ANA MARIA SALAZAR SLACKShe is a recognized national security and public security expert on Latin America. Ana Maria is a popular speaker at business, government and academic forums.
Media Experience: She writes a weekly column for El Universal, El Informador, El Imparcial and other major Mexican newspapers and “La Opinión” in California. She anchors two popular English speaking nation-wide radios news programs in Mexico: “Living in Mexico” and “Imagen News” in addition to hosting a weekly TV show in Spanish, “Seguridad Total” on Channel 40.
Author: She is the author of various books: “El Enemigo en Casa” co written with Jorge Fernandez Menendez (Taurus 2008) Seguridad Nacional Hoy: El Sexenio de Calderón y los nuevos problemas” (Punto de Lectura 2008) “La Guerras que Vienen ” (Aguilar/Nuevo Siglo 2003) and the bestseller “Seguridad Nacional Hoy. El Reto de las Democracias” (Aguilar/Nuevo Siglo 2002).
Government Experience: Before moving to Mexico in 2001, she held various high-level political appointments in the US government. Between June 1998 and January 2001, Ms. Salazar served at the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Drug Enforcement Policy and Support. As a result of her efforts at the Pentagon, in 2000 Ms. Salazar was recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 most influential Hispanic Americans in the United States. Prior to joining the Pentagon, Ms. Salazar served at the White House as Policy Advisor for President Clinton’s Special Envoy for the Americas in 1998 and from March 1995 to June 1997, she served in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
Ms. Salazar has also worked and lived in Latin America. In Colombia she served as the Judicial Attaché at the United States Embassy in Bogotá, coordinating evidence and information requests between the United States and the relevant Colombian agencies. She also has supervised multi-million dollar projects designed to improve the administration of justice in Colombia and Guatemala.
Other professional experience: In addition to her work in the media, Ms. Salazar heads Grupo Salazar, an international consulting firm that specializes on leadership, negotiation and mediation training (www.gruposalazar.com).
Education and Affiliations: Ms. Salazar received her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1989 and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and in the District of Columbia and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Awards: She has received numerous awards including the Premio Latinoamericano por la Vida y Seguridad de la Coalición Contra el Trafico de Mujeres y Niños from the ONU in 2010, "Medal for Outstanding Public Service" and the "Joint Meritorious Award" by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the "Medalla Militar-Ministerio de Defensa" by the Colombian President, and the "Orden Naval Almirante Padilla" by the Colombian Navy. In 2000 Ms. Salazar was recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 most influential Hispanic Americans in the United States. She also was awarded the prestigious Henry G. Bennett Fellow from Oklahoma State University in 2006.
Awards: She has received numerous awards including the Premio Latinoamericano por la Vida y Seguridad de la Coalición Contra el Trafico de Mujeres y Niños from the ONU in 2010, "Medal for Outstanding Public Service" and the "Joint Meritorious Award" by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the "Medalla Militar-Ministerio de Defensa" by the Colombian President, and the "Orden Naval Almirante Padilla" by the Colombian Navy. In 2000 Ms. Salazar was recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 most influential Hispanic Americans in the United States. She also was awarded the prestigious Henry G. Bennett Fellow from Oklahoma State University in 2006.
Contact Information: amsalazar@post.harvard.edu, www.anamariasalazar.com, @amsalazar, FB: Ana Maria Salazar Slack
