Earl Anthony  Wayne was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in a ceremony in the U.S. State Department on September 6, 2011

One of this country’s leading scholars on Peru, Professor Carol Wise will be witnessing the inauguration of President Ollanta Humala on July 28, 2011.

Don Gaspar Xiu is a professor and former President of the Supreme Maya Council.

Teodoro Petkoff is one of the leading political figures in recent Venezuelan history. His career began in the left-wing rebellion movements during the 60s, as a member of the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV).

They are Mexico's poorest women, indigenous women living in impoverished mountain villages in Michoacan who have been abandoned, forgotten and often exploited.

Mr. Heraldo Muñoz will answer some of the most relevant challenging demands for Latin America today: How to break the vicious cycle of inequality in the region? What public policies can be designed to prevent further transmission of inequality from one generation to another? How to improve public safety? How to fight crime, youth violence, organized crime and drug trafficking by strengthening the rule of law?

A conversation and discussion on Dr. Muñoz’s book, “The Dictator's Shadow: Life Under Augusto Pinochet,” a fascinating insider’s account of the brutal leader's 17-year rule.

Beatriz Paredes was elected to Mexico’s lower House of Congress in 2009 and presides over the National Executive Committee of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

Coordinator of the Parliamentary Group of the National Action Party / Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) in the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico.

President Barack Obama appointed Alan Bersin as the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on March 27, 2010, from where he oversees the operations of CBP’s 57,000 employees and manages a budget of more than $11 billion. He can serve through 2011.

Moderator: Jeremy Martin, Energy Program Director, Institute of the Americas

Pemex’s adoption of important measures based upon the nation’s energy reform signed into law in 2008 is ongoing, and Mexico’s notably successful oil price hedges of recent years has boosted the industry. But, the company and nation are also dealing with the fallout from the Deepwater Horizon accident in the US Gulf and the ever-present oil production challenges and the dwindling output of the Cantarell field.

John Feeley is a State Department Senior Foreign Service officer who has focused much of his diplomatic career working on Western Hemisphere issues both in Washington and in the region. He assumed his current position as DCM (Minister Counselor) in Mexico in July 2009. Previously he served as the Department’s Director for Central American Affairs. Prior to that assignment, he was a Deputy Executive Secretary in the Office of the Secretary of State, where he was responsible for managing information flow to Secretaries Powell and Rice, as well as coordinating their overseas travel.

Mr. Torreblanca was elected Mayor of the City of Acapulco. Then, in 2004, he won the PRD candidacy for governor. His term ends in 2011. Governor Torreblanca is a public accountant and has served in numerous positions in the Canaco-Servytur in Acapulco and nationally. He has also served as business representative in the Advisory Commission of the National Institute for Housing Development (Infonavit), and in various other public capacities involving finance, economic and business development.

Journalist and author Tyche Hendricks will give a presentation on her book, "The Wind Doesn't Need a Passport: Stories from the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands," published in May 2010 by the California University Press.

Lawrence A. Alexander, Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law
Donald A. Dripps, Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law
Maimon Schwarzschild,  Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law

Moderated by: Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, President, Institute of the Americas

Ambassador Shapiro served as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and is currently Senior Advisor for Economic Initiatives in the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Haiti is slowly returning to life, Janine Schooley, senior vice president of programs for Project Concern International,  presentation at the Institute of the Americas.

Political analyst and journalist Denise Dresser spoke at the Institute of the Americas on Jan. 20 about Mexico’s political and economic reforms to an audience of nearly 150 people who braved torrential rain to hear her remarks.

Sergio Sarmiento is one of Mexico's most distinguished journalists and editors. He began publishing opinion pieces in magazines and newspapers at age 17, before he received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from York University of Toronto, Canada. At 24 he was appointed editor-in-chief in Latin America of Encyclopaedia Britannica Publishers, Inc.