Sunday, September 10, 2023

AILA-GMS Annual Global Migration Forum


 

Juan Carlos Benitez has held various legal and executive positions in different institutions over the past 30 years. Currently, he serves as the alternate director at the Guam Chamber of Commerce and as the president of Washington Pacific Economic Development in Hagatna. Juan Carlos Benitez is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).


Established in 1946, AILA is a non-profit bar association comprised of attorneys and law professors specializing in immigration law. The association offers its members continuing legal education, professional services, information, and expertise. It also advocates for the immigration-related interests of its clients and society. Each year, AILA and its Global Migration Section (GMS) organize а global migration forum at various locations in the United States.


The AILA/GMS Global Migration Forum addresses different aspects of global migration, covering topics like the current state of migration, global corporate transactions, managing migration practices, ethical considerations, the impact of technology on migration, and ways practitioners can improve their global citizenship. It also allows attendees and immigration practitioners to meet and connect with peers and form new networks.


Moreover, the forum offers tuition assistance for continuing legal education programs to employed and unemployed attorneys and law students. Assistance is granted based on need and availability, with priority given to first-time applicants.

Thursday, February 23, 2023

US Defense Department Launches Office of Strategic Capital

 

An alternate director at the Guam Chamber of Commerce, Juan Carlos Benitez is the president of Washington Pacific Economic Development Group, LLC. An attorney by training, Juan Carlos Benitez served as an advisor in US President George W. Bush’s administration and has expertise in territorial matters and US national defense.

On Dec. 1, 2022, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III announced the establishment of the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) at the Department of Defense (DOD). The new office will strengthen the country’s technological advantage in defense by focusing private capital into the development of critical technologies.

The United States’ technological advancement has long been the foundation of the country’s military superiority. To maintain this advantage, the Department of Defense must continuously develop and scale important technologies in quantum science, biotech, and advanced materials. However, it takes considerable investment to move such technologies from ideation in the laboratory to mass production. The Defense Secretary is building OSC to bridge that financing gap.

OSC has a mandate to identify promising technology areas in academia and industry and prioritize funding for these areas. The office will promote funding either internally, through the DOD, or externally through partnerships with the private sector. OSC will also contribute to developing and implementing policies that advance private sector industrial capabilities.