A U.S. State Department official who helps direct the nation’s policy and programs on assisting refugees will bring his expertise on global migration and displaced persons to the next Cazenovia Forum, scheduled for next Friday, September 8.Ambassador Mark Storella’s presentation, The Global Refugee Crisis, will take place at 7:00pm at the Catherine Cummings Theatre on Lincklaen Street in Cazenovia. Admission is free, no reservations are required and audience members are invited to join the speaker for a post-event reception at the nearby Lincklaen House hotel.
Ambassador Storella is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. He is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with more than 30 years of diplomatic service, including as U.S. ambassador to Zambia and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Belgium, where he was deeply involved in counterterrorism efforts. He previously served as Senior Coordinator for Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons at the American embassy in Baghdad.
He has also served as Counselor for Refugee and Migration Affairs and subsequently as Deputy Permanent Representative at the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2006-2009. In that capacity, he engaged with more than 50 United Nations agencies and international organizations, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration and the International Federation of the Red Cross.
Ambassador Storella is the recipient of several State Department Superior and Meritorious Honor awards. He is also the recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Award presented by American Citizens Abroad and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Excellence in Service Award. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and has written on such diverse topics as multilateral arms control and humanitarian action in conflict situations.