Roger D. Carstens is the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Carstens was a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. He previously served in Amman, Jordan, as the Country Director for a U.S.-based international nongovernmental organization (INGO) that provided humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons. Prior positions include Senior Civilian Advisor on the Commander’s Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT) in Afghanistan; Project Director for an INGO based in Somalia; Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security; and Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Mr. Carstens is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in Special Forces and the 1st Ranger Battalion. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and St. John’s College. Mr. Carstens is the recipient of the 2023 Robert A. Levinson Excellence in Government Service Award, the St. John’s College Alumni Association’s Award of Merit, and was selected as a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment. Additionally, he was selected to participate in the President’s Leadership Workshop.

Samuel Richardson is the Interim Executive Director at PCFR and a former Program and Outreach Fellow for the organization. Sam started his career as an intern in the public diplomacy office for the Bureau of Southeast Asian and Pacific Affairs in the US Department of State and in the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. He then worked as a special assistant for US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and helped to liaise with local and national transportation systems at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, Sam has worked with a local Arizona manufacturing company to develop its global communications strategy.

Sam is from a small town in Northern Utah but calls Arizona home with his wife. He received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University - Idaho in Communications and Asian Studies, a certificate in Vietnamese from Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City, and a master’s degree in Global Business Management with a concentration in Global Public Affairs and Digital Transformation from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.

Besides connecting with the global community, Sam loves to go on long hikes, cook and create new recipes, and take photos.