Ronald V. Dellums

- Chairman of the International Government Affair Board

A life-long advocate of peace and social justice, Ron Dellums served for 27 years as an outspoken and highly respected member of the US House of Representatives. Initially seeking a life in education, community activism and social work, Mr. Dellums was called to public office in 1967. His tenure in politics has been defined by a strong adherence to the principles of social justice, community activism and peace as viable and necessary national and international pursuits. In 2007, Mr. Dellums returned to public office as the Mayor of Oakland, California.

Born in Oakland, Mr. Dellums served in the United States Marine Corps, before going on to earn an AA from Oakland City College, a BA from San Francisco State University, and a MSW in psychiatric social work from the University of California, Berkeley. After completing his degrees, Mr. Dellums worked as a psychiatric social worker and in various anti-poverty programs. He served on the Berkeley City Council from 1967 until 1970. He then went on to win a seat to the US Congress, serving from 1971 until 1998.

Throughout his career, Mr. Dellums has brought parties together, removed obstacles, and gotten things done. He has advised world leaders on sensitive matters of global peace and national security in the Middle East, Cuba, South Africa, Haiti, and Bosnia, achieving important outcomes for the international community. At a local level, when the Port of Oakland dredging was stalled, he brought the parties together and found solutions acceptable to the previously warring interests of the Port, the environmental community, labor, and the Corps of Engineers. Similarly, Mr. Dellums was instrumental in resolving countless labor disputes, including an intractable garbage dispute between Waste Management and the Teamsters, as well as a threatened strike of 1,000 Port truck drivers.

Mr. Dellums is currently the President of The Dellums Institute: Partners for Global Health and Justice, an “action tank” to train the new generation of social justice leaders and convene non-traditional partners to work together on tackling major world problems of climate change, youth disenfranchisement, health disparities, and poverty. He also serves as Chair of the Dellums Commission on the Status of Boys and Men of Color, reconvened by the National Collaborative on Health Equity.

Melvin P. Foote

- Special Senior Advisor

Mr. Melvin P. Foote is a pioneer in the field of African Affairs. He has over 35 years of experience and has worked in over 30 African countries. And he is recognized as a leading expert on issues related to African policies and programs.

Mr. Foote founded the Constituency for Africa (CFA) in 1990, in order to establish a network of organizations, groups and individuals committed to the progress and empowerment of Africa and African people worldwide. CFA’s mission is to build public and private support for Africa, and to help shape a progressive U.S. policy towards Africa.

Mr. Foote is also the founder of a dynamic CFA-related program called the African American Unity Caucus (AAUC). The AAUC is a broad-based coalition of African-American and African leaders of Africa-focused organizations and groups, to promote pan-Africanism and to link Diaspora leaders in the Western Hemisphere with the African Union (AU), the coordinating forum of the nations of Africa. Further, Mr. Foote serves as an advisor to the African Union’s Ambassador to Washington and as a consultant to the World Bank on African Diaspora issues.

Mr. Foote has participated in numerous high-level missions to Africa, including as a participant on a White House delegation to assess the genocide in Rwanda in 1994; as part of a high profiled team that sought to end the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998; as a member of a Presidential mission to five African countries in 1998 to promote U.S. trade with Africa and the African Growth and Opportunity Act; as the leader of a mission to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in Sudan in 2001; and as the leader of a delegation to South Africa in 2003 to assess the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), a continent-wide initiative to promote economic integration and development.

Mr. Foote is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions that include the “Order of the Lion” Award in 1998, which is the highest public service honor of the Government of Senegal, and the Congressional Black Caucus 2001 Annual Legislative Conference’s Diggs Award for Foreign Affairs in recognition of his outstanding commitment and achievement on issues and concerns pertaining to Africa. Mr. Foote is a regularly requested speaker on radio and television as well as a prolific writer of articles and editorials featured in newspapers and magazines across America.

Prior to founding CFA, Foote served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer and teacher in Ethiopia and Eritrea from 1973-1976. From 1981-1984, he served as Africare’s Representative in Somalia. From 1984-1994, Mr. Foote worked in Africare’s Washington headquarters as their Director of Constituency Development, which led to the founding of CFA. 

Jacques P. Walker

- President of The International Government Affairs Board

Mr. Walker is an experienced entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience successfully developing, managing, and executing commercial initiatives in the United States and in emerging markets worldwide. In addition to his work in the U.S., Mr. Walker has focused extensively on markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, and has worked in over 18 African countries.

Mr. Walker serves as a Senior Advisor to the Constituency for Africa (CFA), one of the leading organizations in the United States committed to educating and mobilizing the U.S. public on matters pertaining to Africa and the African Diaspora. For CFA, Mr. Walker helps plan, develop, and manage major CFA initiatives, including the annual Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series. Mr. Walker actively engages with CFA’s sponsors and stakeholders in the public sector, private sector, civil society, academia, and the media.

Mr. Walker co-founded and serves as Chief Operations Officer of an integrated energy company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Walker’s responsibilities include helping shape overall corporate strategy, managing the company’s operations, directing the company’s Oil & Gas Business Unit, developing and managing multiple strategic partnerships, and providing client support services. Mr. Walker led the firm’s efforts to win two major Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a $4.1 billion acquisition program, as well as other federal government contracts.

Mr. Walker previously worked as a principal and senior consultant with an international consulting firm in Washington, DC. Mr. Walker’s responsibilities included developing corporate strategy, managing the company’s day-to-day operations, and managing the company’s international project portfolio. Mr. Walker provided clients with market analysis, economic analysis, risk analysis, and business development services in emerging markets, with a particular focus in Sub-Saharan Africa. His clients included the world’s largest Oil & Gas engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor, and one of the world’s largest project management/infrastructure development firms.

Mr. Walker previously co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of a consulting firm that provided strategic advisory services, management consulting, business development, and project development services to public and private-sector clients globally. One of Mr. Walker’s clients was a manufacturer of generic and essential drugs, including analgesics, anti-allergics, anti-bacterials, anti-malarial, antihelminitics, and other pharmaceutical and botanical products on the World Health Organization’s essential drug list. At the time of Mr. Walker’s engagement with this client, this pharmaceutical company had successfully registered over 24 products in almost 20 African countries. In an effort to help this company expand its operations throughout Africa, Mr. Walker worked as a member of a team of consultants to structure a $250 million, three-party Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the pharmaceutical company, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), and the Republic of Ghana. This MOU was part of Ex-Im Bank’s $1 billion program to support Africa's fight against HIV/AIDS. Mr. Walker graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Jacques P. Walker

- President of The International Government Affairs Board

Mr. Walker is an experienced entrepreneur with over twenty years of experience successfully developing, managing, and executing commercial initiatives in the United States and in emerging markets worldwide. In addition to his work in the U.S., Mr. Walker has focused extensively on markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, and has worked in over 18 African countries.

Mr. Walker serves as a Senior Advisor to the Constituency for Africa (CFA), one of the leading organizations in the United States committed to educating and mobilizing the U.S. public on matters pertaining to Africa and the African Diaspora. For CFA, Mr. Walker helps plan, develop, and manage major CFA initiatives, including the annual Ronald H. Brown African Affairs Series. Mr. Walker actively engages with CFA’s sponsors and stakeholders in the public sector, private sector, civil society, academia, and the media.

Mr. Walker co-founded and serves as Chief Operations Officer of an integrated energy company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Walker’s responsibilities include helping shape overall corporate strategy, managing the company’s operations, directing the company’s Oil & Gas Business Unit, developing and managing multiple strategic partnerships, and providing client support services. Mr. Walker led the firm’s efforts to win two major Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of a $4.1 billion acquisition program, as well as other federal government contracts.

Mr. Walker previously worked as a principal and senior consultant with an international consulting firm in Washington, DC. Mr. Walker’s responsibilities included developing corporate strategy, managing the company’s day-to-day operations, and managing the company’s international project portfolio. Mr. Walker provided clients with market analysis, economic analysis, risk analysis, and business development services in emerging markets, with a particular focus in Sub-Saharan Africa. His clients included the world’s largest Oil & Gas engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor, and one of the world’s largest project management/infrastructure development firms.

Mr. Walker previously co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of a consulting firm that provided strategic advisory services, management consulting, business development, and project development services to public and private-sector clients globally. One of Mr. Walker’s clients was a manufacturer of generic and essential drugs, including analgesics, anti-allergics, anti-bacterials, anti-malarial, antihelminitics, and other pharmaceutical and botanical products on the World Health Organization’s essential drug list. At the time of Mr. Walker’s engagement with this client, this pharmaceutical company had successfully registered over 24 products in almost 20 African countries. In an effort to help this company expand its operations throughout Africa, Mr. Walker worked as a member of a team of consultants to structure a $250 million, three-party Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the pharmaceutical company, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), and the Republic of Ghana. This MOU was part of Ex-Im Bank’s $1 billion program to support Africa's fight against HIV/AIDS. Mr. Walker graduated with a B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.