Jason brings to the Council an extensive international background and more than a decade of experience in diplomacy, international trade policy, oil and gas international affairs, and public affairs consulting for global companies. 

Before joining the Council, Jason spent four years in Moscow, Russia, where he developed and led an award-winning public affairs practice for the regional division of an international communications firm. In this capacity, Jason directed the firm's practice area in strategic communications and government relations programs, which helped position, secure and advance clients' business interests in and across multiple markets in Russia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. 

Jason has consulted for a long list of clients - from small non-profits to global, blue-chip companies - from a wide range of industries including healthcare, energy, infrastructure, transportation, finance and FMCG. Before he entered into consulting, Jason worked for the International Affairs Division of TNK-BP, a global top ten oil and gas producer.

Jason worked at the American Embassy in Moscow from 1999 to 2002, where he served as a special assistant on bilateral relations.  In the United States, Jason coordinated the Russian American Pacific Partnership, a public-private economic development and trade forum that included U.S. and Russian federal agencies and ministries, regional and state governments, private businesses and NGOs active in the North Pacific rim.  Jason also taught U.S. foreign policy at the University of Washington, Seattle, and directed a foreign studies program for American students at St. Petersburg State University, Russia.

A native of Illinois, Jason is an honors graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, with a double bachelor's degree in political science and Russian area studies.  Jason completed his master's in public administration the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs and a master's in international studies at the university's Jackson School of International Studies, where he also received a certificate in Global Trade, Transportation and Logistics. He speaks Russian fluently and has studied German, Italian, Spanish and Uzbek. Jason is a member of the Atlantic Council of the United States.