MEMBERS OF THE U.S.-UKRAINE BUSINESS COUNCIL (USUBC) WELCOMED THE NEW OFFICERS IN THE COMMERCIAL SERVICE & ECONOMIC AFFAIRS SECTIONS AT

THE U.S. EMBASSY IN UKRAINE

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), www.USUBC.org held a webinar on Tuesday, September 29, with its U.S. based company members, to introduce them to the 5 new officers in the Commercial Service and Economic Affairs Sections of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. The five officers introduced themselves to the more than 40 persons who attended.  Over 20 companies then introduced themselves to the five officers by describing their operations in Kyiv and some of the key issues they face.

Some of the USUBC member companies who participated in the USUBC webinar and spoke were:  ADM, Amsted Seals and Forming, Argentem Creek Partners, Bayer (Monsanto Ukraine), BGR Group, Bunge, CNH Industrial, COSA Intelligence Solutions, Cub Energy, Delta Airlines, DLA Piper, Energy Resources of Ukraine (ERU), EuroAtlantic Partners, Great Plains International, Groszhans LLC, Shell, Wabtec (GE Transportation), and Westinghouse. 

The five new Embassy officers have had a wide variety of world-wide assignments before coming to Ukraine.  They have worked in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Moldova, Slovenia, Southeast Europe, Sweden, Uruguay, West Africa.  The members of USUBC look forward to working with the five officers.

BIOS FOR THE FIVE NEW U.S. EMBASSY OFFICERS

(1) Sean Timmins, Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine -
Sean Timmins is a Commercial Officer who just arrived to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine for a three-year assignment. 
His first tour was at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia where he covered the aviation, defense, fintech, ACE, education and ICT sectors.  He joined the officer corps in 2015 after ten years as a civil servant working in various positions within the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In addition to his government experience, Sean spent two years with a small international development consulting firm where he provided home office management of USAID economic growth projects in Southeast Europe and West Africa.  He holds an MA from GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs and a BA in Political Science and German from St. John’s University in Minnesota.  He speaks Russian, Bahasa Indonesian, Slovak and German.  

(2) Aaron Easlick, Economic Officer, Economic Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine -

Aaron C. Easlick has been with U.S. Department of State since Sep 2016, currently covering issues related to trade and investment in U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. He previously served as Consular Officer in Kazakhstan. From 2012 to 2016 he worked for DTE Energy in Detroit, Mi, managing financial/strategic issues related to power generation and renewable energy.

Aaron also had a 1 year MBA Internship in OPIC (Now DFC), where he worked in the SME finance and investment funds groups from 2011 to 2012 in Washington D.C. His professional profile also includes managing renewable energy start-up, and financial analysis (2006-2011) From 2001 to 2008 Aaron served in military operations for U.S. Army National Guard in Baghdad, Iraq.
He holds BBA from Western Michigan University and MBA from Georgetown University.

(3) Greg Ventresca, Economic Officer, Economic Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine -
Greg Ventresca is an Economic officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.  Greg’s portfolio includes agriculture, aviation, defense, and infrastructure, as well as privatization.  Greg previously served as a political officer in Stockholm, the multilateral affairs officer in the Office of Iraq Affairs, the desk officer for Austria and Slovenia, and the special assistant to the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations.  Greg also served as the non-immigrant visa chief in the U.S. Embassy in Uruguay.  Prior to joining the State Department, Greg worked in the healthcare biotechnology industry.

(4) Samuel Mikhelson, Macroeconomic Unit Chief, Economic Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine -
Sam Mikhelson recently arrived in Kyiv to serve as the Economic Section's Macroeconomic Unit Chief.  He has been with the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service since 2005.  He was previously posted to Kazakhstan, Germany, Moldova, and most recently, Bulgaria, where he was the Deputy Chief of the Political/Economic Section.  His Washington assignments included the State Department's Economic Bureau and the Treasury Department's Office of Europe and Eurasia.  He studied economics at Cornell University and law at Fordham University.

(5) Timothy Johnson, Economic Officer, Economic Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine -
Tim Johnson is an Economic Officer at the United States Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.  His past State Department assignments have included the Office of Korean Affairs in Washington, Embassy Tokyo, Japan and Embassy Lilongwe, Malawi.  Prior to joining the State Department, Tim was a corporate attorney in private practice working in New York and Tokyo. 

He has also served as a Law Clerk to Senior U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.  Prior to attending the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, VA, Tim developed and managed programs in support of democratic institutions in Asia for an international non-governmental organization.  Tim holds a B.A. from Carleton College in Northfield, MN.