SHRM Global Mobility and Immigration Symposium

Nick Schacht is a highly experienced executive with more than three decades of experience in professional services, education, and corporate learning and development. He has a history of driving product innovation, growth and profitability, and he has led organizations operating worldwide.  

Schacht is Chief Global Development Officer for SHRM, the world's largest HR professional society. Before joining SHRM, he was the founder and CEO of KnowCyber, a learning and development company focused on improving the cybersecurity-related skills of people in all types of organizations worldwide. Prior to KnowCyber, he was President and Chief Operating Officer for PetroSkills, a provider of training and development services to the worldwide petroleum industry. Prior to that, he was CEO and President of Learning Tree International, a publicly traded provider of IT and management learning and development. Schacht was also the President of Global Learning Systems, a start-up focused on e-Learning and digital content. He served in a variety of capacities at ESI International, culminating in his role as President when ESI was sold to the Institute for International Research (IIR) and then as Group President for the Americas for IIR. He has been a Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute, and began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Officer, on the headquarters staff of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.  

Schacht graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Academy, and holds Master's degrees in Administration from the University of Maryland University College and Information Systems Technology from The George Washington University.

Bo Cooper is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy.  He is an expert on legislative and administrative process and provides strategic advice to corporations, universities, trade associations, international media outlets and individuals facing complex immigration problems.  Before entering private practice, Bo served as General Counsel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) from 1999 until 2003.  He has testified frequently before Congress, both as a government official and as a private expert, and has made many television, radio, and print media appearances.  He also maintains an extensive pro bono practice.

Prakash Khatri has a national Immigration Law practice (www.khatrilaw.com) located in Bethesda, MD. His practice focuses primarily on assisting individuals, companies and law firms in resolving post filing complications at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, other DHS entities as well as at United States embassies and consulates abroad. He has been practicing law for more than 35 years. He is a nationally recognized expert on Immigration law and process.

Recognized as one of the “50 Most Influential Indian-Americans” by India Abroad in 2007, Khatri is a renowned specialist and public speaker on immigration law and related matters. He has provided expert commentary on immigration issues for television and radio programs and has shared his insights at countless immigration conferences, seminars and debates. He has also been an expert witness in Federal and State courts.

From July 2003 until March 2008, Khatri served as the nation’s first Ombudsman for Citizenship and Immigration Services in the newly formed Department of Homeland Security. Khatri managed the growth of this independent office from a one-person entity to a professional team of more than two dozen professionals and administrative staff.

As CIS Ombudsman and a recognized expert on immigration matters, Khatri provided senior executive leadership, vision, and direction to policy makers in several cabinet level agencies. An immigrant himself, Khatri was regularly consulted for advice by policymakers in the Departments of Homeland Security, State, Labor and Justice, the Office of Management and Budget, and the White House on immigration-related matters.

Khatri is a graduate of Stetson University and Stetson College of Law in Florida. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Florida Bar, and the Maryland Bar.

Ray S. Leki is a career member of the Senior Executive Service of the United States government at the Department of State, Foreign Service Institute. He is also an adjunct professor of intercultural management with the rank of Senior Interculturist in Residence at American University, and an author. At the Foreign Service Institute, he is the director of the Transition Center, where he oversees preparation and support for employees and family members entering, transitioning within, and leaving the U.S. foreign affairs community. He has developed, designed, and overseen the implementation of international awareness training for the U.S. foreign affairs community for nearly 40 years. His work in government began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal in 1979, and continued with a series of Peace Corps staff assignments in Washington, Nepal, Pakistan, and Poland, before joining the Department of State in 1991.

Ray has taught a range of graduate courses and seminars through American University’s School of International Service, Intercultural Management Institute. They include international personal and organizational security, crisis management and communication, intercultural facilitation and training, multicultural negotiation, and spirituality and conflict transformation. He is a recipient of the school’s adjunct faculty of the year award.  

Ray published Travel Wise: How to Be Safe, Savvy and Secure Abroad through Intercultural Press/Nicholas Brealey Publishing in 2008. The book shares his thoughts, experiences, and techniques in preparing sojourners for international success through integrating cross-cultural competence, emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and security awareness with careful identification and analysis of motives and motivation. Travel Wise is used by businesses, study abroad programs, international and non-governmental organizations and government employees and agencies to protect people and ensure mission success.

At the U.S. Department of State, he has been a leader in dealing with far-flung diplomatic communities experiencing crisis and trauma. Recent interventions included work in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Algeria, Moscow, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He has focused his organizational efforts on creating smarter, more resilient, and more effective expatriates. In 2016, he opened the Center of Excellence in Foreign Affairs Resilience as a new division within the Transition Center.

He is a fellow of the International Academy of Intercultural Researchers, and is on the advisory boards of the Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research USA, the Foreign Service Youth Foundation, and the International Association of Protocol Consultants. Current interests include resilience, leadership, intercultural communication, crisis management across cultures, and crisis aftermath psychology. He studied chemistry at Southern Illinois University and has his master’s from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia.

Marina Vassilev leads Compensation, Mobility and Executive HR for BASF North American.  In her role she shapes the BASF NA compensation and mobility strategies to inspire and empower employees. 

Prior to joining BASF in August 2018, Marina was with Boehringer Ingelheim for over six years where she led a variety of total rewards projects, managed the US Executive HR function and supported the US Supply & Quality organization as a Compensation Business Partner.  Some of Marina’s accomplishments include the roll out of a total rewards optimization study and leading the design and implementation of a global Long-Term Incentive program which insured Boehringer Ingelheim remained competitive to attract, retain and motivate employees.  Prior to Boehringer, Marina was a Senior Consultant with Deloitte Consulting where she advised clients on a variety of total rewards topics. 

Marina Vassilev holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a MBA from New York University. Marina is a Certified Compensation Profession (CCP), Certified Executive Compensation Professional (CECP) and Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) with Worldatwork.