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OUR STAFF
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Charles (Chuck) Dittrich manages the daily affairs of the organization and is also Vice President, Regional Trade Initiatives, for the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), responsible for determining and advocating policy positions, creating lobbying strategies, and managing trade policy issues. He has directed the NFTC’s U.S.-Middle East Free Trade Coalition since its inception and has led the Council’s advocacy and outreach efforts to press for passage and implementation of free trade agreements with Bahrain, Morocco and Oman. He has spent over 20 years at the nexus of business and government policy, working with domestic and foreign corporations and governments on trade issues concerning Europe, Russia, Southeast Asia, Japan, Africa and the Middle East. Prior to joining the NFTC, Chuck was Senior Vice President of a DC-based firm consulting on international business, investment and technology licensing issues. His tenure at the US Department of Commerce included serving as Chief of Staff to the Director General of the US & Foreign Commercial Service, Assistant Director of EXPORT NOW in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce, coordinating this presidential initiative to increase U.S. exports and as an international trade specialist in microelectronics.
ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN
The Honorable David L. Mack, U.S. Ambassador (retired), is an Adjunct Scholar of the Middle East Institute. He served the US government as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1990-1993) and served in Tripoli early in his diplomatic career. As a Deputy Assistant Secretary he directed the conduct of relations between the United States and 12 other governments, including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. As U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1986-1989), he was in charge of all U.S. government activities and over 150 civilian and military personnel. He was also responsible for diplomatic contacts with the leaders of the U.A.E. His diplomatic assignments have included Libya, Iraq, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.
PROGRAM MANAGER
Haley Cook conducts the daily affairs of the organization. She came to the USLBA following completion of her graduate studies at Georgetown University concentrating on economics and business in the Middle East and North Africa. She has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia, and has studied extensively in the Middle East. She speaks and writes Arabic.