2021 UCLA Global Conversation: Developing Global Leaders: A View from Ambassador Nina Hachigian

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION
Nina Hachigian is the deputy mayor of international affairs for Los Angeles - the first deputy mayor in the U.S. with such a title - and former U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She will discuss the growing need for global leaders with Vice Provost Cindy Fan, based on her diverse government service and from her vantage point in the global city of Los Angeles.
A foreign policy expert, attorney and author, Hachigian has served as senior fellow and senior vice president of the Center for American Progress, director of the RAND Center for Asia Policy and staff member at the U.S. National Security Council. She has been active in many women’s leadership organizations, including the Women Ambassadors Serving America and Leadership Council for Women in National Security, both of which she helped found. She was also a founding board member of the International Security Advisory Board of the U.S. State Department. Hachigian is a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed Ambassador Nina Hachigian to be the first Deputy Mayor of International Affairs for Los Angeles and the only one in the United States. Her office connects the world to L.A. and L.A. to the world. They build relationships with foreign partners to bring more jobs, opportunity, culture, ideas, and visitors to Los Angeles and to elevate L.A.’s international leadership, including on climate, inclusion, and innovation. They are also laying the foundations for Angelenos to welcome the world for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and to leave behind a great legacy for the City.
From 2014 to 2017, Ambassador Hachigian served as the second U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During her tenure, the United States established a strategic partnership with ASEAN, held the first Leaders’ Summit in the United States, launched a Presidential initiative on economic cooperation, established the U.S.-ASEAN Women’s Leadership Academy and grew the youth program to over 100,000 members. She was awarded the State Department’s Superior Honor Award for her service.
Earlier, Ambassador Hachigian was a Senior Fellow and a Senior Vice President at the Center for American Progress focused on Asia policy and U.S.-China relations. Prior to that, Ambassador Hachigian was the director of the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy for four years. Ambassador Hachigian served on the staff of the National Security Council in the Clinton White House from 1998- 1999. She is the editor of Debating China: The U.S. - China Relationship in Ten Conversations (Oxford University Press, 2014) and co-author of The Next American Century: How the U.S. Can Thrive as Other Powers Rise (Simon & Schuster, 2008).
Ambassador Hachigian was a founding Board Member of the State Department’s International Security Advisory Board. She was also a founder and co-leader of Women Ambassadors Serving America (WASA), a group of some 200 current and former U.S. Ambassadors. She also co-founded and currently co-chairs the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).
She is an Advisory Board Member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, Foreign Policy for America and National Security Action, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Hachigian received her B.S. from Yale University, magna cum laude, and her J.D. from Stanford Law School, with distinction. She lives in the great City of Los Angeles with her husband and children.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Cindy Fan is the first woman and Asian American to serve as UCLA's Vice Provost for International Studies and Global Engagement. She is also Professor of Geography, and formerly Associate Dean of Social Sciences and Chair of the Asian American Studies Department. As UCLA's Senior International Officer (SIO), she manages the university's global partnerships, oversees the International Institute and its 27 research centers and eight degree programs, and champions and promotes international research and education.
Dr. Fan was born in Hong Kong and holds a PhD from Ohio State University as well as an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Bristol. She has written extensively on migration, regional development, and gender in China, including the seminal book China on the Move. She frequently contributes to the media and has given numerous keynote speeches in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. She has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, an American Council on Education Fellowship, an Andrew W. Mellon grant, and Henry Luce Foundation and National Science Foundation research grants.