The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board welcomed four new members at its quarterly meeting in Washington, D.C. on September 16, 2011.

The new members, appointed by President Obama, are Susan Ness, Betty Castor, Tom Healy, and Ambassador Gabriel Guerra-Mondragón.

Susan Ness is the founder of Susan Ness Strategies, a communications policy consulting firm, and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. From 1994 to 2001, Ness was a member of the Federal Communications Commission, having been appointed by President Clinton. Previously, she was corporate vice president of the American Security Bank, specializing in the telecom and media sectors, and assistant counsel to the Banking Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Betty Castor is the former President of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Prior to her tenure as President from 1994 to 1999, she was the Florida Commissioner of Education for seven years and the first woman ever elected to the Florida Cabinet. She began her career in education as a secondary school teacher in Uganda, East Africa, and continues to support the Teachers for East Africa Alumni Foundation.

Tom Healy is a poet and writer as well as a professor at New York University. He served as President of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and received the 2006 New York City Arts Award from Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his work to rebuild the downtown art community after 9/11. Healy served on the White House Council on HIV/AIDS during the Clinton Administration and has remained engaged in AIDS and microfinance projects across the world.

Gabriel Guerra-Mondragón is President of his own international consulting firm, Guerra and Associates. Ambassador Guerra-Mondragon served as the United States Ambassador to Chile from 1994 until 1998. He was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer at the Department of State for 14 years during which he served as staff assistant to the U.S. Secretary of State and Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world.

The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board was established by the U.S. Congress for the purpose of supervising the Fulbright Program and establishing worldwide policies. The Board selects students, scholars, teachers, and others to participate in the educational exchange programs. Appointed by the President of the United States, the 12-member Board meets quarterly in Washington, D.C.

For further information please email fsb@state.gov.