Ribbon Cutting and Speaker Program Celebrate Opening of the BMCC Office of Diplomatic Engagement and Training

A ribbon-cutting and launch event on May 7 marked the opening of the Office of Diplomatic Engagement and Training (ODET) at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY).

The event was held in the spacious North and South Galleries of the Shirley Fiterman Art Center located in BMCC’s Fiterman Hall at 245 Greenwich Street in lower Manhattan.

Dr. Terry Kidd, Acting Assistant Vice President of Continuing Education and Workforce Development at BMCC, welcomed the audience and introduced BMCC President, Dr. Anthony E. Munroe, who delivered opening remarks.

“As I look out in this gathering, it fills me with enormous gratitude and pride to see all of you who have assembled to celebrate a new beginning at BMCC,” said President Munroe.

“We have representatives from local, state and international government offices. The consulate generals and representatives in this room span the globe. Your presence today confirms your belief in the important work we are doing here at BMCC, and how we are striving to make our college a leader in global education and experiences for the entire community.”

Dr. Daniel H. Katz, inaugural Director of ODET, spoke next.

“Our mission is to provide high-quality capacity building and training to diplomats, consular officials and others throughout New York and surrounding areas and beyond,” said Dr. Katz.

“Utilizing the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for the college’s workforce capacity building efforts, the office will work for the benefit of students, faculty, staff, and the broader international diplomatic community.”

Dr. Katz pointed out that there are more than 116 foreign consulates and 193 permanent missions in New York City, which has the largest diplomatic corps in the world.

“I look forward to further engagements in the weeks and months ahead as we learn how we can best partner with your missions here in New York and globally,” he told the audience of guests and BMCC community members.

Seasoned experts and academic leaders will be presenting courses for aspiring diplomatic professionals

As Dr. Katz explained, professional development courses offered through the Office of Diplomatic Engagement and Training, will be available starting in June.

These include courses focused on introductory and advanced public speaking, cybersecurity essentials, diplomatic protocol, diplomatic and industry security processes, leadership and management, and others.

Dr. Katz acknowledged guests present at the event, who will be teaching some of those courses.

Charles Brandeis—a 33-year veteran of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and former special agent in charge of its New York field office—will teach a course in diplomatic and industry security processes.

Jerry Beal, an expert practitioner and professor of public speaking for decades, will be teaching introductory public speaking for diplomats and business professionals.

Naseer Alomari, an assistant professor of speech at BMCC, as well as a published author and recognized commentator on global politics, will teach advanced public speaking.

Jael Rivas, CEO of Tadaca Educational Solutions LLC, will teach an in-depth course on leadership and management.

Leslie Lautenslager, who has worked with high-profile figures including General Colin Powell and will lead a class on diplomatic protocol.

Among classes starting in Fall 2024 and offered for college credit, Judith M. Anderson, BMCC Associate Professor in the Department of Ethnic and Race Studies, will teach Introduction to Diplomacy, a course designed to benefit students from a variety of majors including Foreign Languages, Ethnic Studies, CIS, and Social Sciences, in addition to serving as a path for careers in diplomacy.

The full list of classes can be found here.

Diplomatic Guest of Honor Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook shares her journey

Featured guest speaker and Diplomatic Guest of Honor Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom (2011-2013) shared her vision and journey as a career diplomat.

“On my road to becoming a diplomat, I faced many choices and challenges,” said Ambassador Johnson Cook.

“I even took some chances, as the first African American woman ambassador from the state of New York, the first faith leader, and the first Black and female U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom at large.”

She recounted a career journey rich with interactions that deepened her sense of service in making a better world, starting with her own personal roots and family history.

“We’re from the deep Jim Crow South,” said Ambassador Johnson Cook. “We were sharecroppers, having to work in the blazing sun each day … But my family made a choice to be strong and strategic, and they worked their way out of the fields of the South, and they moved north to New York City, where they had two children, my brother and myself.”

She shared how that personal history informed the professional life she forged.

“I traveled to 29 countries representing the Secretary of State and the first African-American president of the United States, President Barack Obama,” said Ambassador Johnson Cook. “I also worked under Secretary Madeleine Albright and President Bill Clinton, serving under Secretary Clinton and more.”

Finally, she talked about the value of community in her life and work. Community “is not only visionary, it’s revolutionary,” she said, and offered advice to aspiring diplomats: “When you meet someone, make sure you shake their hand. Make sure you know who’s in the room with you. We’ve got to be comfortable with who we are and who’s around us.”

For more information on the BMCC Office of Diplomacy and Engagement, please contact Dr. Daniel H. Katz, Director of the BMCC Office of Diplomatic Engagement and Training (ODET), (212) 346-8472 or dkatz@bmcc.cuny.edu.