?s most prestigious academic honor society. She graduated magna cum laude in 2007 with honors in French and a degree of Artium Baccalaureus. Currently she works for the Consulate General of France in Chicago as an assistant in the office of science and technology.
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