Past Events and Programs

2024 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

2023 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• "The Planet, Corporate Responsibility, Regeneration and Us – What Lies Ahead?”
    Lynette Preston Cameron, award-winning technology executive and sustainability strategist

• "Ukraine and the World - Russia's War With Ukraine"
    Steven Pifer, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine

• “Blue Skies Ahead - Your Air Travel Just Got Easier”
    Jon Stout, Manager of the Charles Schulz Sonoma County Airport

• "Diplomacy in a Time of Conflict: Managing the New Cold War with Russia and China."
    Keith McCormick, U.S. Department of State (retired).

• "Germany, Russia, Ukraine and the World: What Next?"
    Colonel Peter Frank, prior Military Assistant for the German Under Secretary of Defense.

• “Uncovering the Politics of Climate Change”
    David Callaway, former editor-in-chief of USA Today,
    and founder/editor of Callaway Climate Insights

• “Whither the Dollar: Exorbitant Privilege No More?"
    Barry Eichengreen, Teacher, lecturer and author,
    and he is the George C. Pardee and  Helen Pardee
    Professor of Economics and Political Science at UC Berkeley.

• “At the Crossroads” – How sick is Planet Earth and can we heal it?"
    Gregory S. Stone, Ph.D., Chief Ocean Scientist and
     Marine Conservationist for The Metals Company

• “The Lack of Trust Threatens Journalism and Democracies. Can It Be Fixed?“
    Larry Kramer, Journalist, Entrepreneur, Media Executive
    Video link available, Click Here

2022 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

“Russia:  The Failure of Democracy in Russia
and the War Against Ukraine”
Mikhail Tsypkin, Author and Speaker

“Where Is China Going? Implications for the U.S.”
Frank Lavin, CEO and founder of Export Now

“Election ’22!”
Dr. David McCuan, Professor and Chair of Political Science at Sonoma State University

“Is Mexico at a Critical Turning Point?“
Alex Saragoza, Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley

“The U.S., Russia and China: Today’s Global Ménage à Trois — The Chinese Perspective”
Douglas W. Lee, Historian, teacher and author

“The Rules of War and International Humanitarian Law”
Jill Hofmann, International Services Pacific Division Lead (IHL) with the American Red Cross
Video link available, Click Here

“War and Beyond: How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Will Reshape the World Order“
Keith McCormick, U.S. Department of State (retired)
Video link available, Click Here

“Democratic Decline in the United States: A Comparative Perspective“
Professor Tom Ginsburg, Leo Spitz Professor of International Law at the University of Chicago.
Video link available, Click Here

“Migration and the Upending of the Western Political Order“
Mark Randol is a homeland security expert with over 35 years of experience in government and military intelligence, counterterrorism, and the aviation security. He was the Director of Counterterrorism Policy at the Department of Homeland Security, and Senior Specialist in Domestic Intelligence and Counterterrorism at the Congressional Research Service in Washington. An active writer and lecturer, Mark’s books include The Department of Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise: Operational Overview and Oversight Challenges for Congress.

“In Retrospect: America’s 20-Year Project in Afghanistan“
Tamim Ansary, an Afghan-American author of  Games Without Rules, West of Kabul, East of New York, and The Invention of Yesterday.

2021 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

“What Biden Faces: The U.S. and the World After Afghanistan“
Keith McCormick, U.S. Department of State (retired)
Video link available, Click Here

“Seeking Leadership for a Changing Arctic“
David A. Balton, Senior Fellow with the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Polar Institute.  Previously Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries in the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Science.
Video link available, Click Here

“Does China Have a Grand Strategy”
Dr. Thomas Fingar, security specialist, author, and fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
Video link available, Click Here

“The New Wealth of Nations: Education”
Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla, Dr. Bhalla, economist, author and columnist, Executive Director for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan at the International Monetary Fund.
Video link available, Click Here

“Climate Change . . . Designing Electricity Rates for an Equitable Energy Transition”
Professor Severin Borenstein,  E.T. Grether Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

“America Before the ‘Arab Spring’: George W. Bush and the Middle East”
Dr. Daniel Zoughbie,  Lecturer in International and Area Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and Vice Chair of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

“Telemedicine at Home and Abroad”
Dr. James Gude Medical Director of Global Offsite Care
Dr. Joseph Benoit Prosper Founder and Medical Director of the Telemedicine Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Video link available, Click Here

“Restoring Trust: An Inside Look at how the Biden Administration is Engaging the World”
Keith McCormick, U.S. Department of State (retired).

“The Iran Deal Redux: Do We Want War or Diplomacy?”
Dr. David Perry, Dr. Donna Brasset-Shearer and their team of Iran experts.
Video link available, Click Here.

Yemen: The Forgotten WarMohammed Al Samawi, Yemeni native, war survivor, author and interfaith activist, researcher and writer for Boehncke Information Technology GmbH in California.

2020 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Public Financing of Elections: A Political Empowerment Tool in the Age of Citizens UnitedJoanna Zdanys, Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice and Hazel Millard, Senior Research and Program Associate, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice

The 2020 General Election: Chaos, COVID, and Crisis
Dr. David McCuan, Professor and Chair of Political Science at Sonoma State University

Good Morning, Mr. President — Time for Your First Foreign Affairs Briefing
Keith McCormick, U.S.State Department (retired)

Hong Kong Not Going Gentle into That Good Night — But What Next?
Thomas Hout, Adjunct Professor at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and at Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA

The Central American Child Migration Crisis: a Test of our Legal and Moral Obligations
Lisa Frydman,  Human rights lawyer and Vice President for International Programs at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)

The Debt Buildup in America: What Might the Future Hold?
Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

Coming up Strong — How Santa Rosa Schools Face the Pandemic
Dr. Diann Kitamura, Santa Rosa Schools Superintendent

CxC Amplified: WACSC’s Unprecedented Programming Extravaganza!
Putting the World Back Together May 4 – May 8

The Census . . . how it works . . .  and its potential big impact on California
Jim Masters, Certified Community Action Professional, National Community Action Partnership

Indonesia’s Democracy and Economic Development
Puspa Delima Amri, PhD. in Economics and Political Science from Claremont Graduate University and MA in international relations from the School of Advanced International Studies Johns Hopkins University

Annual Dinner: The U.S. – South Korea Alliance:  Linchpin under Stress?
Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, Retired U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea 2008-2011, currently President and CEO of the Korean Economic Institute of America, Washington, D.C.

How to Save a Constitutional Democracy … Including Ours
Tom Ginsburg, Leo Spitz Professor of International Law and Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago; member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

PAST PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Control of Nuclear Weapons: Needed Now More Than Ever
William J. Perry, 19th U.S. Secretary of Defense; the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor (emeritus); Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute and Hoover Institution; Director, Preventive Defense Project, all at Stanford University

Soaring Ambitions and Daunting Challenges: China’s Future and Its Implications for the United StatesDr. Thomas Fingar, Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University

Better Health, Lower Cost:  How Other Advanced Democracies Provide Health Care to All at Half the American Health Care CostT.R. Reid, American reporter, documentary film correspondent, author, and lecturer

The Impact of Gun Violence on the Education of our Youth
Rep. Mike Thompson, Representative to Congress for California’s 5th Congressional District and Kelly Drane, Research Manager at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

The Global Rise of Populism
Anna Grzymala-Busse, Political Science Scholar and Professor at Stanford

Identity and the Rise of Global Populism
Francis Fukuyama, Internationally acclaimed political scientist, author, Stanford professor

Defeating Terrorist Ideology – how to stop the recruitment and radicalization of younger people into terrorist groups
Farah Pandith, World-leading expert in countering violent extremism

Where Is Russia Going?
Jeremy Kinsman, formerly one of Canada’s top career diplomats

Artificial Intelligence – What It Is and Its Effects Now and in the Future 
Jonathan Miranda, Director of Strategy-Technology, Salesforce
Video available – Click here

The Current Economic Outlook and the Implications for Monetary Policy:
John C. Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Bridging the Gulf: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Arabian Gulf:
Ambassador Susan Ziadeh, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs, former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar

NAFTA and TPP: What They Are, Their Potential Impact and Effectiveness:
Harley Shaiken, Director, Center for Latin American Studies and Member of the Department of Geography, University of California, Berkeley