 Aloha and welcome to Global Connections. I'm your host Carlos Juarez and delighted to welcome a special guest today, a young reader here in Hawaii who has born and raised here but have went out into the world and then represented the U.S. as a diplomat for many years. He's now come back and I'm speaking of none other than Patrick Bronco. And today, of course, Patrick is a newly elected representative in the Hawaii State Legislature, representing Ailua and Kanyoi. And earlier in another chapter of his life, he was a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State, representing us abroad. So let me just really with a great big aloha welcome you Patrick. Thank you for joining us here on Global Connections. It's great to see you. Great to see you too. Thank you Dr. Horace for the opportunity to be here today. Yes, and of course, I mean, I have to be very upfront. Obviously, I have a, well, you have a special place in my life because years ago you were a student of mine and yet that's history. Now, of course, you're a professional and you've had a experience as a U.S. diplomat. Now you've come back as a legislator. So you've taken on new opportunities. But I'm curious because one of the things that fascinates me is, you know, you grew up here in Hawaii, this is your home and, you know, the values and the way of seeing the world. And of course, you know, coming into the Foreign Service, the U.S. Foreign Services are diplomatic corps. Of course, you joined, I believe it was back in 2012. But by way of background, let me just mention that, of course, you were a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University and it was there years ago that I had an opportunity to meet you coming out of the commandment schools. You were very young and, you know, from the beginning, I always say as a teacher, you know, as an educator, you can always tell those students who you know they're going to go on to do interesting things. I mean, it doesn't happen to all of them. Now and then you see those. And I certainly saw that in you, a very motivated and, you know, curious and, you know, an eager learner. You had opportunities at that time to study abroad, opportunities in Korea, particularly, but you graduated having studied a double major international relations and political science. So kind of a related but the differences. But more importantly, you would go on then at that point through some opportunities to get into graduate program, very prestigious Johns Hopkins University, the School of Advanced International Studies, where your studies took you into international economics, very important understanding how the world works, of course, and more focus on Korea studies. And of course, you enter the Foreign Service and where does Uncle Sam send you? Bogota, Colombia. And to me, that was exciting as well, because I had, you know, many years before I had done some of my research for my PhD studies down in Colombia. And so it was very interesting to see and then quickly immersed in Spanish language, which has been great. But beyond that, of course, what I wanted to do is kind of reflect on two things, because I think you give us a good example of both the opportunities and maybe the kind of skills and competencies that we need and that we developed. Some of it we study and we learned some of what we gained through life experience, of course. But at the end of the day, you have at your core as anybody growing up in Hawaii, you have certain values that are integral to that yourself from your own heritage. And so I kind of wanted to maybe use this opportunity to kind of reflect on what are some of the ways in which Hawaii helped prepare you for your initial career as a diplomat, you know, what did you bring? Because as we know, and you can maybe share a little bit about this traditionally, the diplomatic service, the very elite service, of course, anywhere it is. But it's, you know, in the U.S., it's characteristically very wide angle Saxon Protestant, you know, Ivy League East Coast. And no doubt, you know, our Foreign Service, our diplomacy is better served by representing, you know, the two face of America. So over the years, we've had different efforts to try and bring that diversity of perspectives of geographical communal origin and the like. So you became part of this new wave of sort of, you know, diversifying some of that. You know, diplomacy is a very challenging area. You need to know a little bit about everything. You have different skills. So I kind of want to maybe ask you to really just kind of give us some reflections on what it is you brought as you came to diplomatic service from Hawaii, from your background that clearly was different from maybe some of the traditional routes. And then as we talk a little later, I mean, now that you've come back, you've returned to Hawaii, you've now joined the state legislature, obviously state and local politics. And yet you have skills that that experience gave you understanding the world, understanding maybe what is placed in it. And, you know, that's going to be, I think, maybe the flip side of that. So thank you again. And maybe just from the outset of you, tell us a little bit about your own, you know, trajectory. And especially as a young Foreign Service officer, you know, what it is you brought to the table that is clearly different from, let's say, the typical Yale graduate or, you know, the Wasp as we might say. Yeah, no, thank you for the opportunity to be in here today. I want to speak to young people who are interested in joining the Foreign Service. I always tell, especially those in Hawaii, I say, you have the training to be a diplomat from the day you were born. Here in Hawaii, we grew up in an interracial culture. It's very diverse, right? We are trained from that early moment to kind of be culture chameleons in that sense. Right here in Hawaii, you know, we understand Native Hawaiian culture, a little bit of Chinese culture, Japanese culture, Portuguese culture. And so we have a natural knack for diplomacy growing up here in Hawaii. And then I just want to talk about the program for anyone out there who is young and thinking about actually joining the Foreign Service. So I entered the Foreign Service through the Congressman Rangel International Affairs Fellowship Program. Congressman Rangel was a legendary congressman from New York, African American, Puerto Rican, and he would travel all around the world, and they always thought he was the driver. And so he sort of reflected and started thinking that the face of American diplomacy abroad wasn't reflective of the diversity of America. So he created this program to recruit young Americans into the Foreign Service. And so I was very fortunate that I was the first from Hawaii to receive this honor, and it's an amazing honor. So it comes with internships. It paid for all of my grad school at Johns Hopkins SICE. I interned on the hill. And then my second summer, I got to intern at the U.S. Embassy Seoul. And this was all provided for and then I got partnered with the former ambassador to Brunei who helped me study and pass the examination. So you can enter the Foreign Service. The normal route is through a national examination. It's very hard. Only about 2% actually pass. But this program actually prepares you to pass the examination and then pipeline you into the Foreign Service. And so since I got actually one of our friends and actually your former student, Andrew Arbernado, got it too. So many from Hawaii have continued to get into this program and entered into the diplomatic service for our country. Yeah, no, again, a great example. And this was an initiative again, this legislator himself who said, look, there's an important need to both reflect the reality. And maybe I just ask you that today, of course, one of the big buzzwords everywhere, every organization, it's all about diversity, equity, inclusion, I mean, the big good buzz. And these are not abstract things. I mean, there's a reason why it's important. And I wonder maybe if you could answer why is diversity important in our diplomatic service? I mean, it's not just because we want to have this, but there's obviously something that you bring that maybe those that come from a more, I guess, homogeneous or maybe a stereotypical background, they may be smart and resourceful in no languages. But there's really a need to, I guess, the way you explained it, and maybe that Rango said it, it should reflect the face of America. But why? I mean, what would you say? Or why is diversity important, let's say in our public policy? Absolutely. So the joke at State Department when we were entering was that the traditional U.S. diplomat was stale, pale, male, and Yale. And so with that type of background, that generality, you have a different type of viewpoint. You have a very elite viewpoint. And I think what I brought to the table, as well as others through the program, as well as other diverse individuals, we brought a different understanding. We brought, like for me, I'm part native Hawaiian, I definitely understood, especially when I was in Colombia or Venezuela, how to engage with indigenous populations, how to understand their language, how to understand their culture, and build those ties, right? And I think being from that background is really powerful. When I was able to agree in my language, my native language in native Hawaiian, to other indigenous people around the world, that brought a base level and a level of trust that helped create something that we could start and we could build a relationship on. I think that's what's important. And I think you hit on just the simple word of trust, and that's something that in many cultures, it requires people to really kind of, you have to get on their level, you have to be empathetic and understand their view. And again, even Colombia, while it's majority Spanish speaking, Mesquizo, there are very large communities of indigenous populations and many parts of the world. And the issues, the challenges that they face are there. And it simply means that you bring, let's say, a sensibility and understanding, an ability to connect, and more importantly, an ability to earn trust. Because if you don't have that trust, you can't get things done. I mean, it's a big issue, right? And also, I just wanted to add, though, I think one of the reasons I was successful was that I was born and raised in Hawaii. We don't really have a coin for it, but the soft power diplomacy of Hawaii is so powerful. When you say you're from Hawaii, people's faces just light up. Even though they've never been to Hawaii, they know something. They crave Hawaii. And that was also very powerful for me when they asked, where are you from in the United States? And I would say Hawaii, right? And they would just brighten up and they'd be like, oh, I saw this, or I know this, or you're surfing or whatnot. They always tried to make a tie. And that was very powerful in diplomacy. Yeah, no, again, and beyond that, there are real challenges. While you get in the service, I mean, you're also going up against a very well-established institution and very much, let's say, like more organization. There's the old guard that have been there. There are traditions that are very important, rituals and the like. And there is, you have to shake things up. And at the end of the day, that's what you're doing. You're breaking down some of those barriers and also inspiring others to follow you. While you had a brief service, I mean, the foreign service like other types of government service can sometimes be a chapter in your life, a brief experience. For some, it goes on to be career. And we don't know, Patrick, today you're back here. It's very possible that in another 10, 20 years, you could find yourself representing the US again in other opportunities. Because there's also, I think here, and this is why I'm fascinated, because you made a decision, a very bold one to return to basically resign from the foreign service. And that's not an easy thing to do for anybody. But more importantly, you're back now and you're at your feet in the ground here as a state representative. And maybe what I want to say is this, as a diplomat, you need to understand a lot about everything. You need to know about the world, about language, about culture. But you also need to know about your home country that you represent, particularly the state and local. And I'm wondering, because foreign policy is also this abstract international affair is very complex for many people. But it also needs to be connected to domestic and state and local. And I'm curious, maybe if you could share some things about, you know, in what ways maybe Hawaii itself is an important, let's say player in global politics or economics, and why it's important, you know, let's say in your service in the diplomatic core to be fully immersed in local and state issues. So it's not just the, you know, global politics, but really, you're in effect, you know, you've got a need to understand. So maybe if you can kind of, how do we connect that global, you know, international relations with really domestic state local issues? Well, I think what really first started me thinking about the connection between Hawaii domestic policy and also international was actually, I'm a big, I avidly read Hawaiian history. And I believe our Li'i and our Hawaiian monarchy actually understood that Hawaii was such a small kingdom in this big global family, and they had to figure out how to play on the world stage. And so, you know, King Kalakawa was the first king to circumnavigate the globe. Our Li'i were fluent in multiple languages, were very well traveled, and they understood that Hawaii's vitality, Hawaii's livelihood was connected to internationalism. And I still think that plays till today, right? Hawaii is a strategic location, geopolitically, in dopey commas here, we are, you know, the midway point. I like to say Hawaii is kind of the Geneva of the Pacific. We have an important role. We also have the east-west center here, which is another track two soft diplomacy for us. And so Hawaii has this historical competitive advantage of being an international player. And I think me going abroad and then now back home helps give perspective to me when I'm developing policy, right? I'm a pragmatist and I'm a realist. I always say I'm a practical diplomatic progressive. And so I really, when I'm drafting legislation or when I'm thinking about the way I look at laws, I actually look at what other states are doing and also what other countries are doing, right? What is successful? It's not always recreating the wheel. It's great to be number one, but it's also to be the most efficient. It's good to be the most efficient and the best. We can learn from what other countries have been doing. So that's kind of my viewpoint and the lens that I take when I'm drafting legislation and when I make decisions as a policymaker. Yeah. I think you touched on this important, you know, Hawaii. We have often the stereotype image, just a playground, a honeymoon site. No, it's actually been for many years a place that has brought the world. I mean, it effectively the culture of society we have today is a product of that, of many migrants who settled here and created it. Obviously with the core indigenous population and if you live and understand Hawaii, you need to know that the Hawaiian indigenous culture that is at its core, but ultimately that same Hawaiian culture is what has been very embracing of the many others who settled here, right? And I mean, again, let's not carry it, I mean, or sugar coated, if you will, because it's also got its trouble in issues, different assets, but on the whole, Hawaii clearly can be said to be a good laboratory for race relation, for multi-cultural, et cetera. And of course today, you've got so much focus on sustainability issues and understanding the environment and its connection. Well, the Native Hawaiians had practiced this long before it became Vogue, I mean, understanding the connection to our land. And so there are lessons that now we here can share with the world and other places, right? And I was, as you were describing it, I was also fascinated, I think in the current new administration, one of our, you know, top diplomats of a previous administration, Susan Rice, who was, of course, a national security advisor and master of the UN, she was placed not in a foreign policy role, but as I understand it, ahead of the domestic policy, you know, in the White House. And I think that gives a good illustration of how you need foreign policy knowledge to understand domestic policy. You know, we cannot succeed as a domestic, you know, you know, let's say a economy and society, if we don't know our place in the world, and some of those challenges. So I think your own decision and now your new chapter as a legislator underscores that you bring a set of skills, perhaps that not all other legislators have if they've never left the island. I mean, that's not not to hold that against them because they also bring other insights, but your ability to see the world be part of it can now come back is I think a valuable set of skills to sort of help people, well, put them in check at times or keep them grounded like, wait a minute, we need to know where we fit into this larger piece. And I'm reminded now it's been almost 10 years in fall when Hawaii was host of this large multilateral conference that President Obama then hosted the APAC summit meeting of world leaders. And, you know, even as a longtime educator myself, I always like to say Hawaii is not this far and remote place in many ways, it is the center of the world and especially the very dynamic Asia Pacific region that we're part of. We know it's the east and the west connection, but I also like to see it as part of the north-south because, you know, we are part of the US, of course, and connected to the more developed parts of the world. We are also deeply connected and part of the developing world or the other world as we might call it. Now, I'm curious as we might kind of flip this around, we've gotten some great insights on what you've learned from your diplomacy, what you took to the diplomacy from your Hawaii heritage. And now that you have come back, you're a fresh new young legislator here in the state. And, you know, state politics, obviously, is all the nitty-gritty details of, you know, things that are here local. But nevertheless, you are bringing, you know, again, your experience, your insights. And I guess I'm curious, you know, how did that diplomacy in different ways or how does this knowledge of global affairs help you be a better state legislator and help you maybe understand, you know, making laws that are going to be, I don't know, more relevant, more enduring, more, you know, pertinent. So rather than just what did you take to diplomacy from Hawaii, what did that diplomatic experience help you now as a state legislator? Absolutely. So as a diplomat, I think it's important when you arrive into a country, you're trying to figure out the web of connections. You're trying to find, understand the system. Who are the players that make that host government move? Who can pull the levers to make things go? And I think those are really very relevant skills in the state legislature, right? There are 51 of us in the House. There are 25 of us in the Senate. And so right now, for me, I kind of, when I got elected, I view it as understanding the system, understanding the web, understanding which leaders work with each other, which leaders don't, understanding what their values are. I think that was very important. And so that's really kind of the lens. I kind of looked at it as kind of a, like a mini-UN, kind of a multilateral type of diplomatic vision, where I'm trying to figure out who is with what and what are the levers that I can pull to make sure these laws pass and go through. Yeah, so effectively, I mean, you're explaining like, you know, this diplomacy, which is this art of, you know, basically building crosser connections, many different stakeholders and so on. The same reality is here at play, you know, in state and local politics, just maybe a variation. And interestingly, and I mean, I'm more of an expert on international relations myself, having been in Hawaii, again, as part of my adult life, I see it from that perspective. What I'm getting at there is that Hawaii politics is often looked at as obviously very different actions and, you know, even maybe the role of ethnic groups at different times. And so you've got this very complex web of different interests, you know, and they're not just, you know, race and ethnicity. Of course, a lot of them are economic interests or some of them are regional. So much like the world is complex, our own little state here is a microcosm of the world reflecting those different interests. And, you know, again, we don't always think of that because we often have this image of Hawaii as this one thing. Of course, it's not. There are many little Hawaii's, right? And I like how you described again, this notion that you brought a sense of that sensibility. Now you're looking at a lot of those same things here local. And maybe, again, if there's any kind of, just taking a lot of any kind of anecdote or examples that you can think of, some something that your your diplomatic skills helped you to, I don't know, overcome or, you know, or handle in a different way that you might have without that experience. And anything. So one of the things that I always realized when I'm negotiating for bills or trying to whip votes or trying to get things passed, I think the way, the way for me in my career, the way that I was successful as a diplomat was to always be non-threatening, right? If you come in as threatening or, you know, kind of, what is it, we say in Hawaii, big body or I maca maca, right? But in Hawaii, we have this kind of humble type of mentality step back. And that actually was kind of diplomacy plus my whole way upbringing is kind of what I use when I'm negotiating, right? Is, you know, when I speak with someone or I always try to be non-threatening, understand where they come from. There's even, you know, one or two words that you can use, right? Passive language that you could use to get people more agreeable to what you're trying to do. And so that's, that's what I've used here. And just kind of going back to your previous note about the microcosm here in Hawaii, I kind of always assume like, you know, all the islands are all kind of like local people, all brada brada kind of thing, but it's, it's very different. And, you know, each little community has their own things. And this is the other thing, studying Korea and studying being, you know, I did some short stints in Afghanistan, regionalism, right? Not a strong central government, people like power in the regions. It's actually helped me think when people on the outer islands are advocating for certain things, right? I'm from the capital, I think a certain way, but those from other islands have more of a regional or power should be more in the regions compared to in the capital. So that's another way that like my, my education has helped me kind of reach my framework when it, when it comes to thinking. Yeah. And in many ways, I mentioned earlier your own initial studies of both undergraduate and graduate, you know, you focus primarily on East Asia, on Korea, even language training. And what does Uncle Sam do? You get sent to Latin America. And, you know, that seems kind of illogical. But in fact, for the Foreign Service, it's important, you know, you develop diplomats, not to be just so narrowly focused, you know, if you're a China expert, you also need to know other parts of the world. And, you know, even today, interestingly, as you certainly know from your experience there in Colombia, you know, China is a major player today in South America, Central America, in growing their presence. And in fact, I would go back to this, of course, I'm a Latin American myself, a Mexican heritage. I also like to say that we don't always appreciate that places like Colombia, Chile, Mexico, these are Pacific nations and they see themselves very much as part of the Asia Pacific Rim, increasingly, especially because again, you've got a growing role for China, especially with the relative neglect of the U.S., you know, after 9-11, the U.S. kind of put its energies elsewhere and Latin America sort of got left behind in many respects. And then the case of Colombia, which I also know well, is a very curious one because most of Latin America, you often have a very centralization, you know, the big capital and pulling everything. And Colombia is a little different. Bogota is the capital, but you also have very large power centers in Medellin, the industrial capital, Pali, and Barakia. So it kind of has a bit of that regional diversity that you spoke of. Even, again, we think of Hawaii, very different, whether it's the Outer Island, whether it's the Windward side, you know, these things play out as well at state and local level. And so I think, you know, again, the more things kind of look different, the more they end up being the same too. And the skill sets that you've described, I think give a good example of that where, and then I would go back to this, and maybe, you know, I've often taught a course on international negotiation where we look at different negotiating styles. And again, we have stereotypes, but they exist for a reason, you know, the French do things a certain way, the Chinese and other, and the Americans, it's often, well, there's often a very bully aggressive attitude, you know, Americans come in, you know, they're big, they're powerful, usually whenever they're negotiating, it's, you know, from that vantage point, there's often like a preacher, a morality aspect of it, you know, that comes in some of that. And, and yet what you described, I think was so important, which, you know, again, American diplomacy varies too, but it is this need for whether it's being rather humble or modest or finding ways to be less aggressive, that's important too. And again, I would go back to the Hawaii heritage that you come from. Clearly, you've got a skill set that allows you to approach things maybe less aggressively and using whether language or body language, whether it's simply giving the respect that others need, even if you don't agree with them, you need to be able to let people feel that they are on your same playing field, right? Maybe just from that, I get you, you know, your experience in the foreign service initially took you to Colombia, then you had a short stint in Pakistan, as I recall, and then back in Washington working as a, you know, with the representative from the Office of Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan as well. So these are tough environments where you've got major conflicts, major tensions, major players, you know, security dilemmas, of course, the U.S. foreign policy and all that entails. At the end of the day, it's people to people. And when you're there, you're dealing with, you know, this warlord or this, you know, person, etc., similarly in Colombia, a country that's had its share of violence throughout its history. But at the end of the day, it also has a lot of experience negotiating and working with different parts. And maybe just, you know, from your own experience, both in diplomacy and now back home as a legislator, I mean, negotiation skills. I mean, what would you say are some of the important qualities you touched on one of them, trying to maybe be less, I don't know how you phrase it, you do less aggressive or using a certain language, you know, maybe say a few words about the negotiating skills that are essential, you know, and whether it's diplomacy, whether it's local policy. A few things. Number one, don't be the first to speak. Let the other side speak, because you can generally hear what, you know, their messages, and that's where you can kind of suss out points of agreement. So look for those points of agreement and attach onto that and work with their first, establish that connection, establish that partnership. That's what you need to first. The second, you should be listening more than you're talking. The other thing too, when I was abroad, you know, I didn't, I didn't assume anything, right? If I went into a meeting, I didn't even assume if it was all right to take notes. I always asked first, is it all right if I take notes of our conversation, right? So that shows type of a level of consciousness, a level of cordiality that the other side always likes. So those are the tips that I always kind of use. Let them speak first so you can find those points of agreement to make that partnership, listen more, and then also don't assume anything. Always ask and be polite and then go from there. And then that's where I kind of always went in and then you can figure out the rest. Because I always, I do believe that in that old adage, there's more points of agreement than disagreement. You know, people are people and you can relate with people. Well, I think on that note, I mean, this has been a great chance to hear and you summed it up very well. In some way, just pay attention and listen. Don't come out and have all your step back, be a little more humble and modest, and find out, you know, let the other speak. That's a great lesson again. Well, listen, Patrick, I mean, of course, our time has come to an end right now, but it's an ongoing dialogue. We'll continue. I know we'll have you back here to share more insights of your experience now as a new young legislator here, representing Halu and Kanyoi in the State House of Representatives, but coming from the perspective of a U.S. diplomat. And to me, I'm fascinated by that because we helped frame you and of course, you took on the initiative and now you've come back. And so it's a double-edged sword because we need you out there too to represent the world, but we need you here as well. But I'm convinced somehow in the next 10 or 20 years, we're going to see you back out there again before it's too long. So let me close on that and just again, thank you for this opportunity to talk story, learn about your own life story. It's been very inspiring for me and I hope for many others. And thank you again. I'm your host, Carlos Juarez, here on Global Connections joined today by Patrick Bronco, representative in the House of Representatives of the State Legislature. Thank you, Patrick. Look forward to seeing you again. Aloha.