KRISTEN (KRIS) PATEL

KRISTEN (KRIS) PATEL has been named the new Donald P. and Margaret Curry Gregg Professor of Practice in Korean and East Asian Affairs at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. She returns to Maxwell directly from HSBC’s Compliance Office in Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong, where she built and managed the regional financial-crime intelligence capability for one of the world’s largest banks. In her new role, Patel will serve as faculty member in the Policy Studies Program and teach undergraduate courses in policy studies and graduate courses in public administration and international affairs. In addition, Patel will be a research associate in Maxwell’s Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC) and contribute to Syracuse University’s Intelligence Center Community of Academic Excellence. Her public-sector career also includes more than two decades in increasingly senior management positions in the U.S. federal government. That includes serving as deputy director of intelligence at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the U.S. Department of Treasury, where she focused on high-priority illicit finance challenges. Patel also served in management and training roles at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), including as manager of the largest analytics training program at the CIA’s Sherman Kent School. She has also served as chair of a National Security Council (NSC) sub-group and provided daily intelligence briefings for senior NSC staff and White House advisors. Patel graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and policy studies, holds a master’s degree in economics from Duke University, and has a certificate in international finance from Georgetown University. Patel will be in residence at the Maxwell School in Syracuse starting in the fall of 2021.