Mycal Ford

Mycal Ford is a sanctions and financial crimes professional at a global consulting firm, where he provides regulatory advice and analysis on economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, and counterterrorism finance. Previously, Ford worked in the U.S. Department of the Treasury where he used his fluency in Mandarin and expertise of the Indo-Pacific region to help combat transnational illicit finance threats and address other international economic challenges.

In 2021, he was selected by the Center for a New American Security as a Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Fellow. In 2018, he was named as one among several Black American National Security Next Generation Leaders by the New America Foundation.

Ford earned a master of arts in international affairs from American University and a bachelor of arts in Chinese studies and political science from Pacific Lutheran University. During his studies, he received the Department of Defense David L. Boren Fellowship (China) and both the U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (China) and Fulbright (Taiwan).

Ford currently serves on the board of directors for several nonprofits nationally, including American Councils for International Education, a D.C.-based international education nonprofit that encourages bilingual education; Degrees of Change, a Seattle-based education organization that prepares high school students of color to become leaders on campus and in their communities; and the Risk Management and Insurance Center at the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University in Chicago. Ford is also a founding member of a nonprofit called the Black China Caucus Association, which aims to elevate the voices of Black China professionals in the hopes to ultimately diversify discourse on China.

Recently, Ford has been selected as a fellow by the Aspen Institute to attend the Aspen Ideas Festival for his leadership and work with the Black China Caucus. While there, he will continue to build the brand of the Black China Caucus to help make the China policy space more inclusive.