Date: Tuesday, 06 October 2009

After nine months in office, the Obama administration has brought renewed attention to the Asia-Pacific region. However, American policy is only beginning to take form, and a number of critical issues have yet to be addressed. Among these is how the administration will deepen engagement with China even as critical areas of contention remain. And as U.S. policy moves forward, what are the implications for Taiwan? AmCham is honored to have Nathanial Fick, who has succeeded Kurt Campbell as CEO of The Center for a New American Security (CNAS), to speak on this subject.

CNAS is located in Washington, DC, and was established in February 2007 by Co-founders Kurt Campbell and Michele Flournoy. Campbell, who has been one of AmCham's regular Doorknock contacts for many years, is now Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific.

As an independent and nonpartisan research institution, CNAS engages policymakers, experts and the public with innovative fact-based research, ideas and analysis to shape and elevate discussion of national security and foreign policy issues.

About the Speaker(s)

Nathaniel C. Fick was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) in June 2009. He was previously the Chief Operating Officer of CNAS and has been a Fellow at the Center since its founding in 2007. Prior to joining CNAS, Fick served as a Marine Corps infantry officer.

Fick spoke at Denver’s Invesco Field at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and later served on the Presidential Transition Team at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He is the author of the 2005 New York Times bestseller One Bullet Away, recognized as one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The Washington Post.

He holds an A.B. degree with high honors in Classics and Government from Dartmouth, an MPA in International Security Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he was a Dean’s Fellow, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.