Thursday, June 15, 2017, K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K St NW # 1, Washington, DC 20006

Hostage US is holding a daylong seminar in Washington, D.C. focusing on how organizations can effectively support families of employees taken hostage and help employees reintegrate back into the workplace after captivity.

Download the agenda here.

Christopher Costa, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council will deliver the keynote address.

The seminar will answer key questions facing those responsible for kidnap response with organizations from security, legal, HR and communications disciplines:

• What are my organizational and individual responsibilities and legal liabilities in relation to kidnapping?

Frank Marshall, formerly with Northrop Grumman will offer an organizational case study of a kidnapping in Colombia and outline broader issues of duty of care facing employers.

• How can my organization partner with the US Government in the event of the kidnapping of member of staff or contractor?

Julia Nesheiwat, Acting Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and Rob Saale, Director, Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell will outline the structures and mechanisms for handling hostage cases within the US Government and how they work with the private sector in the event of a kidnapping.

• What does it feel like to experience a kidnapping first hand both as a family member and a hostage?

Terry Anderson was held captive in Lebanon for six years. He will talk about the challenges for families and the challenges facing hostages when they return from captivity, including the mental, physical and return to work.

• How can my organization assist families in handling the psychological, legal and practical challenges during a kidnapping?

Our experts will explore the wide range of legal, psychological and practical challenges that families can face throughout a kidnapping, the responsibilities of organizations to assist, and how best to organize this kind of support.

Emily Lenzner, Senior Vice President of Global Communications at Atlantic Media will present a case study detailing how to handle the media and social media during a kidnapping.

Lydia Lin, Professional Support Lawyer at White & Case LLP will an organization’s duty of care in relation to hostage cases.

Amy Manson, Hostage US board member will discuss how to access the full range of support services for hostages and their families available through insurance coverage.

• How can my organization support former hostages in dealing with their return home and to work? What are the reintegration challenges for former hostages?

Jessica Buchanan, former hostage and Hostage US board member will discuss the challenge of ‘surviving survival’ for returning hostages and how organizations can manage the return to work process effectively.

• What are the latest kidnapping trends?

Frank Grimm, Director, Crisis Response Services at Constellis has extensive experience in the security field and will outline the latest kidnapping trends and what they mean for your organization.

It will be held at the office of K&L Gates LLP at 1601 K St NW # 1, Washington, DC 20006.

In order to maintain the privacy of participants, the seminar will be held under the Chatham House rule and will not be open to the media.