2018 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Switzerland: #1-Rated Country in the World; What Might America Learn from Them?
Walter Niederberger, U.S. Correspondent for Tages-Anzeiger, Switzerland’s largest daily newspaper
The Challenges of Globalization: Are Tariffs The Answer?
Florence Bouvet, Professor of Economics, Sonoma State University; Co-Chair, Economic Interest Section, European Studies Association
Artificial Intelligence – What It Is and Its Effects Now and in the Future
Jonathan Miranda, Director of Strategy-Technology, Salesforce
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Why Terrorism Continues to Threaten International Security
Martha Crenshaw, Ph.D., Stanford University
Climate Change and Us — Up Close and Personal
Grant Ballard, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma
Peril On The Northern Horizon: Foreign Challenges in 2018:
John F. Kelly, Professor of National Security Studies, National Defense University, Washington, D.C.
Transforming Educational Reform in the Arab World:
The Journey of the Tamam Project
Rima Karami-Akkary, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Educational Administration, Policy and Leadership at the American University of Beirut; Director of the TAMAM Lebanon Hub funded by the LORE Foundation
A Humanitarian Focus on Syria:
Mark Ward, US Foreign Service (ret’d.)
Macron’s Vision for France and Europe:
Dr. Norman Bowen, Emeritus Professor of Political Science and former Director of the International Studies Program at California State University East Bay
Understanding North Korea’s Nuclear Program: Melissa Hanham, Senior Research Associate in the East Asia Nonproliferation Program (EANP) at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS), Monterey
The Current Economic Outlook and the Implications for Monetary Policy:
John C. Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Japan-U.S. Relations on an Uncertain Trajectory?
Tsuneo Akaha, Ph.D., Professor of International Policy and Development, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
The Changing Role of the U.S. Foreign Service:
Scott F. Kilner, U.S. Foreign Service Officer, retired
The World According to POTUS 45: The Role of the U.S. Overseas With 2018 Midterms in Mind:
Dr. David McCuan, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Political Science, Sonoma State University
The Trump Administration’s Middle East Policy, with Special Focus on Iran:
Dr. Dalia Dassa Kaye, Director, Center for Middle East Public Policy; senior political scientist at Rand Corporation; author
2017 Sonoma County Firestorms: Marshall Turbeville, Battalion Chief Cal Fire and Carly Sullivan, Dept. Emergency Services
Slavery, aka “Human Trafficking,” Around the World and Here in Sonoma County:
Jill Ravitch, Sonoma County District Attorney, Dolores Cortes-McPherson, International Humanitarian
Dragon in the Room: Is China Good or Bad for Africa?
Dr. Wei Liang, Ph.D., Professor, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Monterey, CA
2017 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
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
Dilemmas Galore: The Meaning of Brexit in A Global Setting:
Dr. Sheldon Rothblatt, Professor of History Emeritus at U.C. Berkeley
The New Great Game in Southern Asia:
Feroz Hassan Khan, former Brigadier in the Pakistan Army, lecturer and senior researcher in the Department of National Security Affairs of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School
America’s Role in Asia: The Future of the Rebalance:
David Arnold, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Asia Foundation
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
Trump, Taiwan, and the Uncertain Future of U.S. – China Relations:
Dr. Crystal Chang, Lecturer, Department of Political Science, and the International and Area Studies Academic Program, UC Berkeley
The Case for U.S. Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century:
Dr. Brad Roberts, Ph.D., Director, Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Evolving Crisis in Venezuela: Origins, Dynamics, and Possible Solutions:
Margarita Lopez Maya, Professor at the Center for Development Studies (CENDES) at the Central University of Venezuela
The Cyber Security Challenge: Ensuring the Success of Our Economy and Democracy:
Edward Kinney, retired, 30+year veteran of Information Systems and Cyber Security with the federal government
The Trump Election’s Impact on U.S.-Russia Relations:
Anna Vassilieva, professor, program head, and Director of Graduate Learning Initiative in Russian Studies at Middlebury Institute of International Studies (formerly Monterey Institute), author, translator, and editor
What the Rise of Asia Means for the U.S.: Anja Manuel, former diplomat, speaker, author