Newswise — Michael Mozur, 55, begins his position as executive director of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in January of 2007. Mozur is coming to SETAC from a 32 year career with the U.S. Department of State. Mozur brings to SETAC a broad international and Washington D.C. experience that will be useful as he works to strengthen SETAC's presence in Asia, Latin America and Africa, while building the organization's links with international governmental organizations.
Much of Mozur's career with the Department of State concentrated on economic and business affairs, but he has also had opportunities to work with environmental policy issues and support U.S. environmental firms in pursuing commercial opportunities, particularly in East Germany, following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
His most recent assignment for the Department of State, from 2004 until coming to SETAC, was as Deputy Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, a EU-US led international effort to restore peace and stability to the Balkans region. As Deputy Special Coordinator, he provided leadership to 25 regional initiatives focused on democratization, economic renewal and security, and worked closely with senior government officials in the region as well as international donors.
The Stability Pact's environmental agenda has included the creation of the four-country Sava River Commission to manage economic and environmental concerns in the Sava River Basin and coordinating inter-governmental activity related to the Danube in South East Europe.
Mozur served in Washington from 2002 to 2004 as director of the Department of State's office responsible for Poland, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Slovenia, and as the deputy chief of mission at the Embassy in Warsaw, Poland from 1999 to 2002.
In 1997 through 1998, Mozur spent ten months in Senior Seminar, the State Department's premier executive training program, deepening his knowledge of United States public policy issues, traveling, and connecting with political and community leaders throughout the country. Mozur chaired the Seminar's Economic and Environment Committee and worked to ensure that the Seminar addressed environmental issues through meetings with leading environmental NGOs and visits to the Everglades, Chesapeake Bay and local waste treatment facilties in the Washington area.
Earlier in his career, Mozur was assigned to the Embassy in Moscow on two different occasions, and also worked in East Germany, Argentina, Bulgaria, Peru and Mexico. In 1992, Mozur served as the first U. S. Charge d'Affaires in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, instating the Embassy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a result of his years overseas, Mozur speaks Spanish, German and Russian and has a working knowledge of Polish, French and Bulgarian languages.
Mozur grew up in Alabama and Texas and studied mathematics and Russian history at the University of Virgina. He later received a master's in Economics from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Mozur is married to the former Barbara Wulchin, and they have four children between the ages of 18 and 24.
Over the years Mozur has been active in community affairs and youth sports, coaching teams in Northern Virgina as well as overseas in Germany and the former Soviet Union. Mozur is active in sports and enjoys playing golf and racquet sports. He is also an avid skier and biker.
Mozur served as school board chairman at the American School of Warsaw in Poland (ASW) and as vice chairman at the JFK School in Berlin, Germany. Under Mozur's leadership, ASW built a new $25 million school facility.
Mozur has had a lifelong interest in the environment, and looks forward to working for a non-governmental organization after his 32 years dedicated to the Department of State.
"As SETAC executive director, I will be working closely with the World Council president and board members, as well as with the geographic units to strengthen the SETAC presence globally," Mozur said.
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