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ASU Alum Featured As Business Symposium Speaker

November 03, 2011

Angelo State University alum Chris Whatley, office director of the Council of State Governments (CSG) in Washington, D.C., will be the keynote speaker for ASU’s 13th annual International Business Symposium on Thursday, Nov. 17, in the Houston Harte University Center, 1910 Rosemont Drive.

Whatley’s presentation, “From Global to Local: How Changes in the World Economy Will Shape the Future for Commodities, States and Students,” will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the University Center’s C.J. Davidson Conference Center. The symposium is open free to the public as part of ASU’s celebration of International Education Week.

A 1991 ASU graduate, Whatley has been office director for CSG, the oldest and largest association of state-elected officials in the U.S., since 2008. Responsible for the council’s federal advocacy and international outreach, he leads a rapid response effort to provide state leaders with analysis on funding opportunities and potential budget implications of both the Recovery Act (ARRA) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

Prior to becoming office director, Whatley was CSG’s director for international programs for nearly eight years. In that post, he was responsible for coordinating all of CSG’s international activities, including efforts to promote multi-state cooperation in trade promotion and cross-border cooperation with Canada and Mexico. He also led a successful advocacy campaign to exempt state economic development agencies from fee increases imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and worked closely with the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and the United States Trade Representative to advance state interests in trade policy.

Before joining CSG, Whatley spent six years as a program officer and field representative for the International Republican Institute. From 1995-96, he was based in Johannesburg as the director of an initiative to assist the constitutional development process in South Africa. From 1997-2000, he led a variety of international election observation missions and technical assistance programs in Liberia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

As an expert in his field, Whatley has testified in 15 states, appeared on CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN, and been quoted in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and a variety of regional newspapers. He holds a master’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.

The International Business Symposium is sponsored by the Small Business Development Center, the Center for International Studies, the College of Business and Gary Rodgers of Rodgers Capital, Inc. For more information, contact Dr. Sharynn Tomlin, director of the Center for International Studies and professor of international business, at 325-942-2304, ext. 231 or sharynn.tomlin@angelo.edu.