As we enter the final weeks the U.S. election, debate and tempers flare as millions of Americans determine how – and if - to exercise their right to vote. Yet, when looking abroad, U.S. election challenges pale in comparison to the millions who are denied the opportunity to vote without interference or intimidation. How can new and challenged democracies implement the concept of "one person, one vote?"  To offer perspective on this fundamental component of democracy, Kenneth Wollack, President of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, joins YPFP members: Frances Brown, Booz Allen Hamilton; Jamie Ekern; Travis Elliott, Center for Strategic and International Security; Justine Fleischner, Center for Strategic and International Security; Josh Marks, National Endowment for Democracy; and Alexander Pascal, U.S. Department of State, to share and discuss their election monitoring experiences from abroad.  To attend, click here and complete the following form. A link is also available in the event posting at www.ypfp.org.  YPFP's Programming policies are included at the bottom of the email – if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at events@ypfp.org.

Kenneth Wollack

Kenneth Wollack is president of NDI. He has been actively involved in foreign affairs, journalism and politics since 1972.  Mr. Wollack joined NDI in 1986 as executive vice president. The Institute's board of directors, then chaired by former Vice President Walter Mondale, elected him president in March 1993.  Mr.Wollack has traveled extensively in Eastern and Central Europe, the former Soviet Union, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa on behalf of the Institute's political development programs. Now chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the Institute maintains offices in more than 60 countries and works to support democratic elections, political parties, parliaments, civic engagement and women's political empowerment.  Before joining NDI, Mr. Wollack co-edited the Middle East Policy Survey, a Washington-based newsletter. He also wrote regularly on foreign affairs for the Los Angeles Times. From 1973 to 1980, he served as legislative director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).  Mr. Wollack has been active in American politics, serving on the national staff of the McGovern presidential campaign in 1972. He graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and was a senior fellow at UCLA's School for Public Affairs.  He has testified in numerous occasions before congressional committees, appeared on national television and radio, and spoken before world affairs councils across the country. He has served on various task forces sponsored by the Brookings Institute, the U.S. Institute for Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Center for Global Engagement.  Mr. Wollack currently is a member of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid and is the chairman of the board of directors for the U.S. Committee for the United Nations Development Programme.

Frances Brown

Frances Brown is a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she supports Defense Department clients. Her previous work includes a year at an NGO in Afghanistan, two years as a world history teacher in Beirut, and shorter project management stints in Iraq and Jordan. Frances has also worked in a London-based political risk forecasting firm, interned at the US Embassy in Kuwait and with the International Crisis Group, and published commentaries in the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, and International Herald Tribune. A Truman Security Fellow, she holds an MA from Johns Hopkins SAIS and a BA from Yale.

Jamie Ekern

Jamie Ekern worked at the Council on Foreign Relations' Center for Preventive Action as assistant director from 2007-2008 and research assistant from 2005-2007. She holds a M.S. in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University, and a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University.

Justine Fleischner

Justine Fleischner recently graduated from the City College of New York with a B.A. in International Studies, where she was a Colin Powell Community Engagement Fellow and a Josh & Judy Weston Public Service Scholar. Justine spent this past summer in Rwanda conducting thesis research on the impact of the gender-sensitization policy on post-conflict governance. Last summer she spent in Sierra Leone, working for a paralegal organization, Timap for Justice. While in Sierra Leone, Justine was a nationally accredited observer with the National Electoral Watch (NEW) in Freetown, for the August 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections. In addition to her travels in Africa, Justine is a committed anti-human trafficking activist and has spent time in India and Nepal volunteering with direct-service providers for survivors of human trafficking.

Joshua Marks

Joshua Marks is the Central Africa Program Officer for the National Endowment for Democracy (Washington, DC), where he is responsible for democracy and governance programs in seven countries. His most recent trips have included assessment missions in Rwanda, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and he has monitored elections in Nigeria and DRC. Previously a consultant for Oxfam and Small Arms Survey in the Great Lakes Region, Josh has worked on security and human rights issues in eastern DRC, where he lived in 2004-05. He has also worked with a local NGO in DRC and was a faculty associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (Washington, DC). He has published articles or reports in African Security Review and Small Arms Survey. A graduate of Yale University and Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, Josh speaks English, French, Swahili, and some Portuguese.

Alexander Pascal

In 2005, Alexander Pascal monitored the presidential election and a series of local elections in the Palestinian Territories as an International Election Observer for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) while he worked in that organization's West Bank & Gaza field office. He spent 2003 in South Africa working closely with the government and civil society to expand public participation in national policymaking. Alex is now at the U.S. Department of State serving as a Special Assistant to the Special Envoy for Middle East Regional Security, focusing on initiatives to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Prior to joining the State Department, he was a consultant to the Project on Weak States and U.S. National Security at the Center for Global Development, where he contributed to publications on the nexus of fragile states and transnational security threats. As an NSEP Boren Fellow, Alex conducted field research in Yemen on democratization, state capacity and donor assistance in tribal societies. He has also worked at U.S. Embassy-Damascus during the Lebanon war and in the Middle East section of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Alex earned an M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), was an Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and graduated with a B.A. in English from Stanford University.

 YPFP Programming Policies

In an effort to deliver the highest quality events to our membership, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy has several standing policies.  Please note that all speaker events require business attire.  Because space at our events is limited, we ask that members who RSVP make every effort to attend.  If you RSVP and are unable to attend, please notify us immediately at events@ypfp.org.  To ensure accurate rosters, all members planning on attending must RSVP by COB the day prior to the event.   Members may request guests, but as space is often limited, we cannot guarantee them space.   When requesting a guest, please be sure to provide a name, affiliation, and email address so that we may confirm with them directly.  Thank you for your cooperation in ensuring that we can continue to deliver the highest quality programming.