General Session

Julia Onslow-Cole is a Partner in Fragomen specializing in Global Government Strategies and Compliance supporting clients worldwide to optimize global mobility strategies, enhance compliance and leverage best practice in all critical immigration related policies including crisis management.

Before joining Fragomen Julia was a Partner, Legal Markets Leader and Head of Global Immigration at PwC leading complex multi-jurisdictional client engagements and providing strategic global immigration advice.

Julia has been liaising with Government and Business on Brexit and has given expert evidence at the European Parliament. Julia has represented business at the Prime Minister’s immigration stock take meeting and acted as an advisor to the Home Office on business, investment and growth. Julia is a member of the Mayor of London’s Brexit Advisory Group and was recently appointed to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Immigration Specialty Panel and to the board of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Adam Smiley Poswolsky is a millennial workplace expert, internationally renowned keynote speaker, and bestselling author of The Quarter-Life Breakthrough (Penguin Random House), and The Breakthrough Speaker. Smiley helps companies attract, retain, and empower millennial talent, and he’s inspired thousands of professionals to be more engaged at work, through speaking at companies like Facebook, ASAE, Unilever, IDEO, Salesforce, SAP, Deloitte, Uber, Harvard Business School, and TED. His TEDx talk has been viewed over 1 million times, and he has done hundreds of speaking engagements, reaching over 50,000 people in 15 countries. Smiley’s writing has been published in The Washington Post, Fast Company, Time, and Business Insider, and his work has been featured in USA Today, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, CNN, CNBC, and the World Economic Forum, among others.

Tracy Stock is one of the most in-demand and top-rated female speakers in North America today because of her ability to inspire behavior change and achieve positive outcomes. As a workplace culture expert, an engaging Certified Speaking Professional®, highly skilled live and virtual training expert and a best-selling author with five published titles, her 25 years of experience include clients such as the U.S. Army, Motorola, True Value, US Bank and Subway, to name a few. As a speaker of choice, Tracy is committed to helping energize workplace culture, enhance employee engagement and empower high performance. 

Ken Cuccinelli began serving as the acting director of USCIS on June 10, 2019.

Mr. Cuccinelli and his wife, Teiro, grew up and live in Virginia. They have seven children, one son-in-law and one grandchild.

Mr. Cuccinelli served as Virginia’s attorney general from 2010 to 2014. During his time as attorney general, he led Virginia from being amongst the worst states in fighting human trafficking to becoming one of the best. Additionally, he led efforts resulting in record enforcement against gangs, health care fraud, and child predators. Mr. Cuccinelli also served in the Senate of Virginia from 2002 to 2010 and has practiced law for nearly 25 years.

Mr. Cuccinelli earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Virginia, a law degree from Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, and a Masters in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University. He is a proud graduate of Gonzaga High School, located just blocks from USCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In his spare time, Mr. Cuccinelli enjoys spending time with his family, reading, shooting, and watching college basketball.

David Frum is a senior editor at the Atlantic and the author of the New York Times bestseller, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. 

Frum has served as chairman of the British think tank, Policy Exchange, as a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, and as a senior policy adviser to the Rudy Giuliani for president campaign. In 2001-2002, he served as speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. He is a regular guest on CNN, MSNBC, and the BBC.

Frum's first book, Dead Right, was described by Frank Rich of the New York Times as “the smartest book written from the inside about the American conservative movement” and by the late William F. Buckley as “the most refreshing ideological experience in a generation.” His memoir of the Bush administration, The Right Man, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. 

Bo Cooper, Partner, Fragomen Bo Cooper is a Partner in Fragomen’s Washington, DC office, leading the Government Strategies and Compliance Group. He serves on the firm’s Executive Committee, where he works to set Fragomen’s strategic vision and philosophy, manage its worldwide operations, and ensure it remains progressive, agile, efficient, innovative, and consistent across all its jurisdictions. He provides strategic immigration advice to a diverse clientele, including corporations, nonprofits, hospitals, universities, and media outlets. Bo has extensive experience in navigating complex immigration challenges, interacting with Congress, executive agencies, and consulates, and representing clients in federal audits and investigations.  

 Previously, Bo was General Counsel of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) from 1999 to 2003, directing a legal program of 700 attorneys. He advised top U.S. officials on immigration law and has significant federal litigation experience as a former trial attorney in the Department of Justice. Bo has frequently testified before Congress and appeared in various media outlets such as PBS Newshour, Sixty Minutes, and CNN. He participated in negotiating international immigration agreements and served as a U.S. delegate to international organizations.  

Bo has taught immigration, national security and related courses at the University of Michigan, Georgetown and American University law schools, and he currently teaches asylum law as a member of the adjunct faculty at Tulane Law School. He has an extensive pro bono practice and has contributed as amicus in key Supreme Court cases, served as an expert witness in federal litigation, and advised the Department of Homeland Security. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Migration Policy Institute. Bo received his J.D. from Tulane Law School and his B.A. from Tulane University. 

Prakash Khatri has a national Immigration Law practice (www.khatrilaw.com) located in Bethesda, MD. His practice focuses primarily on assisting individuals, companies and law firms in resolving post filing complications at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, other DHS entities as well as at United States embassies and consulates abroad. He has been practicing law for more than 35 years. He is a nationally recognized expert on Immigration law and process.

Recognized as one of the “50 Most Influential Indian-Americans” by India Abroad in 2007, Khatri is a renowned specialist and public speaker on immigration law and related matters. He has provided expert commentary on immigration issues for television and radio programs and has shared his insights at countless immigration conferences, seminars and debates. He has also been an expert witness in Federal and State courts.

From July 2003 until March 2008, Khatri served as the nation’s first Ombudsman for Citizenship and Immigration Services in the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. Khatri managed the growth of this independent office from a one-person entity to a professional team of more than two dozen professionals and administrative staff.

As CIS Ombudsman and a recognized expert on immigration matters, Khatri provided senior executive leadership, vision, and direction to policy makers in several cabinet level agencies. An immigrant himself, Khatri was regularly consulted for advice by policymakers in the Departments of Homeland Security, State, Labor and Justice, the Office of Management and Budget, and the White House on immigration-related matters.

Khatri is a graduate of Stetson University and Stetson College of Law in Florida. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Florida Bar, and the Maryland Bar.

Ray S. Leki is a career member of the Senior Executive Service of the United States government at the Department of State, Foreign Service Institute. He is also an adjunct professor of intercultural management with the rank of Senior Interculturist in Residence at American University, and an author. At the Foreign Service Institute, he is the director of the Transition Center, where he oversees preparation and support for employees and family members entering, transitioning within, and leaving the U.S. foreign affairs community. He has developed, designed, and overseen the implementation of international awareness training for the U.S. foreign affairs community for nearly 40 years. His work in government began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal in 1979, and continued with a series of Peace Corps staff assignments in Washington, Nepal, Pakistan, and Poland, before joining the Department of State in 1991.

Ray has taught a range of graduate courses and seminars through American University’s School of International Service, Intercultural Management Institute. They include international personal and organizational security, crisis management and communication, intercultural facilitation and training, multicultural negotiation, and spirituality and conflict transformation. He is a recipient of the school’s adjunct faculty of the year award.  

Ray published Travel Wise: How to Be Safe, Savvy and Secure Abroad through Intercultural Press/Nicholas Brealey Publishing in 2008. The book shares his thoughts, experiences, and techniques in preparing sojourners for international success through integrating cross-cultural competence, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and security awareness with careful identification and analysis of motives and motivation. Travel Wise is used by businesses, study abroad programs, international and non-governmental organizations and government employees and agencies to protect people and ensure mission success.

At the U.S. Department of State, he has been a leader in dealing with far-flung diplomatic communities experiencing crisis and trauma. Recent interventions included work in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, Moscow, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He has focused his organizational efforts on creating smarter, more resilient, and more effective expatriates. In 2016, he opened the Center of Excellence in Foreign Affairs Resilience as a new division within the Transition Center.

He is a fellow of the International Academy of Intercultural Researchers, and is on the advisory boards of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research USA, the Foreign Service Youth Foundation, and the International Association of Protocol Consultants. Current interests include resilience, leadership, intercultural communication, crisis management across cultures, and crisis aftermath psychology. He studied chemistry at Southern Illinois University and has his master’s from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia.

Marina Vassilev leads Compensation, Mobility and Executive HR for BASF North American.  In her role she shapes the BASF NA compensation and mobility strategies to inspire and empower employees. 

Prior to joining BASF in August 2018, Marina was with Boehringer Ingelheim for over six years where she led a variety of total rewards projects, managed the US Executive HR function and supported the US Supply & Quality organization as a Compensation Business Partner.  Some of Marina’s accomplishments include the roll out of a total rewards optimization study and leading the design and implementation of a global Long-Term Incentive program which insured Boehringer Ingelheim remained competitive to attract, retain and motivate employees.  Prior to Boehringer, Marina was a Senior Consultant with Deloitte Consulting where she advised clients on a variety of total rewards topics. 

Marina Vassilev holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a MBA from New York University. Marina is a Certified Compensation Profession (CCP), Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP) and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) with Worldatwork.

Nick Schacht is a highly experienced executive with more than three decades of experience in professional services, education, and corporate learning and development. He has a history of driving product innovation, growth and profitability, and he has led organizations operating worldwide.  

Schacht is Chief Global Development Officer for SHRM, the world's largest HR professional society. Before joining SHRM, he was the founder and CEO of KnowCyber, a learning and development company focused on improving the cybersecurity-related skills of people in all types of organizations worldwide. Prior to KnowCyber, he was President and Chief Operating Officer for PetroSkills, a provider of training and development services to the worldwide petroleum industry. Prior to that, he was CEO and President of Learning Tree International, a publicly traded provider of IT and management learning and development. Schacht was also the President of Global Learning Systems, a start-up focused on e-Learning and digital content. He served in a variety of capacities at ESI International, culminating in his role as President when ESI was sold to the Institute for International Research (IIR) and then as Group President for the Americas for IIR. He has been a Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute, and began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Officer, on the headquarters staff of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.  

Schacht graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds Master's degrees in Administration from the University of Maryland University College and Information Systems Technology from The George Washington University.

Erik R. Peterson has devoted more than two decades to assessing long-range global trends and determining what they mean to leaders in government, business, and civil society. He has provided riveting presentations in more than 40 countries about the current and future implications of sweeping change for organizations across the board.

As the director of A.T. Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council, Peterson advises the world’s top CEOs and business-minded thought leaders. His work focuses on approaches and solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. Prior to joining A.T. Kearney, he served as senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and as director of research at Kissinger Associates. The author of numerous publications, Peterson including one on global strategic trends and their impact on global business-from the changing nature of production in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to new forces shaping supply chain management to emerging challenges to labor to policy and regulatory variables. His recent writings have focused on foreign investment trends, the attitudes of business leaders around the world, how cities are rising to the challenge of changing circumstances, the impact of Brexit, shifts in global supply chain management, the global economic outlook, and global trends.  Peterson was a part of A.T. Kearney’s recent work with the World Economic Forum on the Future of Production, which assessed the impact of take-off technologies including artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, advanced robotics, 3D printing, and augmented reality.

Peterson currently serves on the Board of A.T. Kearney’s recently established Energy Transition Institute, a non-profit group with the mandate of providing decision-makers with strategic recommendations based on objective research combining deep technology expertise with business acumen and foresight.  He has also served on several advisory boards and judging panels, including the Center for Global Business Studies at Pennsylvania State University, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and the Gerald R. Ford Foundation prize in national security reporting. In past years, Peterson was a fellow of the World Economic Forum and a member of the Forum’s Global Risk Network.  Peterson received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, his MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and his BA from Colby College. He holds the Certificate of Eastern European Studies from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and the Certificate in International Legal Studies from The Hague Academy of International Law (The Netherlands). Most recently, he received a certificate in scenario-based planning from the Said School at Oxford University.

Mrs. Peters has worked with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) since October 2018. She previously worked for SHRM’s former affiliate the Council for Global Immigration (CFGI) in the Washington DC metro-area for nearly fifteen years, helping to advance high skilled immigration and employment verification reforms with the U.S. Congress, the White House and the federal agencies. She has served as a chair of the policy committee of the Compete America coalition. She also serves on other coalitions and working groups to educate and advance immigration system efficiencies and to ensure critical changes to employer immigration compliance are reasonable.

Theodore Wold is a Special Assistant to the President for Policy in the Office of American Innovation.  He holds a B.A. from Georgetown University, where he studied government and English, an M. Litt. from the University of St. Andrews, where he studied English literature, and J.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Wold clerked at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for Judge Janice Rogers Brown and the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico for Judge Jose Antonio Fuste. He has also lectured at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala.