InterAgency Brown-bag Lecture focuses on USAID

The third presentation of the InterAgency Brown-Bag Lecture Series for CGSC academic year 2023 was conducted Dec. 13, 2022, in the Arnold Conference Room of the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth.

CGSC Foundation President/CEO Rod Cox provided welcoming remarks and introduced Dr. Mark Sorensen, the CGSC Distinguished Chair for Development Studies. Sorensen led a discussion on how the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) leads America’s development assistance abroad and how USAID coordinates with defense professionals. He began his discussion with an overview of USAID’s history and mission and what specific U.S. security objectives he witnessed in his own experience and assignments around the world. Throughout his discussion, he stressed how U.S. aid to other countries was focused more on capacity building, or helping a country create and foster the ability to help itself, versus providing short-term direct aid for immediate problems. He also discussed the relationship of USAID to DoD in missions abroad. After his presentation he conducted a question and answer session with attendees, including answering questions about how USAID’s aid in certain areas of the world compares to others such as China.

Dr. Mark Sorensen, the CGSC Distinguished Chair for Development Studies, leads a discussion on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the InterAgency Brown-Bag Lecture on Dec. 13, 2022, in the Arnold Conference Room of the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth.

(Top photo and above) Dr. Mark Sorensen, the CGSC Distinguished Chair for Development Studies, leads a discussion on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the InterAgency Brown-Bag Lecture on Dec. 13, 2022, in the Arnold Conference Room of the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth.

Dr. Mark G. Sorensen is an economic and business development specialist with more than 40 years of experience to include almost 20 years with the USAID. At USAID he has served in a variety of supervisory roles and assignments to include duty in Pakistan, Brazil, South Sudan, Iraq, Georgia, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka as well in Washington, D.C. While in Iraq from 2009-2011, he served on a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and directed USAID programs in the Divala Province. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Houston, an MBA from Texas A&M at Kingsville, a master’s from the University of Florida, a Masters of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Air War College, and a B.S. and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. His language proficiency includes fluency in both Spanish and Portuguese. He is also the author of several publications and the recipient of several meritorious honor and exemplary service awards.

The InterAgency Brown-Bag Lecture Series is co-hosted by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School (CGSS) and the CGSC Foundation’s Arthur D. Simons Center for the Study of Ethical Leadership and Interagency Cooperation. The series is an extracurricular, interagency topic-focused series that is intended to help enrich the CGSOC curriculum. Unless otherwise announced, the presentations are scheduled each month from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Arnold Conference Room of the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth.

The next lecture is the series is set for Jan. 18, 2022, with a presentation on the Federal Executive Board (FEB).

For more photos, see the CGSC Foundation Flickr album

To view the entire lecture click the video below.