ASU Speaker to Give Presentation on Future U.S. and Cuba Relations

SAN ANGELO, TX- Angelo State University's Foreign Affairs Speakers Program will be bringing a former member of the U.S. president's National Security Council, James B. Feierstein, as the guest speaker on Jan. 30-31 at the Houston Harte University Center, 1910 Rosemount Drive.

The presentation, according to a press release, will look at future relations between the U.S. and Cuba. On the 30th at 7:30 p.m., Feierstein will present “Behind the Scenes: Bridging the Gap to Cuba.” Then, on Jan. 31 at 3 p.m., he will speak on “U.S.–Cuba Relations after Fidel.” Both presentations will be in the University Center’s C.J. Davidson Conference Center and are open free to the public.

Feierstein previously served as a special assistant to the president and the senior director for western hemisphere affairs on the National Security Council. His key responsibilities included serving as the president’s principal advisor on Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, coordinating U.S. government departments and agencies to develop an integrated and cohesive administration policy approach to the western hemisphere, and overseeing substantive planning for the president’s trips to western hemisphere countries and meetings in the White House with heads of state from the region. 

Prior to his position on the National Security Council, Feierstein served as associate administrator and assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean for the U.S. Agency for International Development, special assistant to the U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, and director for Latin American Programs at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

Outside of his public and government service, Feierstein spent over a decade managing an international portfolio for the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner political consulting firm. He was also a fundraiser for President Obama’s presidential campaign and spent a year as a reporter for the Mexico City News.

Also a widely published writer and columnist on Latin American issues, Feierstein has been featured in a variety of media and publications, including The Huffington Post, The International Herald Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times and The Washington Post. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Tufts University and a Master of Arts in international affairs from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The E. James Holland-Roy A. Harrell Jr. Foreign Affairs Speakers Program Program is dedicated to providing ASU students and the community with a broader worldview and exposing students to potential career opportunities in the Foreign Service. The program is sponsored by the ASU College of Arts and Humanities.