APEC Priority Areas For 2020 [By Invitation]

What to expect and look for as APEC 2020 shapes up? Coming off the Informal Senior Officials (ISOM) meeting in Langkawi Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary for ASEAN, Sandra Oudkirk and Alex Parle from NCAPEC will meet with AMCHAM members and guests to provide a short de-brief on priorities and to listen to questions about the upcoming year.

For more information, please email us at [email protected]

Sandra Oudkirk, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, joined the Department of State in 1991 and joined the Bureau of East Asian & Pacific Affairs as U.S. Senior Official for APEC and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands in May 2019.  Immediately prior, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Diplomacy in the Energy Bureau.  From 2017-2018 she served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Threat Finance and Sanctions in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.  Her previous overseas assignments include consular assignments at AIT/Taipei and Embassy Dublin as well as two assignments in Turkey (trade officer in Ankara 1999-2001 and Deputy Principal Officer in Istanbul 2006-2009), a tour as Narcotics Affairs Section Chief in Kingston, Jamaica and an assignment as the economic counselor in Beijing. She has also served as the East Asian & Pacific Bureau staff assistant, the Burma/Laos desk officer, as a Senior Watch Officer in the Operations Center, and as the Director for the Middle East and Asia in the Energy Bureau.

Ms. Oudkirk was born and raised in Tampa, Florida and is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.  She speaks Mandarin Chinese and Turkish.

Alex Parle joined the National Center for APEC as Program Manager in July 2003 and served in several policy and program-focused roles before being named Executive Vice President in 2013. In his current role he oversees NCAPEC’s policy advocacy efforts, communications function and engagement with the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). Alex is also responsible for NCAPEC’s external relations, including with governments and other business organizations in APEC economies. During the U.S. hosting of APEC in 2011, Alex served a one-year term as Executive Director of the APEC Business Advisory Council, an advisory body which comprises three senior executives from each APEC member economy.
Prior to joining NCAPEC, Alex supported the human resources function during the design and construction phases of Universal Studios Japan, a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. He also worked for the Kobe municipal government for three years in support of the city’s international relations efforts.

He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Japanese Studies and Organizational Psychology from Central Washington University and also studied Japanese language at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.