Major General (Retired) Suzanne Vares-Lum
Owner, Consultant and Advisor
Vares-Lum Indo-Pacific Consulting, LLC
Suzanne Vares-Lum recently retired from the military after 34 years of service. She is an influential executive with leadership and planning experience spanning the past several decades, culminating in the past five years serving with and advising the most senior officials at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which is the largest and oldest U.S. Combatant Command, spans 52% of the earth’s surface, and encompasses over 377K military personnel. She possesses comprehensive knowledge of Indo-Pacific posture, policies, relationships, emerging trends/threats, and long-term objectives in order to support ongoing operations and ultimately foster peace, equity, and cooperation throughout the region. She is the owner of Vares-Lum Indo-Pacific Consulting, LLC, and provides consulting and advising on Indo-Pacific security issues. As a seasoned keynote speaker, she speaks on a range of Indo-Pacific subjects including leadership; mentorship; and Women, Peace, and Security. She is a Strategic Advisor to the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council and Board Member of the American Red Cross Pacific Islands Region.
Owner, Consultant and Advisor
Vares-Lum Indo-Pacific Consulting, LLC
Suzanne Vares-Lum recently retired from the military after 34 years of service. She is an influential executive with leadership and planning experience spanning the past several decades, culminating in the past five years serving with and advising the most senior officials at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which is the largest and oldest U.S. Combatant Command, spans 52% of the earth’s surface, and encompasses over 377K military personnel. She possesses comprehensive knowledge of Indo-Pacific posture, policies, relationships, emerging trends/threats, and long-term objectives in order to support ongoing operations and ultimately foster peace, equity, and cooperation throughout the region. She is the owner of Vares-Lum Indo-Pacific Consulting, LLC, and provides consulting and advising on Indo-Pacific security issues. As a seasoned keynote speaker, she speaks on a range of Indo-Pacific subjects including leadership; mentorship; and Women, Peace, and Security. She is a Strategic Advisor to the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Council and Board Member of the American Red Cross Pacific Islands Region.
Dr. John Wood
Director, Training and Exercises
USINDOPACOM J7
Dr. John Wood is Director (J9), Pacific Outreach, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. He leads the Command’s Strategic Public-Private Partnership Outreach; Senior Leadership Engagement and outreach to non-traditional security entities such as academia, think tanks, NGOs and private sector; staff academic development and speaker series; All-Hazards and civil affairs activities; interagency liaison officers; historical office; and Legislative Affairs outreach to U.S. Congress and Hawaii state government. Prior to his 2014 appointment to the Senior Executive Service, he was an active duty Naval Officer and F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot and brings 31 years of leadership and management to Senior Executive Service. During his career, he lived in Germany, Italy, Bahrain, Japan, and Singapore, flew fighters from aircraft carriers throughout the Middle East, Asia, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic, and served on major staffs and Combatant Commands throughout the world. He graduated from Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and commanded a squadron and air wing. Selected as the US Navy’s Moreau Scholar in 1998, he holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He holds Masters of Arts degrees from the University of San Diego and U.S. Naval War College, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Director, Training and Exercises
USINDOPACOM J7
Dr. John Wood is Director (J9), Pacific Outreach, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. He leads the Command’s Strategic Public-Private Partnership Outreach; Senior Leadership Engagement and outreach to non-traditional security entities such as academia, think tanks, NGOs and private sector; staff academic development and speaker series; All-Hazards and civil affairs activities; interagency liaison officers; historical office; and Legislative Affairs outreach to U.S. Congress and Hawaii state government. Prior to his 2014 appointment to the Senior Executive Service, he was an active duty Naval Officer and F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot and brings 31 years of leadership and management to Senior Executive Service. During his career, he lived in Germany, Italy, Bahrain, Japan, and Singapore, flew fighters from aircraft carriers throughout the Middle East, Asia, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic, and served on major staffs and Combatant Commands throughout the world. He graduated from Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and commanded a squadron and air wing. Selected as the US Navy’s Moreau Scholar in 1998, he holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He holds Masters of Arts degrees from the University of San Diego and U.S. Naval War College, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Mr Rob York
Director for Regional Affairs
Pacific Forum
Rob York is Program Director for Regional Affairs at Pacific Forum. He is responsible for editing Pacific Forum publications, including the weekly PacNet series, the triannual Comparative Connections journal, and the in-depth Issue & Insights series. Prior to joining Pacific Forum, Rob worked as a production editor at The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. A PhD candidate in Korean history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Rob has established himself as a commentator on inter-Korean and Hong Kong affairs, as a regular contributor to NK News and The Daily NK and having been published at The South China Morning Post, War on the Rocks, the Foundation for Economic Education, Korean Studies, and The Journal of American-East Asian Relations, as well as conducting numerous interviews in various media outlets. His research agenda at Pacific Forum includes trade and its relationship with security, media analysis, countering disinformation, and human rights.
Director for Regional Affairs
Pacific Forum
Rob York is Program Director for Regional Affairs at Pacific Forum. He is responsible for editing Pacific Forum publications, including the weekly PacNet series, the triannual Comparative Connections journal, and the in-depth Issue & Insights series. Prior to joining Pacific Forum, Rob worked as a production editor at The South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. A PhD candidate in Korean history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Rob has established himself as a commentator on inter-Korean and Hong Kong affairs, as a regular contributor to NK News and The Daily NK and having been published at The South China Morning Post, War on the Rocks, the Foundation for Economic Education, Korean Studies, and The Journal of American-East Asian Relations, as well as conducting numerous interviews in various media outlets. His research agenda at Pacific Forum includes trade and its relationship with security, media analysis, countering disinformation, and human rights.
