Frank O. Mora is professor of politics and international relations and senior research scientist at the Jack D. Gordon Institute, Florida International University (FIU), and former director of the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center (2013–2020) at FIU. Prior to his return to FIU in January 2025, Dr. Mora served as U.S. ambassador (permanent representative) to the Organization of American States (OAS) and National Summit of the Americas coordinator (2023–2025). He also served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Western Hemisphere (2009–2013). Ambassador Mora has held several teaching positions, including professor of national security strategy and Latin American studies at the National War College (2004–2009), associate professor and chair of the Department of International Studies at Rhodes College (2000–2004).

Dr. Mora is the author or editor of four books, including Latin American and Caribbean Foreign Policy (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003), Paraguay and the United States: Distant Allies (University of Georgia Press, 2008), and Neighborly Adversaries: U.S.–Latin American Relations (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015); and more than forty-five academic and policy articles, book chapters, and monographs on hemispheric security, U.S.–Latin American relations, civil–military relations, Cuban politics and military, and Latin American foreign policy. His opinion pieces and other commentaries have appeared in U.S. and Latin American media outlets, including Americas Quarterly, Foreign Policy, and Foreign Affairs.

Dr. Mora graduated with a BA in international affairs from The George Washington University in 1986. He received his MA in inter-American studies and a PhD in international affairs from the University of Miami. He also completed studies at universities in Peru and Costa Rica. He is a recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service, Department of Defense (2012).

Mora was an event speaker at the Dialogue.