AES Export Compliance Seminar

Dawit Asmellash joined the Census Bureau in 2007 and currently works in the Trade Data Collection Branch.  He provides the export trade community with the filing requirements in the Automated Export System (AES) and makes sure that filers are reporting properly and meeting standards of US export laws and regulations.  He also makes sure to share any updates to technical requirements in AES and any changes to the Foreign Trade Regulations.  As a member of the Fatal Error Team, he observes trends, analyzes export data, and follows up with companies that are below reporting standards.  He brings a well-rounded experience from having worked in Trade Regulations Branch and Trade Outreach Branch educating exporters on how to achieve compliance and developing best practices on export reporting.

Mr. Asmellash has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and an Associate of Applied Science in Business Technology.  He also has a Master of Business Administration in Supply Chain Management and International Business from Howard University. 

Paul Duncan is an Export Finance Manager for the Western Regional office of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) of the United States located in Irvine, CA

Mr. Duncan assists U.S. exporters, financial institutions and other export related entities in securing export financing through political and commercial risks coverage available through Ex-Im Bank.  Mr. Duncan’s regional responsibilities are the counties of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino, as well as the states of Nevada and Colorado.

The Western Regional office of the Ex-Im Bank, is responsible for business development in the western states.  Ex-Im Bank offers a variety of programs designed to help exporters make sales when other sources of assistance are unavailable or inadequate.  The focus of the office is to assist small firms in their efforts to fund overseas purchase orders through working capital guarantees, as well as protecting exporters against foreign political and commercial credit risks.

Mr. Duncan holds a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma, in Political Science, is married with two children, and is Assistant Scoutmaster for his son’s Scout Troop.

Peter Tataris, Senior International Trade Specialist - CS Houston

Peter Tataris joined the Houston Export Assistance Center in September 2015 after serving for over four years with the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece.

In his current role, Peter focuses on the energy and healthcare sectors. He has more than twenty years of experience in developing, planning, and implementing export strategies for multinational companies. As a Commercial Specialist in Athens, he successfully designed and executed customized export programs, helping U.S. companies achieve their objectives in the energy, aerospace defense, safety, and security industries.

Peter holds an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Henley Business School in the United Kingdom and a B.S. in Information Decision Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is bilingual in Greek and English.

Peter has received several lifetime awards, including the Individual Meritorious Honor Award and the Group Mission Honor Award from the U.S. Embassy in Greece.

Clara E. Santiago Bellow joined the Census Bureau in 1993 and has been a supervisor in the Puerto Rico Trade Data Office since 2005. She has more than 30 years of experience working with export and import data collection, Foreign Trade Regulations and the Automated Export System. Clara regularly provides training to businesses, in both English and Spanish, about understanding the Foreign Trade Regulations, utilizing the Automated Export System, and using tools such as the Census Business Builder, USA Trade Online and other Census’ websites. Clara and her team are now part of the Strategic & Portfolio Management Office within the Economic Directorate to promote and develop new statistical products in Puerto Rico.

Clara completed her Bachelor’s degree in Public Communication and a Master's degree in Public Administration with the University of Puerto Rico. Clara resides in Carolina, Puerto Rico, with her husband John Bello.

Luis Fernandez is an International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service Office in Ontario, CA. His job portfolio consists of helping businesses that manufacture American-made products in the Inland Empire export those goods and services to markets abroad.

He holds a Master of Public Administration from the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University Southern of California (USC). Luis is also an alumnus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a B.A. degree in Political Science.  

Ms. Mayumi Brewster embarked upon her career in the International Trade Management Division (ITMD) formerly known as Governments and Trade Management Division (GTMD) at the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015 as a Survey Statistician. She began working in the Data User and Trade Outreach Branch (DUTOB) coordinating and facilitating a number of webinars and Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) exports compliance seminars in support of the ongoing outreach efforts to the export trade community. In addition, Ms. Brewster continues to provide guidance to exporters requiring ACE export reports access through the Census Bureau’s verification process.

In DUTOB, one of her key contributions was creating export reports training resources for both beginner and advanced users. She worked directly with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and provided a thorough presentation that discussed various features within the ACE export reports application. In just 5 years of serving within this capacity, Ms. Brewster has trained thousands in utilizing the export reports feature. She is enthusiastic about serving the export trade community both in-person and virtual training and improving outreach efforts that lead to higher productivity and competitiveness.

Ms. Brewster has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Undergraduate Certificate in Management Foundations and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland, University College.