Dr. Shekhar Mitra, SASE National Board President

Dr. Mitra is currently serving as president of InnoPreneur LLC and Consulting Partner, Yourencore. Prior to this, Dr. Mitra was a senior VP of Global Innovation at Proctor and Gamble. His contributions include leading the creation and development of “game-changing” technology platforms and innovation strategies that have resulted in well-known consumer products like Crest Whitestrips, Crest line in China, Crest ProHealth, Aleve Analgesic, Prilosec to name a few.  On 8 May 2010, Dr. Mitra, was honored by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) in a ceremony held on Ellis Island and was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He joins a notable group of past recipients such as former US Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush (Senior), and Clinton and celebrities like Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, John Glenn, and Bob Hope. 

 The Ellis Island Medals of Honor pay tribute to the ancestry groups that comprise America's unique cultural mosaic. Both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have officially passed resolutions recognizing the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which ranks among this country's most prestigious awards. Recipients are listed in the Congressional Record, honoring those who have made enduring contributions to the United States of America and to the world.

Professor Jim Chang, Former Chief Scientist, US Army Research Laboratory

Professor Chang is the visiting chair professor at the National Cheng Kung University. At NCKU he continues to work on his passion to advocate, inspire and foster innovation through cross-discipline research. He retired from the Senior Executive Service (SES) of the US government in 2012 as the Chief Scientist of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the Army's premier corporate laboratory. ARL conducts research in materials, sensors and electron devices, computational and information sciences, human research and engineering, vehicle technology, and analysis. Before assuming the Chief Scientist position, Dr. Chang spent four years with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research stationed in Tokyo, Japan fostering academic and U.S. collaboration in Asia. Prior to going to Japan, Dr. Chang had a dual-hatted position as the Director of the Army Research Office and the ARL’s Deputy Director for Basic Sciences where he managed all basic research conducted in the universities and inside the laboratory. He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 1990 and served as the Director of the Aerospace, Chemistry and Material Sciences Directorate at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research where he managed all university research programs for the US Air Force in these areas for the next ten years before joining ARL.

Pascale Haspil, VP Director of Professional Services, Lee Hecht Harrison

Miss Haspil is the VP, Director of Professional Services at Lee Hecht Harrison’s McLean Office. She has extensive experience in Human Resources and Career Development, with in depth knowledge and understanding of diversity, multi - cultural and communication issues among human capital. She currently works with clients, ranging from entry level professionals to C-suite executives, on résumés, communications, networking, job search strategy and various facets of career transition.  Miss Haspils' career highlights include eight years of service for a Fortune 100 financial services company where she led the company’s sponsorship and logistical management of diversity recruitment events across all professional levels. In addition to recruitment of executives and senior managers, she was the full-life cycle recruiter for all non-exempt positions for the executive headquarters. Prior to this Miss Haspil held diverse positions in office and project management, most notably for the offices of the CEO and General Counsel of the organization. Pascale spent two years in the non-profit area working for a renowned Washington, D.C. think tank. She is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She earned a bilingual degree in International Relations, Law & Organization recognized nationally in France, and a certificate in Event Management from George Washington University’s School of Business and Public Management.

Dr. Abraham Kim, Vice President, Korean Economic Institute

Dr. Kim oversees KEI's research, programs and publications. He covers a wide range of issues related to U.S.-Korea relations, trade/investment issues, North Korea, regional security issues and the Korean American community. He travels widely and speaks regularly at conferences and universities on these issues.  Prior to joining the Korea Economic Institute as Vice President, Abraham Kim was the research manager of government services and the principal Korea analyst at the global political risk consulting firm, Eurasia Group. He managed a group of analysts and editors that supported a variety of US government research projects covering issues such as international trade, political stability in emerging markets, the political implications of the financial crisis, and the global pandemic crisis. Dr. Kim also spearheaded the integration of the latest social media technologies, data visualization tools, and alternative analytical methodologies with social science analyses for the firm's government clients.

 In addition, as a senior member in the firm's Asia practice, Dr. Kim advised financial investors, corporate executives, and government decision-makers on political, economic, security, and foreign relations issues in North and South Korea. He has written extensively on Northeast Asia including publishing articles in media sources such as the Asian Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times, Foreign Policy, Joongang Ilbo, and the Korea Times. He has also been interviewed by CNBC, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Reuters, Newsweek, Canadian BNN-TV, Arirang TV, Yonhap, and Asahi Shimbun.

Vish Varma, Senior Vice President, CACI

 Mr. Varma, Senior Vice President at CACI (NYSE: CAI), is a seasoned businessman with 42 years of experience in the professional services & technology sectors. He has successfully grown four professional services firms and his experience encompasses roles as an entrepreneur, business owner, member of the Board of Directors of a large publicly owned corporation, and a senior executive in CACI, a $3.7 billion Federal IT services contractor. As Vice President of AlphaInsight, Inc. he obtained business with new key accounts including Army, Air Force, and EPA, increasing the firm’s revenue from $18M to $44M. Earlier, he was a Senior Vice President and Executive-in-Charge of Americas at Roy F. Weston, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSTNA), a large Federal professional services contractor.  He managed the firm’s professional services operations, supervising 23 VP’s across Federal, State and Commercial sectors.  Mr. Varma founded and led ATC Inc in 1983 which was acquired by WESTON in 1988 in a multi-million dollar deal.

Mr. Varma has a passion for economic development and job creation. While living in Auburn, Alabama, he was appointed Chairman of the Auburn Center for Developing Industries, Member of the City Industrial Development Authority, and Member of the City Planning Commission. During his tenure in those roles the city began aggressively pursuing industry, leading to a nearly 1,200% increase in the number of industrial jobs over the next twenty years.  Between 1980 and 2003, Auburn's population grew by 65%, and Auburn's economy expanded by 220%.