At the Conference
Scheduled Speakers at NY 2023 Conf. A
Each year we are privileged to host an array of speakers at our NMUN conferences.
We encourage all delegates, faculty, and guests to take advantage of these unique educational opportunities.
Additional speakers will be added to this page as they are confirmed.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. to be the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations as well as the Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations on January 20, 2021. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 23, 2021, and sworn in on February 24, 2021 by the Vice President of the United States of America.
Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a career diplomat, returned to public service after retiring from a 35-year career with the U.S. Foreign Service in 2017. From 2013 to 2017 she served as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, where she led the bureau focused on the development and management of U.S. policy toward sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to this appointment, she served as Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human Resources (2012-2013), leading a team in charge of the State Department’s 70,000-strong workforce.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield’s distinguished Foreign Service career includes an ambassadorship to Liberia (2008-2012), and postings in Switzerland (at the United States Mission to the United Nations, Geneva), Pakistan, Kenya, The Gambia, Nigeria, and Jamaica. In Washington, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of African Affairs (2006-2008), and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (2004-2006).
After retiring from the U.S. State Department in 2017, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield led the Africa Practice at Albright Stonebridge Group, a strategic commercial diplomacy firm chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She was also the inaugural Distinguished Resident Fellow in African Studies at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University from fall 2017 to spring 2019.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield was the 2017 recipient of University of Minnesota Hubert Humphrey Public Leadership Award, the 2015 recipient of the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the 2000 recipient of the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin, where she also did work towards a doctorate. She received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Wisconsin in May 2018 and an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Liberia in May 2012.
Source: https://usun.usmission.gov/our-leaders/our-ambassador/
Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu assumed her position as Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs on 1 May 2017. Prior to taking on this post, Ms. Nakamitsu served as Assistant Administrator of the Crisis Response Unit at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 2014.
She has many years of experience within and outside the United Nations system, most recently as Special Adviser Ad Interim on Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants between 2016 and 2017. She was previously Director of the Asia and the Middle East Division of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations between 2012 and 2014, and Director of the Department’s Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training, from 2008 to 2012.
Between 2005 and 2008, Ms. Nakamitsu was Professor of International Relations at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, where she also served as a member of the Foreign Exchange Council to Japan’s Foreign Minister, and as a visiting senior adviser on peacebuilding at the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Between 1998 and 2004, she was the Chef de Cabinet and Director of Planning and Coordination at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, based in Stockholm, Sweden.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Nakamitsu was a member of the United Nations Reform Team of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. She also held positions with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), including within the office of Assistant High Commissioner for Policy and Operations Sergio Vieira de Mello, and in UNHCR field operations in the former Yugoslavia, Turkey and northern Iraq.
Born in 1963, Ms. Nakamitsu holds a Master of Science degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Law degree from Waseda University in Tokyo.
She is married and has two daughters.
Source: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/profiles/nakamitsu-izumi
Maher Nasser has over 35 years of work experience in the United Nations System during which he has worked in Gaza, Jerusalem, Amman, Vienna, Cairo, and New York. He is currently the Director of Outreach in the United Nations Department of Global Communications. In his current position, he leads the Department’s engagement with civil society, academia, sports / football and the creative community, including the advertising industry.
Twitter: @MaherNasserUN
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahernasser/
Delegate Seminar:
Career Opportunities at the UN Secretariat
Delegates, Head Delegates, Faculty, and Guests who were not able to secure a Mission Briefing at this time are all encouraged to attend.
Monday, 3 April, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
3rd Floor Hilton Hotel - Trianon Ballroom
Join us for this session with the Office of Human Resources at the United Nations Secretariat. Hear from candidates who have successfully secured positions at the UN. Learn more about job opportunities that make a difference in the world and the value of adding the UN to your career journey. At the end of the session, there will be time for Q&A with the audience. Open to all who want to learn more about professional opportunities at the UN.
Please feel free to explore current vacancies at www.careers.un.org, and stay in touch by signing up for their UN Global Talent Pool at: https://bit.ly/UNTalentPool.
Mahmoud Almasri is an associate Human Resources Officer who contributes to promoting diversity and inclusion in the United Nations to reflect the multiple perspectives and characteristics of the people it serves. Mahmoud’s work aims to achieve greater geographical representation and improve gender parity throughout engaging in talent outreach activities. He has a Lebanese mother, Syrian father, and Egyptian grandparents. Until now, Mahmoud has had three turning points in his life. The first was in 2012 when he was forced to leave Syria and became a refugee in Lebanon. The second was in 2014 when he received the “Tomorrow’s Leaders” full scholarship at the American University of Beirut granted by U.S. Department of State. With that, he now has a bachelor's in Economics with double minors in Public Administration and Civil Society, Citizenship, and the Nonprofit Sector. Upon graduation, his scholarship program awarded him the “Excellence in Civic Engagement” award in recognition for his initiatives in education in rural areas in Lebanon. The third turning point in Mahmoud’s life was in 2022 when he joined the United Nations in New York through the Young Professional Programme, 2.5 years after he submitted the application. Mahmoud’s current vision is to contribute making the world less unequal mainly throughout education.
Pina Valeria Roos is a Team Lead on Talent Diversity Acquisition and Partnerships in the Staffing Diversity and Outreach Section, Office of Human Resources in the UN Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, New York. Previously, she was the Talent Outreach and Assessment Lead at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. Pina joined the United Nations in New York in 2014 as a JPO (Junior Professional Officer) and has worked in a number of talent management initiatives and areas. Pina is from Switzerland, has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Anthropology and a Master’s degree in Neuropsychology from the University of Bern, Switzerland. Before joining the UN, she worked in the private sector in Switzerland.
Cristina Serban is an Associate Officer in the Staffing Diversity and Outreach Section (SDOS) at the Department of Management, Strategy, and Policy Compliance (DMPSC) of the United Nations Secretariat. She is originally from Romania, and she completed her studies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Cristina has robust client-facing experience with the nonprofit sector in immigration law and with the private sector in digital marketing and branding. Cristina was a finalist in the Young Professional Programme (YPP) applications of 2018, through which she joined the UN and began her work in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives for the Organization. When she’s not at her desk in New York, you'll find Cristina spending quality time with family in Romania or snacking her way across the many countries on her travel list.
Karen J. Vogel Faculty Seminar:
Internationalism in the Balance: Is There a Need for a New UN?
Faculty, Guests, and Head Delegates not assigned to a committee are encouraged to attend.
Tuesday, 4 April, 3:00-4:00 p.m.
2nd Floor Hilton Hotel - Morgan
Join us for this interactive presentation with John A. Moore. John is Emeritus Professor of History, California State Polytechnic University, where he taught for over four decades. For a third of a century, he was faculty adviser for the university’s National Model UN program, and for many years he served as Director of the Virginia and Douglass Adair Symposia, for which he organized conferences and academic meetings and edited proceedings into published anthologies. He has realized some seventeen published books, numerous articles (several refereed), and, since retiring from the classroom, has continued his research and writing, and attends and participates in academic conferences. He has served two Fulbright assignments: Senior Fulbright Lecturer/Scholar in Finland and László Országh Distinguished Chair of History in Hungary. At Cal Poly Pomona, Moore received the Distinguished Teacher Award, the Outstanding International Scholar Award, an Outstanding Advisor Award, and the George P. Hart Leadership Award. His other honors include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations Association, and—with co-author Jerry Pubantz—an “Outstanding Academic Title for the Year 2000” commendation from Choice Magazine for their first of eight books, To Create a New World? American Presidents and the United Nations.