U.S. Embassy Dublin
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 01, 2020
The U.S. Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) awarded the 2020 Country Chapter Achievement Award to the Dublin Country Chapter in recognition of its excellent leadership, collaboration, and engagement in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, the Dublin Country Chapter rapidly adapted its programming to include expert-led webinars on the safety and security challenges of the virus and worked simultaneously to ensure specific sectors received the latest information. The Steering Committee, led by Public Sector Co-Chair, Kevin Gonzalez (Regional Security Officer for the U.S. Embassy) and Private Sector Co-Chairs, Brian Kirkpatrick ( Elavon Financial Services) and John Murphy (Stripe), organized online events with security professionals from the U.S. Embassy and the private sector to share their experience and expertise on practical measures to ensure the safety of their employees and business operations. As it opened up its online events to chapters worldwide, OSAC Dublin also became a resource hub for information sharing.
“The Dublin Country Chapter is a significant partner in OSAC due to the large number of U.S.-owned companies operating here. Building strong engagement among security professionals is vital, and I would strongly encourage any U.S. multinational companies in Ireland who have not yet joined the Country Chapter to do so via the OSAC website,” said Kevin Gonzalez.
“Through these webinars, we reached not only our current members in Ireland but also many of the OSAC chapters in Europe, thus ensuring that the information was shared as widely as possible” said John Murphy. Brian Kirkpatrick agreed that, “the ability to share this sort of information is invaluable; it is times like this that prove the value of the OSAC network”.
Established in 1985, OSAC is the USG’s premier public-private partnership that works collaboratively to protect U.S. organizations’ staff and operations abroad through threat analysis, alerts, and peer network groups. OSAC supports 150 Country Chapters globally as trusted networks comprised of public and private security professionals. Members exchange up-to-date information related to security within the country and the geographic region where they are situated.
ENDS
For more information on OSAC, visit the website at www.osac.gov. For press-related queries, please email DSS public affairs at ds-press@state.gov.