By: Caroline John - Published: November 13, 2019 at 5:43 am | Last Updated: New York, NY 10036-6518; Peer Reviews. Chang did not respond to a request for comment. She is based in Washington. Mina Chang is a deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations (US Department of State) A senior State Department 's impressive resume appears. Locally, she "became very visible, very quickly," said Susan Posnick, who knew her at the time and hired her for six months to be the face of Posnick's makeup company. Mou Abdou, Founder and Host of 33voices, Cover for the Observer 'People of the Year' Issue, In the third People Issue for the Observer Magazine, Linking the World CEO Mina Chang was named as one of the 'People of the Year.' The Rise of Mina Chang, Ex-Singer, Trump Official With - Insider Dallas' independent source of Charlotte Greco grew up in the Boston area and joined the Harvard Law School community in 2022 as the Program Manager for the Program on Biblical Law and Christian Legal Studies. That bio is still posted on the State Departments website at the time of this publication. But it's unclear precisely what contributions her organization made to relief efforts. asks the interviewer, who hosts a YouTube show. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. "It was like trying to weave a narrative out of whole cloth," said someone familiar with Chang's nonprofit. We create broad awareness of Americas unique role in the world. There was one for the event production company she started at age 24, another site for her recording career. "[7] However, she did attend a university in Hawaii called the University of the Nations, an unaccredited Christian educational institution that specializes in International Development or cross-cultural missions. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Trump administration has consistently failed to thoroughly screen candidates for senior posts. [13][18], On November 18, 2019, Chang resigned from her role at the United States Department of State. While advocacy efforts include making our opinion known in regards to proposed policies, laws, and regulations, we also promote very specific policies. Harvard Business School spokesperson Mark Cautela said the school grants "alumni status" to anyone who attends certain executive education programs, even without having earned a degree there. She was raised in inner-city Atlanta, which shaped her beliefs about the importance of education. But there's no record backing up her claim and a source with knowledge of the matter said she was not part of the "panel," which was a single public roundtable. Chang cultivated an active social media profile, presenting herself as a globe-trotting humanitarian, and appeared at well-heeled charity dinners in Dallas, including a "Women That Soar" dinner and a Dallas Opera event. Rest assured, we will not stop our work, whether that be at the State Department, Linking the World, or as individuals. Her prior experience includes roles in university admissions, event coordination, office management, staffing, and non-profit . If youre looking for what she included in her inflated rsum, our Mina Chang wiki has all the details and more. So, for clarity, Mina is very happily engaged to the ever so wonderful Jake Harriman. As some of you will have seen, on November 13, NBC News published an article that questioned our former CEOs character, background and education, alongside the work of Linking the World. So, shame on you Mr. De Luce. ". Chang represented the cover as genuine and replied: "We started using drone technology in disaster response, and so that was when the whole talk of how is technology being used to save lives in disaster response scenarios and I suppose I brought some attention to that". Dont Miss:Britainy Beshear Wiki,New Kentucky Governor Andy Beshears Wife. The State Department vetting is supposed to examine tax returns, any unexplained wealth, social media accounts, the status of domestic staff, any inappropriate or worrisome track record in the workplace and any potential questions about integrity, said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, former director general of the foreign service and director of personnel at the State Department. Just before lunch, NBC News posted a triple-bylined investigative piece outlining how Chang. The Panel in question was the Expert Panel for Humanitarian UAVs convened on November 14, 2014 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. An NBC News investigation found that Mina Chang, the deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations, has inflated her educational. Career officials at the State Department and across the federal government take vetting seriously "because they care about maintaining a high standard for the civil service and the foreign service," Thomas-Greenfield said. WASHINGTON Mina Chang figured out how to work the levers in Dallas and in the nation's capital, making connections with key figures and cultivating an online image, until her overblown. My superiors at the Department refused to defend me, stand up for the truth or allow me to answer the false charges against me. The spokesman also said that the State Department vetted her background, approved her security clearance along with the FBI, and signed off on her bio for the department's website. An old profile, published on the parenting website DFWChild,states that she has a degree in international development from the University of Hawaii. Posted by Sony Chang onSunday, June 16, 2019. Chang does not cite any undergraduate degree in her biography, but her LinkedIn account mentions the University of the Nations, an unaccredited Christian school with volunteer teachers that says it has 600 locations "on all continents.". Tell me about this cover and how this came to be?" He is a graduate of Georgetown University and New York Law School and previously worked in financial securities compliance and Civil Rights employment law. We did file, and copies of those filings have been resent to the IRS. She has spoken about her work at various events, including D Magazines D CEOs 2017 Womens Leadership Symposium. Whatever her qualifications, Chang had a key connection in the Trump administration. University Attended: Harvard Law School. Mina Chang proved anyone can come to the U.S. and create an "American" identity by simply putting a bunch of shit on social media that's sent to a new generation of reporters and government officials who think shit on social media people create about themselves is real. You wonder why the media isnt trusted? Chang's biography says she was part of a panel on drones in humanitarian relief efforts convened by the U.N. I have personally attended that program and can confirm that graduation is how we were advised to describe completion of the program. She didnt give up singing entirely. In 2015, Chang partnered with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to host cadets for internships at her nonprofit in Dallas. He said he has resubmitted the forms and expects the "administrative issue" to be resolved soon. D.C.both by publications and peersthe public law and policy practice draws on the considerable governmental and bipartisan political experience of their lawyers and advocacy professionals, including former Members of Congress, congressional staff and other lawyers with considerable . But according to the university, Chang attended a seven-week course in 2016, and does not hold a. My hope is that youll re-read that article now, and see it for what it is, a classic hit-job.I received some of that reporters questions, and it was clear from the outset, that he had already made up his mind. An NBC News investigation found that Mina Chang, the deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations, has inflated her educational achievements and exaggerated the scope of her nonprofit's work. Chang's nomination to the USAID job, which would have required Senate confirmation, was withdrawn on Sept. 9 without public explanation, after the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations asked her for more documents and details about her nonprofit organization and her work experience. Her website conveyed dynamic activity and on-the-ground aid operations, even though the reality often had Chang traveling to a location on trips paid for by defense contractors, former colleagues said. The organization's tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS earlier this year. Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was also in attendance. Her Instagram account, with 42,000 followers, includes selfies with celebrities and Washington luminaries like former President Bill Clinton, retired Gen. David Petraeus, former Defense Secretary Bob Gates, Karl Rove, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Buzz Aldrin. After Ratcliffe's nomination flamed out, Trump defended his administration's screening of job candidates, saying the news media helped the White House filter nominees. Anyone who reads her online articles would know that she has both supported and been critical of the current administration. Tell me about this cover and how it came to be?" The report highlights a 2017 video posted to Linking the Worlds website, which shows Chang being interviewed about the nonprofits work. ISLN: 1000251692. After hearing concerns from a cadet working as an intern at the nonprofit, the faculty member, who did not want to be identified, looked up the organization's website and concluded the charity was not worthy of a West Point association. On a personal note, I could not be more disgusted with the unwarranted attack on our organization or Minas tireless work to help those who arent able to help themselves. Mina Chang Wiki, Age, Husband & Facts About the State Department Another NDA was signed by a freelance journalist who was planning to accompany Chang on a 2015 trip to Afghanistan that was sponsored by the defense contractor AMS. "They could be partnering with another organization, but then they should say that and not claim those accomplishments as their own.". Mina did not invent a role on a U.N. panel. "I signed an NDA regarding all conversations," she told NBC News. Mina Chang Wiki, Age, Height, Boyfriend, Family, Net Worth, Facts, Bio Before she resigned last week and took it down, her Facebook account had 77,000 followers. Mina Khalil - Harvard Law School - Program on Law & Society in the Or to keep it anonymous, click here. The McCaul staffer "was one of many social connections she had in D.C., and she was well on the way to obtaining a position when the letter was sent," Minton said. [19][20], Chang displayed a fake cover of Time magazine to a videotaped January 2017 interview with journalist Mary Sit produced by Houston Community College's show, Global Outlook. The nature of our work requires that our analytical and planning processes must encompass a careful evaluation of how governmentlocal, state, federal or internationalcan, should and will impact our desired objectives. Two Other Money Laundering Indictments Unsealed as Part of Operation "Phantom Bank" Federal authorities today arrested 11 defendants named in a sweeping racketeering indictment alleging a series of money laundering schemes that revolved around the former head of Saigon National Bank, based in Westminster, California, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice . It reflects, and has always reflected, that Linking the World operates an in-country volunteer and donation model, that requires minimal U.S. staff and no local offices or employees. How did Mina Chang get a State Department job in the first place? We have at least one geotagged photograph of Linking the Worlds participation on that Panel, along with its working documents. Screenshot of Mina Changs Linked In Profile. Documents and videos prove she had spoken at separate eventsin Philadelphia and Cleveland during the same time as the conventions. Lecturers. Why You Lose When You Lie on Your Resume: Learning From Mina Chang A spokesman for Chang said Bulatao did not "have any part in Ms. Chang's appointment within the State Department." However, I am not so constrained, and when I communicated with the reporter, I raised this issue with him, and asked him to expand the questions being directed towards me. Mina Chang (born October 29, 1984) is an American singer, activist, and former government official. Chang touted her membership in the Young Entrepreneurs Club and the Forbes Nonprofit Council. In fact, Chang attended a short course at Harvard Business School that costs $82,000, although it does allow those who take it to call themselves alumni. The Time cover is not the most serious fabrication of Changs accomplishments. Chang had no apparent ties to President Donald Trump's political campaign, but Brian Bulatao, a former West Point classmate and business partner of Secretary of State Pompeo, was invited to fundraising events for her charity, according to Ian Dailey, the former chief of staff of her nonprofit. Harriman is a graduate of the U.S. Most recently, Mina served as the Executive Director of the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board, the largest police oversight agency in the nation which investigates allegations of police misconduct. [5] In a May 2014 interview, Chang claimed to hold a degree in international development from the University of Hawaii, concentrating on mission work and aid practices. He started from a place of negativity. Simply, LtW was first founded in South Korea, so that time period would not be covered by U.S. IRS reporting. However, no official record of this exists. During the interview, the screen cuts to a shot of the magazine cover with Changs face on it as the interviewer asks her how [the cover] came to be.. I was only made aware of a potential issue with our tax filings by the IRS on October 16, 2019 and that was only because of a proactive outreach that I made. "Here you are on Time magazine, congratulations! its this, right here. Her biography on the State Department website says she is a "graduate" of a program at the Army War College. It. local news and culture, Stephen Young In a 2017 video posted on her nonprofit's website, Chang can be heard describing her work while a Time magazine cover with her face on it scrolls past. Video from that time, posted on her YouTube page, promotes her holiday album. Before receiving the letter of recommendation, Chang was spotted at numerous events, including the 2018 Aspen Security Forum, with McCaul's staffer. In a 2014 video she described her charity to a room full of Texas college students. Dan De Luceis a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. She was appointed to the State Department post in the interim. A 24-year-old former Trump campaign volunteer, Taylor Weyeneth, rose to a senior job in the White House drug policy office without any relevant professional experience. Several key claims in Changs official government biography were refuted. Senior Trump official embellished rsum, had face on fake Time cover As an example of the support Akin Gump provides to Linking the World, the firm petitioned the FAA for our Section 333 Exemption, which qualifies us to fly UAVs in domestic airspace in support of disaster operations. Registered Attendees - Harvard Law School | Harvard Law School A former West Point faculty member and a source familiar with the matter said the program was quickly scrapped, after it became apparent the nonprofit was not doing much work and the interns were sitting in a mostly empty office. View Mina Chang's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. She didnt stop she faked her education and career status. Dan De Luceis a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. She was writing songs for other artists before she was signed to a label and recording albums in both English and Korean. In addition to her event production company, she publicly claimed a connection to Vissero Partners LLC, a company that sought investments from wealthy foreign nationals who invest at least $250,000 in U.S.-based projects in exchange for visas through the federal EB-5 program. As CEO of the NGO, Linking the World, her work expands the globe to alleviate suffering, inspire hope and to break the cycle of poverty thats impacting almost half the worlds population - or over three billion people. Spend a few minutes with her, and you, too will be infected with her zest for life and her determination to not only win her own battles, but more importantly, to turn hope into measurable action. However, a spokesperson for Time confirmed to NBC News that the cover is not authentic.. State Department staffer got job with embellished resume, fake Time magazine cover. Who Is Mina Chang? Meet The Trump Staffer Caught In A Web Of Resume Lies Mina E. Khalil is a legal and social historian of the modern Middle East. [11] The nomination was withdrawn on September 9, 2019. A deputy assistant secretary usually has a top secret security clearance. "With the way Trump has fired high-level people by tweet, it's not an encouraging thing to work for the government. The event will featured leaders from government, military, journalism, academia, and the private sector exploring questions of international security and defense, bringing together interdisciplinary experts working to develop new paradigms for understanding and addressing the changing nature of armed conflict and systematic violence.====================================New America is dedicated to the renewal of American politics, prosperity, and purpose in the digital age through big ideas, technological innovation, next generation politics, and creative engagement with broad audiences. At one point in April 14, 2016, she posted more than 70 Instagram pictures in a single day. Brad Johansen Leaving NBC4 Columbus: Where Is the Anchor Going? November 13, 2019 The Humanitarian UAV Network UAViators does not mention Chang or Linking the World on a list of advisers. Also Read:Melissa Cohen Wiki, Facts to Know About Hunter Bidens New Wife. Those included a former intern and a former senior development adviser for Linking the World, Michael Baker. Have a tip we should know? Mina Chang, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary to the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, has made misleading claims about her education at Harvard Business. He said, "I realized this is 100 percent bulls---. In a Feb. 8, 2018 letter to the White House, McCaul gave Chang "the strongest recommendation" to serve in a senior leadership position at the State Department, either in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations or in the Bureau of Counterterrorism. [10], On January 16, 2019, the Trump administration nominated Chang to be the Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. Mina loves her position at State and decided to withdraw herself from the process to focus on stabilization operations. In a 2015 speech, Chang said, "we have in-house canine search and rescue teams." NBC News was unable to find any record of her or her organization ever testifying before Congress. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Legal Guides; Lawyer Referral Service; Problem with a Lawyer; Attorney Profile. Staff - Harvard Law School Program on Biblical Law and Christian Legal Chris Riva Leaving FOX19 NOW: Where Is the Cincinnati Anchor Going? I can also confirm that no donations were received / accepted over the notification period. [8], She completed a seven-week program through Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program (AMP). Attending SMU, we will be following up with that institution, as we have pictures of Mina receiving her certificate of completion from the Center of Non Profit Management. Linking the World tax filings. The Trump administration has faced criticism for its lax vetting, inadequate screening, and lack of thorough security clearance investigation of top officials. For Chang's current job, her most relevant experience would appear to be her time as CEO of a nonprofit called Linking the World. So apparently if you want a job with the Trump administration you make Fake News literally. Again, anyone who reviewed her recent past, with work in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Somalia, would know that this decision makes absolute sense. Editor Joe Tone introduces the issue writing, "Their stories, as usual, are paired with intimate portraits, this year from acclaimed photographer Can Turkyilmaz. Akin Gump is consistently ranked as one of the top government relations practices in Washington, D.C.both by publications and peersthe public law and policy practice draws on the considerable governmental and bipartisan political experience of their lawyers and advocacy professionals, including former Members of Congress, congressional staff and other lawyers with considerable experience in government service, many of whom also engage in outside political activities. (Video: The Washington Post) Article It is one of the more minor and yet more telling scandals of a scandal-plagued administration: NBC News reports that Mina Chang, the deputy assistant. Chang, who resigned after NBC News revealed holes in her rsum, had ties to two State Department officials and a staffer for Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. Shame on you NBC for not requiring your reporters to do basic research. [9] NBC News accused her of falsely claiming to be a former chief of staff of a nonprofit (INGO), to have had a role on a UN panel, and to have appeared on the front cover of Time magazine.