Join us for Asia Society Policy Institute's upcoming event: "Will U.S. Leadership in Asia and the World Last?" with former Deputy Secretaries of State, the Honorable Wendy Sherman and the Honorable Stephen Biegun. The conversation will be moderated by ASPI VP Daniel R. Russel. 

Speakers

Wendy R. Sherman, the 21st  U.S. Deputy Secretary of State and the first woman in that position, has been, in her long career, a diplomat, businesswoman, professor, political strategist, author, broadcast analyst and social worker. 

Ambassador Sherman served under three presidents and five secretaries of state, becoming known as the diplomat for ‘hard conversations in hard places.’ As Deputy Secretary, Sherman was the point person on China. When Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Sherman led the U.S. negotiating team that reached an agreement on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between the P5+1, the European Union and Iran.  And, as Counselor at the State Department, Sherman led on North Korea and was engaged on Middle East negotiations. President Barack Obama awarded Sherman the National Security Medal for her diplomatic accomplishments.

Prior to becoming Deputy Secretary, Sherman was Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School, as well as a Senior Fellow at the School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and a professor of the practice of public leadership. 

In 2002, along with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Sherman built a global consulting business, The Albright Group, where she served as vice-chair for a decade and later returned as Senior Counselor to then the Albright Stonebridge Group.

Sherman previously served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, chaired Oxfam America’s Board of Directors, served on the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Policy Board, successfully managed a campaign for U.S. Senate, and was Director of Child Welfare for the State of Maryland.

Wendy R. Sherman has been a frequent commentator on television and radio and is the author of “Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence”.

Sherman attended Smith College and received a B.A. cum laude from Boston University and a Master’s degree in Social Work, Phi Kappa Phi, from the University of Maryland.  She is married to Bruce Stokes and has a daughter and two grandsons.

Stephen E. Biegun is senior vice president of Global Public Policy at The Boeing Company. In this role, he is responsible for advising and executing on Boeing’s global public policy matters in support of the company’s priorities and optimizing relationships with key stakeholders in the U.S. and around the world. He is also a member of the company’s Executive Council.

Prior to Boeing, Stephen served as senior advisor at Macro Advisory Partners since 2021 assisting corporate leaders in minimizing geopolitical risk and business disruption in global markets. He has more than three decades of international affairs experience in government and the private sector, including high-level government service with the Department of State, the White House and the United States Congress.

In 2021, Stephen concluded his most recent government service as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, to which he was confirmed by the Senate with a strong bipartisan vote of 90-3. Earlier, Stephen served for 15 years as a corporate vice president with Ford Motor Company.

Stephen began his career as an international affairs specialist with the United States Congress, serving in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives with a focus on Russia, the former Soviet Union, and Europe, and ultimately rising to a number of senior-level positions including as chief of staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as the national security advisor to the Senate Majority Leader. He served two years as the Executive Secretary of the White House National Security Council, serving as an advisor and deputy to the National Security Advisor. From 1992-94, he was the Resident Program Director in the Russian Federation for the International Republican Institute.

Stephen has volunteered as a board member for several international, national and local non-profit organizations. He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and has led mentoring programs for next generation United States foreign policy and national security leaders.

Daniel Russel (moderator) is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat in Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Mr. Russel served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region.

Prior to joining the NSC in January of 2009, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs and had assignments as U.S. Consul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan (2005-2008); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands (2002-2005); Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus (1999-2002); Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering (1997-99); Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs (1995-96); Political Section Unit Chief at U.S. Embassy Seoul, Republic of Korea (1992-95); Political Advisor to the Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Pickering (1989-92); Vice Consul in Osaka and Branch Office Manager in Nagoya, Japan (1987-89); and Assistant to the Ambassador to Japan, former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (1985-87).

In 1996, Mr. Russel was awarded the State Department's Una Chapman Cox Fellowship sabbatical and authored America’s Place in the World, a book published by Georgetown University. Before joining the Foreign Service, he was manager for an international firm in New York City.

Mr. Russel was educated at Sarah Lawrence College and University College, University of London, UK.