Please join us for a discussion with U.S. Department of State’s Rob Lee, Director of the Office of the European Union and Regional Affairs, on April 27 at 12:00 PM CDT in 108 Coble Hall (801 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820) for a chance to learn about sanctions, what they are, how they’re implemented, and how they’ve been effective against Russia amidst the war in Ukraine. Rob will also discuss his career in the foreign service, opportunities at the State Department, and answer student questions.
As Director for the Office of European Union and Regional Affairs, Rob is responsible for formulating and implementing U.S. policy related to and engagement with the European Union at the Department of State. He served as Director for the Office of Regional and Security Policy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 2016 to 2018. In this position, he helped formulate the United States’ Indo-Pacific strategy. Prior assignments included: Canberra, Guangzhou, Ankara, EUR’s NATO Desk, the Intelligence and Research Bureau’s Office of Current Intelligence, Shanghai, and Athens.
Rob is a Thomas R. Pickering Fellow and has a master’s in public policy from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a master’s in national security and resource strategy from the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School. He has a bachelor's degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland. Rob speaks fluent Mandarin and conversational Turkish and Korean. He is married to Julia Fu and they have two children.
Registration is required (https://go.illinois.edu/RobLee) and lunch will be provided. Registration will close on April 25.