The 2015 Conference on Diversity in International Affairs 

A collaborative effort by the Council on Foreign Relations, Global Access Pipeline, & International Career Advancement Program

 

cfr logo 2


 

 

icap logo

 

 

When

Friday April 10, 2015 at 5:30 PM EDT
-to-
Saturday April 11, 2015 at 5:00 PM EDT
Add to Calendar 

Where

Council on Foreign Relations 

1777 F St NW

Washington, DC, 20006

Contact



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


April 10-11, 2015

at the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC

1777 F St NW, Washington, DC 20006

 



Below is a description of all sessions for Saturday, April 10.  

PLENARIES

Welcome Address

James M. Lindsay, Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on
Foreign Relations

Keynote Address
Carla Harris, Chair, National Women’s Business Council; Director, Investment Banking Division, Morgan Stanley
Presider: Elizabeth Dahan, Director, Macro Advisory Partners LLP

PLENARY 1:    World Economic Update
This plenary will focus on current trends and potential developments in the world economy.

Jerry Lavell Johnson, Founding Member and Managing Director, RLJ Equity Partners
Karen H. Johnson, Independent Consultant
Presider: David Trulio, Director of Operations Raytheon International, Inc.

PLENARY 2:    How to Get a Global Education
Edith Bartley, Vice President, Government Affairs, Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Presider:  


ROUND 1 BREAKOUT OPTIONS

Working in Foreign Policy: Lessons Learned
Participants will learn about experiences working in various offices in government, as well as the various foreign policy issues covered during their carereers in government.  

Farah Pandith, Adjunct Senior Fellow, David Rockefeller Studies Program, CFR; Former Director, Middle East Regional Initiatives, National Security Council;
Zeenat Rahman, Fellow, Institute of Politics, University of Chicago; Former Special Adviser on Global Youth Issues, U.S. Department of State;
Michael Singh, Managing Director, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Presider: Rosita Najmi, Program Officer, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation 


Developing Comptetitive Applications: Fellowships, Scholarships, and More
Participants will learn about  internationally focused scholarships, fellowships, and other opportunities and discuss strategies to develop a competitive application to graduate school, fellowships, as well as internships. 

Erin Mann, National Director - PPIA Fellowship Program 
James I. Gadsden, Senior Counselor for International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation representing the Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program, Former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland.
Patricia Hanigan Scroggs, Director, Rangel International Affairs Program
Presider: Kim McClure, Foreign Service Office - Department of State / Founder - Gotta Go Global 
(and former IAF Fellow)  


Speed Networking 
During this interactive session, participants will have the opportunity to meet many people in a short timeframe. The session facilitators will provide clear guidelines for the session, and will lead participants into an exciting and fruitful exercise intended to expand your network and enhance your networking skills.

Facilitators: Kristin Hayden, Founder and Sr. Advisor - One World Now! 
Nicole Rumeau, Senior Project Manager, STARTALK, National Foreign Language Center


Human Rights Defender: Different Approaches & Actors
People all over the world strive for the realization of human rights according to their circumstances and in their own way. The names of some human rights defenders are internationally recognized, but the majority of defenders remain unknown. Whether an individual works as a local government official, a policeman upholding the law or an entertainer using his or her position to highlight injustices, all can play a role in the advancement of human rights. This panel will feature a discussion of different actors and different approaches in pursing human rights around the world.

Tarek Elgawhary, CEO of Coexist.org
Ken Payumo, Chief of the Peacekeeping Operations Support Section for Department of Safety & Security, United Nations
Helene Gayle,  President & CEO of CARE USA





ROUND 2 BREAKOUT OPTIONS

Experiences in Entrepreneurialism
Making your own path in business or policy can be a challenging road. The panelists will discuss their lessons learned as well as advice on how to engage the entrepreneurial spirit.

Lee Brenner, Lead, Global Business Development, Microsoft Corporation 
Esther Lee, cofounder and vice chair, Council of Korean Americans
Presider: Amy Wilkinson, Author, The Creator’s Code.

Knowing Your Brand
Technology, compounded with consumer and social demands, is quickly transforming the global marketplace and the role institutions and individuals play in it.  Over the last two decades, straightforward advertising has given way to branding - giving products and services an emotional dimension with which people can identify. Creating a brand is not only economically and socially desirable, it has considerable political and strategic implications. The traditional diplomacy of the past is disappearing. To do their jobs well in the future, politicians, policy makers, academics, and others will have to train themselves in brand asset management. Their tasks will include finding a brand niche for themselves, their organization, and their causes, engaging in competitive marketing, assuring customer satisfaction, and most of all, creating brand loyalty.

T.C. Cooper, CEO, Upward Action
Tanvi Madan, Director, India Project, Brookings Institution
Presider: Melinda Wuellner, CFR 

Honing Your Writing Skills for Professional Success
This interactive seminar will focus on identifying and strengthening writing skills, critical to success in international careers. After the initial presentations, the group will break into smaller groups to work on 
interactive exercises.

Terry Davidson, Diplomat in Residence, U.S. Department of State
Lynn J. Sport, Senior Director, Human Resources and Administration, Carnegie Endowment for Peace
Presider:  Patricia Hanigan Scroggs, Director, Rangel International Affairs Program

Table Facilitators
Erin Skelly, Associate Director of Admissions, The Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
Maria Carland, Senior Advisor, International Career Advancement Program and Former Associate Director of the Georgetown MSFS

How Racial Demographics are Remaking U.S. Foreign Policy

This session will examine how societies around the world are coping with the broad range of demographic challenges and assess what conditions may help transform these trends to benefit the security interests of the United States. Global demographic shifts have far-reaching economic, military, and political consequences for the U.S. Allies and rivals alike will cope differently. These population shifts will demand concessions of political influence at the expense of the young and middle aged and at the expense of traditional rural constituencies, as well as from traditional U.S. allies and toward states currently outside our orbit of influence.

Frances Colon, Acting Science & Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State
Presider: Farrah Barrios, U.S. Department of Agriculture