The allegations against Chang, 35, first appeared in an NBC News report on November 12. "[7][3], Mina Chang is married to Jake Harriman. She attended Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program, which "has no formal education requirements" and charges applicants $82,000 for a seven-week course. Mina Chang, the 35-year-old deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stability Operations, allegedly falsely claimed she was a Harvard Business School graduate . #FakeNews pic.twitter.com/LpEbwxH0xA, Rob Richardson (@RobforOHIO) November 12, 2019, She presents an image of a globetrotting humanitarian with extensive experience in international security and foreign aid. She stepped down from the nonprofit role when she joined the State Department. That does not make sense to me," said Jane Searing, an expert on nonprofit tax forms and an accountant at the accounting firm Clark Nuber in Washington state. The Dallas residents LinkedIn mentions that she studied Development/Aid Practices at the University of the Nations, Executive Nonprofit Leadership at Southern Methodist University, Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, and National and International Security at the Harvard Kennedy School. Chang lists just $12,000 in income before she took the State Department job and listed no salary from her charity. Chang says in her official biography that she is as an "alumna" of Harvard Business School. Our research efforts blend together traditional approaches of a think tank with modern and future-leaning tools of a high-tech business intelligence firm. Tax filings for her nonprofit show an organization with a budget of less than $300,000, and few staff, despite her statements about the vast scope of her group's work. Chang's trips to conflict areas in Afghanistan and Iraq were paid for by the defense contractor AMS. "They want to see talented people with integrity appointed to senior positions. She didnt give up singing entirely. Today, Chang's colleague Ian Dailey says the Dallas charity was spawned from a Korean international relief organization that worked in 40 countries and started in 1998. (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. [21][22] In response to the interviewer's question: "Here you are on Time magazine, congratulations! Mina Chang defended herself and criticized the "toxic environment" at the State Department. By 2014, she had set up Linking the World under the umbrella of a local foundation in Dallas, according to the foundation. 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.". asks the interviewer, who hosts a YouTube show. To secure her job at the State Department in April, Chang leveraged social connections to senior officials who could help open the doors to the administration, including Brian Bulatao, a close friend and deputy to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; a State Department official and former defense contractor who she succeeded as deputy assistant secretary, Pete Marocco; and a congressional staffer for key GOP lawmaker Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, multiple sources said. Show all faculty types. She didnt stop she faked her education and career status. Briefings on the Hill are not verifiable. But tax filings for her organization offer no concrete information about overseas projects and show a budget of less than $300,000 with a handful of staff. She was appointed to the State Department post in the interim. Lax vetting, Mina has undergone 4 independent agency reviews, including the FBI, and ultimately garnered both Top Secret and Sensitive Compartmented Information clearances. Update 11/14: I can imagine an independent person reading this and wondering who is telling the truth, how can these media organizations get it so wrong? A fake Time magazine cover with her face on it added credibility to her bio for at least some people who found it online. NBC reported last week that Chang had misleadingly claimed in her official bio that she was an "alumna" of Harvard Business School when in fact she only attended a seven-week course there. "Well, 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, I suppose I brought some attention to that," Chang said. As terrifying as that was, working with her nonprofit served as a distraction and it appears that she has overcome the disease. 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. Animals and Pets Anime Art Cars and Motor Vehicles Crafts and DIY Culture, Race, and Ethnicity Ethics and Philosophy Fashion Food and Drink History Hobbies Law Learning and Education Military Movies Music Place Podcasts and Streamers Politics Programming Reading, Writing, and Literature Religion and Spirituality Science Tabletop Games . At first glance, Changs body of work appears impressive. I have personally attended that program and can confirm that graduation is how we were advised to describe completion of the program. It . . He is the founder of Nuru International, a social venture that primarily works in Kenya, Ethiopia, and the USA. Minas nomination was not withdrawn by the Administration, or anyone other than herself. She is based in Washington. Chang also had a tendency to claim or imply credit for work done by others, former colleagues said. She continues to perform at charity events and released a holiday album in 2009. She showed up at international conferences, including a 2015 event in the German city of Stuttgart with defense contractors that carry out work in Africa. Chang seems to have followed in the footsteps of President Trump and fabricated a Time magazine cover of herself, which she showed off as a testimony to her work. In this politicized climate, if this is what we have become, then we have much work to do. Chang was previously married. 4:00AM. Writer Kimberly Chuck called Chang a "renowned humanitarian". However, a spokesperson for Time confirmed to NBC News that the cover is not authentic.. In its 2015 tax filing, Linking the World reported that it had no staff overseas and no expenditures abroad of more than $10,000, which one expert said was puzzling given the group's descriptions of its international work. Thats absolutely correct, in a year when we were pivoting our organization from extensive programming to becoming a thought-leader that tested cutting-edge technologies. When asked about her comments, her former chief of staff, Ian Dailey, said the charity had one dog "onboarded" but the dog was "diagnosed with seizures" and "retired." "To not file with the IRS for three years is really being a scofflaw," Eve Borenstein, a lawyer with Harmon Curran law firm and a prominent expert on nonprofit tax law, told NBC News. Update your Profile ; Education & Credentials. Mina Chang Net Worth Estimated Net Worth of her is $600k USD as of 2019. While advocacy efforts include making our opinion known in regards to proposed policies, laws, and regulations, we also promote very specific policies. We are stronger, we are more determined, and we are forever dedicated to serve others and to make this world safer, from all threats, foreign and domestic. The committee staff "has been forced to dedicate a significant amount of time and resources on vetting this administration's nominees because of the White House's negligence or incompetence," Menendez said. NBC News also found that her claims that she addressed both the Republican and Democratic conventions in 2016 are false. She stands 5 feet 8 Inch tall and weighs around 64KG. For those of you who are not familiar with me, I am not Mina. Changs 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. McCaul, through a spokesperson, said he now has a different perspective on Chang's qualifications. She attended a seven-week course there in 2016, according to the university. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. But if you are not very qualified then it's a great chance to get in there.". Admission: 2017, New York. Linking the World, and specifically Mina Chang attended the meetings on the Hill, to brief about our work, specifically proactive development, and the use of drone technology, you can find the schedule here https://www.linkingtheworld.org/hill-briefings. Graduating from the U.S. Army War College, National Security Seminar. An old profile, published on the parenting website DFWChild,states that she has a degree in international development from the University of Hawaii. Dailey, Changs former colleague at the nonprofit, said the group did operate in 40 countries over two decades, including when the organization was registered in South Korea. 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. She has often cited her organization's work with drones in humanitarian relief efforts but four experts in that field said they had not heard of her organization. She has boasted about her work in multiple talks and speeches, which are shared on the website. Mina Chang, the U.S. State Department's deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, is learning this lesson the hard way. State Department staffer got job with embellished resume, fake Time magazine cover. Her information from the State Department mentions she is an "alumna" of Harvard Business School. "It does seem that this administration has not been doing the same depth of vetting as previous administrations," said James Pfiffner, a George Mason University professor and expert on the executive branch who once worked in the government's Office of Personnel Management, which does vetting. "With the way Trump has fired high-level people by tweet, it's not an encouraging thing to work for the government. Pierre-Yves Daygot, an artist whose work depicts paintings of individuals superimposed on popular magazine covers, created a piece with her on a Time Magazine cover and sent it to her, and was commissioned, unknowingly, by a friend Olivier Chavy. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. The organization's tax-exempt status was revoked by the IRS earlier this year. The report highlights a 2017 video posted to Linking the Worlds website, which shows Chang being interviewed about the nonprofits work. She also befriended a key staffer on the House Homeland Security Committee, leading to a recommendation letter from McCaul, according to a former staffer and a congressional source. His Ph.D. dissertation entitled "A Society's Crucible: Recasting the Criminal Defendant in Modern Egypt, 1820-1920" explores the . [14], In July 2019, Town & Country and The Philippine Star speculated that Chang may become the next United States Ambassador to the Philippines, although that prediction did not come to fruition. At no time has Mina claimed to have a degree from the War College. After this, an enthusiastic fan online took one step further and used an app to make a fake magazine cover with Minas actual image superimposed on the cover andit wassubsequentlycirculatedonline. According to papers from her divorce case in 2011, she was due to receive nearly $1,400 a month in child support and $500 in alimony per month for a year from her ex-husband, a real estate developer. Dont Miss:Chasten Glezman Wiki,Facts About Pete Buttigiegs Husband. The organization recently removed Chang's bio from its website noting, "The content of this page has been deleted due to questions raised about its accuracy.". Upon notification, donations were not able to be submitted through any of our channels. When Chang was nominated for an even more senior job at the U.S. Agency for International Development, congressional staffers reviewing her background caught wind of the West Point episode. A lot of people are guilty of embellishing a detail or two on their rsum, but a top Trump administration official reportedly took it to a whole other level. The program permits people who have finished the program to call themselves alumni, and creates an opportunity for them to tap into the Harvard alumni network. In her State Department post, Chang, 35, from Dallas, helps oversee efforts to prevent conflicts from erupting in politically unstable countries. 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. The U.S. Military Academy's public affairs office declined to comment. (Photo by Chance Yeh/WireImage). Faculty Type. "They could be partnering with another organization, but then they should say that and not claim those accomplishments as their own.". 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. The "host" for her charity's dinner on May 2, 2016 in Dallas was AlliedBarton Security Services, a large government security contractor that pledged $10,000 to the organization, according to a press release. But in Chang's numerous public speeches she did not mention the Korean organization, saying instead that she was CEO of an "international relief organization" based out of Dallas that works in 40 countries. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Her Instagram account shows international food donations featuring Linking the World logos. The interviewer says Chang brought the Time cover to the interview as an example of her work. 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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. Pfiffner said. 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. Legal Guides; Lawyer Referral Service; Problem with a Lawyer; Attorney Profile. Mina E. Khalil is a legal and social historian of the modern Middle East. Minas resume, profiles, and statements have been reviewed by 4 separate bodies, including the FBI and State Department Investigators. We have at least one geotagged photograph of Linking the Worlds participation on that Panel, along with its working documents. Tell me about this cover and how this came to be?" In a 2014 video she described her charity to a room full of Texas college students. But it was discovered that Chang doesnt have an actual degree from Harvard, though she claims to be an alumna. Heres a glimpse of her approach to solving the worlds most pressing issues. Ari Sen is a freelance journalist and former investigative unit intern at NBC News currently studying at UC Berkeleys Graduate School of Journalism. I am currently working with the IRS to have our status reinstated. ISLN: 1000251692. Marocco declined to comment through a Pentagon spokesperson. Mina Chang Assistant United States Attorney at United States Attorneys' Offices Henderson, Nevada, United States 240 followers 238 connections Join to connect United States Attorneys' Offices. An old friend who knew her in Dallas and did not want to be named said, "It's like Leonardo DiCaprio in that movie 'Catch Me If You Can,' I've been saying that for years," she said. Dan De Luceis a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. Several key claims in Changs official government biography were refuted. I give out a name to the press, and they vet for me. 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. State Department staffer got job with embellished resume, fake Time magazine cover, Democratic and Republican national conventions, who once worked in the government's Office of Personnel Management, an unaccredited Christian school with volunteer teachers, 'These people couldnt even get an internship on Capitol Hill. [13][18], On November 18, 2019, Chang resigned from her role at the United States Department of State. Chang's biography says she was part of a panel on drones in humanitarian relief efforts convened by the U.N. She told an audience in 2014 that she worked with world leaders, saying, "Linking the World provides hunger relief medical aid, we have operated schools, we have built schools in places like Afghanistan, Myanmar, Kenya, Haiti. Some required paying a steep fee. "If you take a look at it, the vetting process for the White House is very good," the president told reporters. Mina has 1 job listed on their profile. You wonder why the media isnt trusted? For Chang's current job, her most relevant experience would appear to be her time as CEO of a nonprofit called Linking the World. Chang hired a succession of public relations consultants to help craft a convincing picture for her non-governmental organization, Linking the World, even though there was not much to go on. [23], Chang's State Department biography remained unchanged following the NBC News report until it was removed on November 18, 2019. Daily said it is a small nongovernmental organization (NGO) that does not run large-scale programs, and instead tests new technologies including drones and new approaches to humanitarian relief. An auction bid from 2015, is a despicable example of correlation with no foundation. Simply, LtW was first founded in South Korea, so that time period would not be covered by U.S. IRS reporting. Law School Regulation; Access to Justice. It. [7] In her resignation letter, Chang claimed that "character assassination based solely on innuendo was launched against me attacking my credentials and character. It's not clear if Chang has such a clearance. Well, heres a perfect example every article mentions that Mina is married she is not if you cant get that basic fact right, why would we expect them to get anything else right? Her biography on the State Department website says she is a "graduate" of a program at the Army War College. He was fired last year after a Washington Post report brought public attention to his meteoric rise. 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. Like all admired leaders, she anticipates that problems in the world will never cease, they will only change; and its how you respond to them that will determine your fate. "We are not implementers of programs. Mina Chang circa 2009 when she was pursuing a career as a recording artist. When Mina was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year, it was a horrifying tragedy, but one thats destined to magnify the impact shes having Linking The World. Marocco endorsed her for the job and McCaul wrote her a recommendation letter. Our aim is to ensure lessons are being learned, innovation is prioritized, and the true reality of violent extremist situations is being reported rather than political rhetoric and individual agendas. Government watchdogs, former officials and members of Congress have accused the White House of failing to thoroughly vet appointees and nominees for senior-level offices. Without any university degrees or work in the policy world, Chang sought out seminars and organizations that would allow her to associate herself with prestigious institutions and convey an aura of credibility and expertise. Chang also paid to be a member of Ellevate, a women's networking group, which helped Chang place articles promoting herself and her charity in Forbes and the Huffington Post, according to its marketing coordinator, Nazli Tamer. 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. No Reviews. 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. "One of the great mysteries of life for me has always been the question of why bad things happen to great people? Surely, Im never one to question the work of God, still when I see the obstacles he puts in the path of someone like, Mina Chang, I become even more convinced that each such challenge is a window into a bigger opportunity. Linking the World has never usedeither pieceandthey werenever part ofanymedia packageusedfor Mina. HLS Professors. He ignored that request. To be clear, we have operated in 43 countries, built schools, medical clinics, and countless other activities serving thousands upon thousands of those most in need. Chang also failed to mention that her non-profit had its status revoked. She and her ex-husband have a daughter, Trinity (born 2008), named after Minas middle name. Ambassador to the Philippines? She also established contacts with the U.S. military. Mina did not create or commission the Time Magazine cover. 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. 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. However, thats not mentioned in her LinkedIn profile. Marocco, who served in the Marine Corps, is now at the Pentagon as senior official overseeing Africa affairs. She was writing songs for other artists before she was signed to a label and recording albums in both English and Korean. Mina Chang (born October 29, 1984) is an American singer, activist, and former government official. SHARON BURKE Senior Advisor and Director, Resource Security Program, New AmericaMINA CHANG CEO, Linking the World, International Security Fellow, New AmericaJAKE HARRIMAN Founder and CEO, Nuru InternationalREBECCA J. WOLFE Director of Peace and Conflict, Mercy CorpsThe Future of War Conference 2017 commenced on March 21 in Washington, D.C. 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. He founded Nuru International. Chang has touted her small nonprofit online and in speeches as operating in dozens of countries, building schools and "impacting" thousands of people. At first glance, Chang's body of work appears impressive. official government biography were refuted. Featured in the issue are notable community leaders such as Police Chief David Brown, NHL athlete Jamie Benn, and Historian Bonnie Jacobs. Program Priorities; Pro Bono; Legal Aid Grants; Donate to Legal Aid; Search Website. He started from a place of negativity. Chang was originally being considered for an even more senior government post in which she would have overseen the U.S. Agency for International Development's work in Asia.
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