President's Letter; Councils of the Month; Cover to Cover on the Gulf Crisis; Star Speakers on Council Webinars This Week; ICYMI...Council Events; Host a KNOW NOW Call; WAC Dallas Global Classroom; plus more Council Publications, Jobs, and Highlights!
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Dear Council Leaders, Friends, and Supporters:
I hope you all found safe, creative ways to spend the Fourth of July holiday weekend with your loved ones. Perhaps this year’s Independence Day found many Americans more reflective than celebratory, given that our country has now recorded 28 straight days of rising infection averages and more than 127,000 lives lost to the coronavirus pandemic. At the World Affairs Councils of America, we believe that our national holidays and the public health crisis should stimulate a spirit of unity not partisanship.
WACA on July 1 officially began its new fiscal year – soberly – given the economic and operational challenges that the national office and 90 World Affairs Councils face. We are nevertheless excited, inspired, and supported by the leadership of the FY2021
WACA National Board, whom I am pleased to introduce:
Officers:
Ambassador Roman Popadiuk, WACA Chairman
Sylvia
Fields, WACA Vice-Chair (Executive Director, Eden Hall Foundation)
Stephen J. Petras, Jr., WACA Vice-Chair (Board Director, Cleveland Council on World Affairs)
Charles J. Stout, WACA Treasurer (Senior Financial Advisor, DBR & CO.)
Dr. Joan Apple Lemoine, WACA Secretary (Past Executive Director, WAC Hilton Head)
Bill Clifford, WACA President and CEO (ex-officio)
Directors:
Carlos Alvarez, Chairman and CEO, Gambrinus Company
Karen Burghart, Executive Director, Colorado Springs World Affairs Council
Mimi Burke, Policy Advisor, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP
Mimi Gregory, Board Officer (VP of Programs) Naples Council on World Affairs
Forough Hosseini, Senior Vice President, ICI Homes
Michelle Harpenau, Executive Director, WAC Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
Matthew Hughes, Executive Director, International Relations Council (Kansas City)
Alex Lari, Founder and Chairman, Claremont Group
Maryanne
Maldonado, President and CEO, WAC Greater Houston
Derrick
Olsen, President, WorldOregon
Serge
Tomassian, Managing Partner, Tomassian, Throckmorton, Inouye & Grigorian LLP
Mary
Yntema, President and CEO, WorldBoston
Xiao
Yin Zhao, Executive Director, WAC Kentucky and Southern Indiana
It's a privilege to work with these dedicated leaders, and indeed with all the talented executives, staff, and volunteers across our diverse and engaged Council network.
This year, WACA will transition to a new chairperson, who will take the reins from Ambassador Popadiuk, whose steady and thoughtful guidance has positioned the organization well to handle the shocks of COVID-19. The search task force, led by Alex Lari, has performed extremely well and we expect to make an announcement shortly.
Meanwhile, the WACA staff has been preparing for the Carlos and Malú Alvarez 2020-2021 Academic WorldQuest high school competition and reimagining the WACA 2020 National Conference in November. Our aim is to capture the magic and sense of shared community of our in-person flagship events should they go digital, as we anticipate. Please stay tuned for more information in the weeks ahead.
Last but not least, WACA will continue to engage Council leadership in best-practice sharing in periodic virtual meetings. In addition, I will commence a version of “Office Hours” consultations with Council executives and local Boards, for those who are interested. I look forward to connecting with Betty Cruz, President of WAC Pittsburgh, and her Board at its quarterly meeting tomorrow. While I miss the chance to travel to Councils occasionally, I believe the virtual opportunity also furthers our mission and work beneficially.
Thank you,
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Bill Clifford
President and CEO
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In honor of our three new National Board members, WACA wishes to recognize the three Councils with which these members are affiliated, as our July Councils of the Month!
Supporting Member:
- Serge Tomassian, Managing Partner, Tomassian, Throckmorton, Inouye & Grigorian LLP, (Past Chairman of WAC Orange County)
Council Representatives:
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Next Week!
Cover to Cover on Qatar and the Gulf Crisis
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Register now for WACA's
Cover to Cover conference call
Thursday, July 16, at 2:00-2:30 PM ET, featuring
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen on his book
Qatar and the Gulf Crisis. Dr. Ulrichsen is a Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and an Associate Fellow of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program,
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, launching an economic blockade by land, air and sea. Well into its second year, the standoff in the Gulf has no realistic end in sight. With the Bahraini and Emirati criminalization of expressing support for Qatar, and the Saudi labelling of detainees as ‘traitors’ for their alleged Qatari links, bitterness has been stoked between deeply interconnected peoples. The adviser to the Saudi crown prince advocating a moat to physically separate Qatar from the Arabian Peninsula illustrates the ongoing intensity of the crisis. Ulrichsen offers an authoritative study of this international standoff, from both sides.
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Star Speakers This Week on Councils' Virtual Programming
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Ashok Malik
Policy Advisor
Ministry of External Affairs, India
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Alderman Frank McCoubrey
Lord Mayor
Belfast, Northern Ireland
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Victoria Tin-bor Hui
Faculty Fellow
University of Notre Dame
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Amb. (ret.) Pamela White
Former U.S. Ambassador to The Gambia and the Republic of Haiti
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Eric Haseltine
Chairman, U.S. Technology Leadership Council
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*Scroll down to the Council Highlights section to view all programs from Councils this week!
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WAC Orange County Hosts Co-Presented Webinar With Richard Haass
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Dr. Haass is one of the most articulate, thoughtful analysts in the United States regarding global affairs and U.S. foreign policy. He will discuss how we can become more informed, discerning citizens by understanding how the world works, how international acts impact us domestically, and how we can help shape U.S. responses. Haass will also explain how he studies world events, global politics, financial shifts, cultural uprisings, and ancient and modern history to make sound, independent judgments regarding events around the globe. Finally, Dr. Haass will engage with the audience in a frank, lively Q&A regarding international challenges.
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WAC Greater Reading Welcomes New President Lausch
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Following the completion of her two-year term,
Lynn Brown stepped down from her role as President of the
World Affairs Council of Greater Reading on June 30, 2020. WACA extends a warm welcome to
Dr. Solomon Lausch, who now serves as President of WAC Reading as of
July 1, through
June 30, 2022.
Dr. Lausch is well known to the Greater Reading community as a member of the board of directors, Executive Director of Berks Business Education Coalition, and as past Superintendant of the Schuylkill Valley School District. He began his professional career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia, teaching English as a second language.
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IRC (Kansas City) Is Hiring!
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IRC is seeking a part-time event assistant to support the planning, marketing, implementation, and evaluation of in-person and digital events. This position reports to the program coordinator and is contracted for the beginning of August through the end of December 2020; the role will average 10 hours/week.
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Admiral William McRaven Former Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command
WAC Monterey Bay - June 23
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The Hon. Robert Gates
22nd U.S. Secretary of Defense
WAC Dallas/Fort Worth
June 18
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LaJune Thomas Lange, Hon. Consul for South Africa in MN
Zintle Koza, Director of Int'l Orgs. at the Nat'l Treasury
Global Minnesota - June 22
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Meghan O’Sullivan, Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard Kennedy School
WAC Connecticut - June 3
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Stacey Abrams
Former Minority Leader
Georgia House of Representatives
WAC Atlanta - May 28
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Nancy Lindborg
President and CEO, USIP
Bill Clifford
President and CEO, WACA
WACA - May 28
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*To view archives of all Council webinars from March 2020-present, please visit WACA's Councils' Virtual Events
resource page.
Please note: to view this resource, you must be a Council executive, staff, or board member with a login to WACA Members's Only portal. If you have questions about your login or wish to have an account created, please contact
Rachel Pastor at
rpastor@worldaffairscounsil.org.
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Host a KNOW NOW Conference Call in 2020!
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WACA's
KNOW NOW conference call series features global thought leaders, as well as local authorities in government, business, academia, and cultural fields. We invite Councils to submit KNOW NOW speaker suggestions and moderate these calls!
If a Council leader moderates a KNOW NOW call in 2020, their Council will receive a $100 rebate back on Council Dues.
*Please note that this rebate offer only applies to Councils who are current on their 2020 Dues.
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WACA Publication Discount Partner PRISM Publishes Vol. 8, No. 4
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As the National Security and National Defense Strategies state, the world has entered a phase of great power competition in which the United States is confronted by a rising China and a resurgent Russia.
PRISM V.8,N.4 offers perspective on this competition with articles by
Sir Lawrence Freedman, the
Honorable Joseph Nye, and the
Honorable Andrew Natsios.
Download here.
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WACA Comms Associate Writes Blog for Women's Foreign Policy Group
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Rachel Pastor, WACA Communications and Marketing Associate, co-authored a
blog post for the Women's Foreign Policy Group on the challenges and benefits of entering the foreign policy world during a pandemic. Published Thurs., July 2, the blog discusses the opportunities to develop new strategies for global engagement and a reimagined approach to people-to-people diplomacy. This outlook was largely informed by research for the U.S. Department of State's Office of International Visitors into areas of opportunity and continued success for the International Visitor Leadership Program.
Read the blog here.
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Welcome to Our New Summer Interns!
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Drake Johnson
Harvard University
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Mira Anderson
Johns Hopkins University
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The National Office welcomed two summer interns last week, who support WACA's work with the Council Network and assist us in planning for the 2020 National Conference and the 2021 Academic WorldQuest season. Since the WACA National Office continues to telework, our interns will be assisting us virtually. Read more about Drake and Mira
here.
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In Memoriam
WACA is saddened to learn of the passing of
Barbara Kessler Banker, former President of Williams Insulation and one of the Founding Members & Board Member of the
World Affairs Council of San Antonio.
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WAC Dallas Presents the 2020 Digital Global Classroom Workshop
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Global Classroom is an annual summer educator workshop that aims to provide a global component to teachers' current curriculum through discussion, speaker sessions, and group activities. As a part of the workshop, we provide teachers with a multitude of printed and digital resources from organizations and institutions that provide free international education resources to educators. The purpose of Global Classroom is to help North Texas educators make connections between local and global issues by navigating the plethora of global resources available to them.
This workshop is open to 3-12 grade educators of any subject who reside in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, but is most beneficial for secondary educators. Each participant will receive
12 CPE hours provided at no cost. Sessions will be provided by National Geographic, Population Connection, World Savvy, Apple Education, Dallas Holocaust/Human Rights Museum, and Brown University.
Register here.
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Monday 7/6
World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosts
Ashok Malik, Policy Advisor for the Ministry of External Affairs in India, for “
COVID-19 and India.”
Tuesday 7/7
Tennessee World Affairs Council hosts
Alderman Frank McCoubrey, Lord Mayor of Belfast, for "
Global Nashville.”
Tennessee World Affairs Council hosts Professor
Mark
Katz, George Mason University, for “
Global News Review.”
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts
Grant Owens, member of the Vexillogical Association of Kansas City, for “
International Flag Design.”
Wednesday 7/8
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts lecturer
Paolo
Ghezzo, University of Kansas, for “
Lexicon: Italian.”
Thursday 7/9
World Affairs Council of Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky hosts
Theresa Sabonis-Helf, Inaugural Chair of the Science, Technology, and International Affairs Program at Georgetown University, for “
Climate Change in the Post-Pandemic World.”
World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts
Dr. C. Jason Wang, Director of the Center for Policy, Outcomes, and Prevention at Stanford University, and
Dr. Leonard Chuech, Taiwan Adventist Hospital, for “
The Taiwanese Response to COVID-19.”
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Professor
Letitia
Harmon, Johnson County Community College, for “
Political Movements.”
Friday 7/10
International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts
Carissa
Rocha, Global Child Development Coordinator at Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, for “
Global Child Development.”
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The World Affairs Councils of America is an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to engaging the public and leading global voices to better understand the world, America’s international role, and the policy choices that impact our daily lives and our future.
Your generous contributions will strengthen our capacity to support the World Affairs Council Network through educational and civic initiatives - any amount helps.
Your donation goes to:
- Academic WorldQuest Endowment
- Our flagship youth education program. We are 23% away from achieving our $1M goal!
- New Horizons Councils Fund
- Any monies donated to this fund are set aside only for World Affairs Councils' use
- New Horizons General Operations
- Help support WACA carry out its educational mission with initiatives such as the National Conference, Cover to Cover and KNOW NOW monthly conference calls, the Engage America Speaker Series, and general office operations
You can give in one of several ways:
- Pay with your credit card via the donation buttons at the bottom of this page
- Mail a check to the WACA National Office (1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 516, Washington, DC 20005)
- Make a gift of appreciated stock
- Request a distribution from your Donor Advised Fund
- Check with your employer to see if they will match your gift!
With the passing of the CARES Act, most individual taxpayers will become eligible for significant tax benefits for charitable contributions made this year. Two of these benefits will be:
- A $300 Above-the-Line Charitable deduction, meaning that individuals who do not itemize their deductions will be eligible to claim up to $300 of charitable deductions in 2020, on top of the standard deduction
- Modified Limitations on Cash Charitable Contributions - for 2020, the 60% AGI limitation on cash contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations, such as WACA, is suspended
Click on the categories below to make a donation and view more information about the benefits of your contribution. We thank you for your support!
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Access Council Virtual Programming via WACA's Members-Only Portal
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WACA is busy preparing a number of additional resources for the Members-Only section! WACA strives to provide Councils with easy access to tools, guidelines, events, and more that add value to our Members both personally and professionally, to our Councils' overall operations, and to the Network as a whole. This is a top priority for the National Office, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.
That is why we've added two resource sections dedicated to COVID-19 related information and digital programming available to the public by Councils.
The goal is to make the Members-Only section a one-stop shop for all Council needs. However, these sections are only as good as the information contained within, so we are calling on all Councils to please submit any documentation per the categories below, or any other information helpful to the Network.
The Members-Only section is a private benefit for our Council Members. Please contact
Rachel Pastor at
rpastor@worldaffairscouncils.org for login details and account creation.
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COVID-19 Updates & Tracker
Health & Wellness
Educator Resources
- Ohio Council for the Social Studies Resource Document -- Bill Hilt, President/CEO, WAC Northwest Ohio
- To help alleviate some of concerns with distance learning and explaining the current health crisis, the list is a compilation of K-12 Social Studies lessons, activities, and resources. It also has guidelines for explaining COVID-19 to young people.
- Zoom CEO announcement of free platforms for K-12 schools
WACA Updates: Messages from President and CEO Bill Clifford
*To view Council Member Resources on the WACA website, you must be a Council leader, staff, or board member and have an account
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WACA's National Speaker Database Needs You!
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We have recently debuted WACA's
Speaker Database 2.0. In this new iteration, we have expanded our list of speakers and made it easier than ever for you, as Council staff and board members, to engage with it.
We want your speakers! Please submit your speakers through the "
Submit Your Speakers" button on our website.
You need to have an account through our website in order to view and interact with the database and submit your speakers. To check if you have an account, please visit your
Council Member page on the WACA website and see if you are listed as a staff or board member. If you are not, you will not be able to interact with the database yet.
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1010 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 516, Washington, DC 20005
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