Spotlights

At a time when the U.S. economy is thriving, a standing-room-only crowd packed the halls of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit on March 26-28 in Philadelphia. The three-day conference, which attracted 1,200 on-site and 3,000 virtual participants, focused on the critical need for strong communication and partnership. “CBP remains committed to our partnership with you and the broader trade community. The Summit is an excellent opportunity for us to provide you with critical updates on our efforts, explore areas of shared interest, and hear from you…

Ask anyone who has worked with Rob Jackson, a Communications Specialist with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Talent Management Directorate, and they will tell you he is dedicated, compassionate, and likable as well as bound to succeed in whatever role he chooses. Having served more than 20 years with the United States Army, he is also a proud veteran. Jackson initially joined CBP via the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Non-Paid Work Experience (NPWE) Internship, a program for non-law enforcement mission support positions designed for disabled veterans who are at various…

Astrid Gilbert’s job was defense on Super Bowl Sunday. But she wasn’t part of the San Francisco 49ers or the Kansas City Chiefs at the game played in Las Vegas; she was a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations pilot. “I manned the aircraft that was in charge of aerial surveillance and reconnaissance,” said Gilbert, who normally flies out of Yuma, Arizona. She, along with a camera operator in the seat next to her, provided a video downlink to CBP forces and other federal, state and local law enforcement on the ground to keep an eye out for crowd control, traffic incidents…

Nancy Wang is an International Trade Analyst with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Trade. Originally from Taiwan, she majored in foreign language during her undergraduate studies. On her path to becoming an educator, she learned English and Japanese with the goal of becoming a teacher. After she came to the U.S. to earn her master’s degree, Wang’s first teaching position was in Seattle at a Japanese school. It only took her one year to realize this was not the end of her journey to a fulfilling career, so she decided to earn a second masters, this time studying law at the...

By Marcy Mason It was a time of reflection with an eye toward the future when the 16th term of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade advisory committee met for their last public meeting on Dec. 13, in Washington, D.C. Members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, known as COAC, were recognized for their meaningful contributions and thanked for their commitment, paving the way for the committee’s 17th term. “Service on the COAC is public service. It requires tremendous work and open minds. Our goal is to safeguard the national and economic security of the United States…

“When words fail, music speaks,” are the words sewn into a pillow given to Ana Rodriguez as a gift from one of her piano students. Rodriguez has shared her love of music free of charge for more than a decade, teaching piano lessons to nearly 60 students ranging from 4 to 18 years old. Music was a family affair from a very young age for Rodriguez, a senior auditor with the Office of Trade Regulatory Audit. She played the piano and the flute, her mother sang in the church choir, her father played the guitar, and her brother played the drums. Her grandfather would bring music books from Mexico...

Discussions began on a serious note when members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade advisory committee met virtually for their last public meeting of the fiscal year on Sept. 20. The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, known as COAC, received a sobering update on the rise in fentanyl seizures. “CBP’s fentanyl seizures have risen more than 800% since fiscal year 2019, and CBP has seized over 26,000 pounds of fentanyl as of today,” said Troy A. Miller, CBP’s senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, who co-chaired the meeting. “Our officers and agents...

The famous quote, “The Marines have landed and have the situation well in hand" was popularized by the late nineteenth-century journalist Richard Harding Davis, and today it is how Axel Davila’s arrival at U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) could be best described. Davila, who recently retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a Master Gunnery Sergeant, reached out to the CBP national Veterans Employment Program Manager, Jeffrey Jack during his last active-duty assignment in Washington, D.C. The two discussed the DoD SkillBridge program, an opportunity for service-members to gain valuable...

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Yolanda Lazo puts great weight in her faith and her dreams. Currently serving as an executive assistant with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), she took the time to reflect on her career journey that led her to D.C. and CBP’s Office of Chief Counsel (OCC).

Moving forward with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade modernization initiative was the central focus when the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, known as COAC, met in Arlington, Virginia, on June 14. The meeting marked the conclusion of the 21st Century Customs Framework Task Force, which was created in 2021 to facilitate industry-government discussion on trade modernization priorities. CBP’s 21st Century Customs Framework is an initiative that was launched in March 2019 to identify solutions to current and future trade challenges and modernization barriers. “As today’…