Global Tennessee: Recent Episodes
Tennessee World Affairs Council
The Nashville Edge: How Global Thinking and Enterprise Innovation Are Building a Local Legacy (Webinar) by Tennessee World Affairs Council
Navigating Geopolitical Risk: How Multinational Corporations Are Adapting to a More Fragmented World (Webinar) by Tennessee World Affairs Council
Georgetown University in Qatar: Adapting to Serve Students and Advancing Qatar’s Education and Research Vision (Webinar) by Tennessee World Affairs Council
What do the Olympics reveal about international influence, branding, and global power? Join TNWAC on Wednesday, August 27th, for a fascinating webinar moderated by Karl Dean featuring Terrence H. Burns (Chairman and Owner, T. Burns Sports Group, LLC).Terrence will explore how the Olympic Games transcend sport to shape geopolitics, national identity, and global narratives.What You’ll Learn:– How the Olympic brand has become a tool of soft power– The intersection of global sports, politics, and diplomacy– Real-world insights into international branding and influence
Nashville at the Crossroads: Global Growth, Local Challenges, and Future Opportunities by Tennessee World Affairs Council
After an unprecedented year of elections, new leaders around the globe who have promised change will be expected to deliver in 2025. The world will also be coming to terms with the outcome of America’s elections in November and the implications for global security, trade, and climate policy. New alliances are forming, and old ones are fraying in an increasingly tense and dangerous world. But the adoption of green tech continues to outpace the most optimistic forecasts, even as concerns grow over artificial intelligence and its voracious appetite for chips, energy, water, and data. Tom Standage, Deputy Editor of The Economist and editor of The World Ahead 2025, will consider these and other trends and their implications for geopolitics, business, and culture in the coming year.
Mark Reese began his thirty-year career in Central Asia as the first Peace Corps volunteer to serve in Kokand, Uzbekistan, from 1994-1996. Through the University of Washington, he subsequently established and managed a Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs program centered around Islamic studies and curricula reform in Uzbekistan through the Department of State’s Uzbekistan Partnership Program in Islamic Studies. Mr. Reese managed translation and cultural advisement task orders for a broad spectrum of government and private industry clients.Over seven years, he conducted groundbreaking work through dynamic educational program development as Founding Director for the Center for Regional Studies at the United States Naval Academy. His flagship work surrounds his translation of Abdullah Qodiriy’s O’tkan Kunlar, the first full-length novel in the Uzbek language. For his efforts, the Republic of Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev awarded Mr. Reese the Presidential Order of Do’stlik for furthering awareness of the Uzbek language and culture.In 2023, he was awarded the Tourism Fo’ydasi for developing tourism content in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. As CEO of Suhbat LLC, Mark is currently engaged in strategic communications and cultural program development for a variety of clients in Central Asia.
The dialog between the President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of America (WACA), Matthew Hughes, and Hon. Karl Dean, will verse around the importance of WACA and all 90 World Affairs Council in engaging the public and leaders in global affairs in an age of rapidly shifting international order. At the center of the discussion will be the impact of WACA in informing and educating students about global professional opportunities and the importance for them to understand different corporate cultures.
Moderated by Chinese journalism expert Jeremy Goldkorn, this in-depth discussion with James Siebens (Fellow, Stimson Center's Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy program) explored how China leverages armed coercion to achieve its goals without direct conflict.This session is essential for anyone interested in global security, international relations, and current geopolitical dynamics.
The Middle East is at a hinge moment. The old order is collapsing, and a new one has yet to emerge. While the region’s tectonic shifts predate Hamas’s terror attack on Oct. 7, the ensuing conflict in Gaza and its reverberations across the region are the crucible in which the new contours of the Middle East will take shape. USIP's Mona Yacoubian will provide insights on the regional flashpoints that have erupted in the wake of the Gaza conflict as well as the broader implications for a region in a state of enormous flux.
Do you wonder what jobs and careers there are in international affairs? There’s more than you think. Every Fall and Spring the World Affairs Council assembles diplomats, business people, NGO officials, returned Peace Corps volunteers and more to talk about their experiences and insights and to answer your questions at this very popular panel. The ICP will feature four panelists from different professions sharing hard to come by information on working in multicultural societies. This is a special opportunity to listen to distinguished professionals’ experiences and insights and to discuss: preparation and transition from colleges to careers including the tools; skills and competencies needed to enter the profession; the upsides and downsides of working in those jobs and internship opportunities in their organizations. The panel is aimed for college students, high school students and young professionals but they're open to everyone including TNWAC members and partner institutions around Tennessee.
This discussion will focus on Chinese engagements in Africa and Latin America, and the implications for US strategic relations and interests. Tugendhat will give opening remarks based on the view from Washington, the view from Beijing, and common views among many Global South capitals around these significant engagements. This will then lead into a series of questions and answers with the moderator and audience.
ARCHIVE - Global Nashville with Karl Dean - Dr. Sarah Gardial - Dean Massey College of Business by Tennessee World Affairs Council
Hard to come by insights and perspectives from Distinguished Professor of History Thomas Schwartz and moderator, Dr. Breck Walker.At the beginning of the Cold War, Republican Senator Arthur Vandenberg announced his support for Democratic President Harry Truman’s Marshall Plan for Europe by proclaiming that “Politics stops at the water’s edge.” In more recent times, however, American domestic politics appears to have had a strong effect on foreign policy, particularly in election years. In this webinar, we will discuss the potential impact of America’s election year politics on the important issues of foreign policy, including the Middle East, Ukraine, and China.
Ambassador William Taylor, former US Ambassador to Ukraine, talked to a TNWAC Global Town Hall in Nashville on November 29, 2023 about the war in Ukraine. The session was moderated by Vanderbilt University Distinguished History Dr. Thomas Schwartz. They covered the background and context of the fight over Ukraine as well as the current situations and issues and the role of the United States and the West.Ambassador William B. Taylor is vice president, Europe and Russia at the U.S. Institute of Peace. In 2019, he served as chargé d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv and as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009. During the Arab Spring, he oversaw U.S. assistance and support to Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria. He served in Jerusalem as the U.S. government’s representative to the Mideast Quartet. He served in Kabul in 2002 and in Baghdad in 2004.In the 1990s, Ambassador Taylor coordinated U.S. assistance to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He earlier served on the staff of Senator Bill Bradley.Ambassador Taylor is a graduate of West Point and Harvard’s Kennedy School and served as an infantry platoon leader and combat company commander in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and Germany.
On the anniversary of the launch of ChatGPT, TNWAC's Global Dialogue featured Paul Maguire, co-founder and CEO of Knowmadics and entrepreneur and technical innovator. TNWAC President Emeritus Patrick Ryan and Maguire talked about the evolution of AI leading to the current boom in AI technologies; democratization of data access through Open AI models and the warnings about damage that can be caused by malicious use of AI. Is the emergence of AI into mainstream technological uses another "Oppenheimer moment", where technologies that provide great benefit can also pose great risks. They discussed the global competition for AI dominance coupled with great power competition between the United States and China and other American adversaries. They concluded with comments on industry developments like the CEO shakeup at ChatGPT.Paul Maguire is CEO and Co-Founder of Knowmadics, Inc, an innovative solutions provider. A serial entrepreneur, Mr. Maguire co-founded Knowmadics with Claire Ostrum in 2013, where he continues his track record of growing small businesses to successful acquisition. Prior to Knowmadics, Mr. Maguire served as President of Ultra Electronics ProLogic, where he managed the integration of small government IT contractor ProLogic following its 2008 acquisition by Ultra Electronics, as well as two other acquisitions worth a combined $128M. He had earlier served as ProLogic’s Vice President of Business Development and Strategy, driving the company’s growth from $1.7 million to $50 million+ over seven years, and ultimately leading to its acquisition. Mr. Maguire previously worked at Autometric as a project, program, and product line manager with both P&L management and sales target responsibilities. His product led Autometric’s 33% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over seven years, which led to Autometric being acquired by the Boeing Company in 2000. Mr. Maguire has more than 12 years of Board experience, and currently sits on the Boards of Knowmadics and professional services firm Markon Solutions. He frequently speaks as a subject matter expert on the uses of commercial technology at the United States Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security events, and at international conferences on Security and Counter Terrorism. Mr. Maguire holds multiple patents and is the principal author of two U.S. Military Remote Sensing User Guides for Multi-spectral Imagery. He also served for eight years in the U.S. Navy, including as an Iraqi Analyst during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
Oct 3, 2023 | Watch this important Town Hall conversation from the Tennessee World Affairs Council's distinguished visiting speaker program. Daniel Runde talks about the competition with China and disruption from Russia in shaping American influence in the world and who gets to set global rules.“We’re at a moment in this period of great power competition, whether or not you want to call it a second Cold War, where the national security imperatives of dealing with a resurgent China and a disruptor in Russia require us to go back to the drawing board on our soft power instruments to respond to this new challenge.” — Daniel F. RundeDANIEL RUNDE. Center for Strategic and International Studies Senior Vice President; William A. Schreyer Chair; Director, Project on Prosperity and Development and Author of “American Imperative: Reclaiming Global Leadership Through Soft Power”DR. AMY SAYWARD. Moderator. Executive Director, The Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR)Professor of History, Middle Tennessee State University
GNKD host, former Nashville Mayor and TNWAC Board Chair Karl Dean talks with Andy Moats, Executive Vice-President, Director of Music, Sports, & Entertainment Pinnacle Financial Partners. The wide ranging conversation covered Andy's professional experiences in music -- from touring with a rock band to leadership in music banking; to directing financial services for entertainers and sports figures. His passions and pursuits include fast cars and his role in bringing Grand Prix racing to Nashville. There's much more to this story.You won't want to miss this story about a Nashville native who has been key to many of the special aspects that make Nashville a global city.TNWAC wishes to thank Pinnacle Financial Partners for support to the Council and the goal of bringing global affairs awareness programs to the community.Recorded: Sep 25, 2023 | RT 30:10BioAndy Moats, 46, is a Nashville native whose background combines restaurants, music, racing, and creating a bank. After graduating from Vanderbilt University (Economics, 1999) Andy took time to pursue his passion for music, touring and supporting a multi-platinum rock band during the year 2000. Having played in various bands from an early age, his days performing may be over but his passion for music has helped to grow one of the largest music and entertainment focused banks in the country.In 2001, Andy began his banking career at Union Planters Bank then-turned Regions Bank, rising to the role of Commercial Real Estate Credit Manager with credit responsibility for all real estate loan activity in the Southeast. While pursuing his career path in banking, Andy was also heavily involved in his family’s NASCAR business – Brewco Motorsports (#27, #37, #66) – and various family restaurant companies.In 2006, Andy co-founded what would become Avenue Bank. While at Avenue, as a member of the Bank’s Executive Team Andy served the dual roles of Chief Credit Officer – managing all aspects of lending and credit - and Bank Group Director, which included leadership of Avenue's retail branch network, business banking division, private banking division, and music & entertainment division. In February of 2015, Andy and team embarked on their first public company ‘road show’ and successfully took Avenue Bank public on the Nasdaq Exchange (ticker symbol: AVNU).In July of 2016, Avenue Bank merged with Nashville based Pinnacle Financial Partners to form one of the Top 50 largest Banks in the United States. Andy joined the leadership team of Pinnacle following the merger and currently serves in the role of Executive Vice President, Director of Music, Sports, & Entertainment. In this role, Andy develops and manages $2B in entertainment related accounts with clients including artists, songwriters, international label and publishing businesses, touring, athletes, and professional sports franchises, among others. Outside of Banking, Andy is a founder and partner of the Music City Grand Prix, an IndyCar race televised in over 180 countries attracting over 100,000 fans each year. Other pursuits include film (Executive Producer - Murder at Yellowstone City) and early-stage company development and investment.Andy’s community involvement and accolades include: Exchange Club Family Center, former Chairman of the Board; founding member of Nashville Emerging Leaders; Montgomery Bell Academy Alumni Board; M Street Entertainment Advisory Board; Leadership Music Class of 2014; Nashville Film Festival Music Committee; The Tennessean’s “Next Up”; Nashville Business Journal’s “40 under 40”; Billboard Magazine’s 2020, 2021, and 2022 Nashville “Power Players”, Music Publishing “Dealmakers”, and 2022/2023 all-industry “Power 100” ranking the music industries 100 most powerful players; Tennessee Entertainment Commission Board (Governor Appointed); Pet Community Center Board; Nashville Entrepreneur Center Board.
“Oppenheimer”: What Does The Story Tell Us About Existential Threats Then and Now with Dr. Rachel Bronson | August 16, 2023
A conversation about this summer's blockbuster biopic "Oppenheimer" and the consequences of powerful technologies that provide opportunity and peril to humanity. Dr. Bronson talked with TNWAC president emeritus Patrick Ryan about the movie, the role of The Bulletin and the modern threats posed by technology.
Dr. Rachel Bronson is president and CEO of The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (TheBulletin.org)
Read Dr. Bronson's op-ed: https://tinyurl.com/ycye2x29 Read about the Tularosa Downwinders (those affected by the Trinity atomic test) https://www.trinitydownwinders.com Read Dr. Bronson's bio: https://thebulletin.org/biography/rac...
The Bulletin keeps track of the “Doomsday Clock,” and every January reminds us how close we are to midnight. This year the clock ticked closer. "A time of unprecedented danger: It is 90 seconds to midnight," January 2023 “Doomsday Clock” Statement
American diplomat and businessman talks about AI as a challenge for the US-EU
The challenges and promises of AI have exploded this year in the wake of OpenAI’s release of its detailed, human-like responsive ChatGPT conversational technology. It highlighted the power and problems posed by AI, from business potential like insights and predictive analysis to startling concerns of existential threats to humanity. TNWAC has invited Ambassador John Kornblum to talk about these challenges in the context of implications for the United States and Europe.
Kornblum, a former senior U.S. diplomatic official in Europe and distinguished businessman, has said that the currency of the new world will be the production, evaluation, and application of data – a revolution of fundamental importance to the US and EU. The “massive” consequences of this new digital era necessitate that “correct values are part of the process from the beginning” to ensure the revolution is based on Western democratic concepts.
Ambassador John Kornblum, among the most knowledgeable American diplomats on US-Europe and US-Russia relations has anchored TNWAC's series "In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine." In this edition he discusses the current situation, a view of Moscow, the longer-range picture for US interests in Europe and the relationship with Russia, as well as the China factor in the Ukraine War.
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin.
PLEAE LIKE AND SHARE.The Tennessee World Affairs Council (TNWAC.org) presents our April 27, 2023 conversation with Deputy Director of the State Department Office of Russia Affairs Liz Zentos about the view from Foggy Bottom as part of our special series, "In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine."Watch this important conversation about U.S.-Russia relations, diplomatic activity during the months ahead of invasion, policy objectives, Vladimir Putin and his designs on Ukraine and the impact of dealing with an accused war criminal, China's role, detained Americans in Russia, cooperation among allies, the damage to the international rules based order and more.Liz Zentos Deputy Director of the Office of Russian Affairs at the U.S. State DepartmentLiz Zentos is currently the Deputy Director of the Office of Russian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. From 2020 to 2021, she served as the Deputy Political Counselor at U.S. Embassy Kabul. Prior to that, she served as Political and Economic Affairs Chief at U.S. Embassy Tbilisi from 2018 to 2020 and as External Affairs Chief at U.S. Embassy Moscow from 2017 to 2018, when the Russian government declared her persona non grata. From 2015 to 2016, Liz served as the Director for Eastern Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, where she covered Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and the OSCE. From 2012 to 2014, she served as Political Military Chief at U.S. Embassy Kyiv, where she covered Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution, Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea, and Russia’s first invasion of eastern Ukraine. Other previous assignments include Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for International Security and Arms Control, Ukraine Desk Officer, and Information Officer in Yerevan, Armenia. Liz speaks Russian and has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs from George Washington University.
On April 19, 2023 TNWAC hosted a seminar featuring women from a variety of national security disciplines to discuss their career paths, experiences and ups and downs of working in the field.Moderator: Deborah Monroe | Senior Defense Intelligence Officer (Ret)Leila Gardner | Assistant Director of Intelligence for Information, Headquarters USMC & USN Reserve Intelligence OfficerSafa Shahwan Edwards | Deputy Director of Cyber Statecraft, Atlantic CouncilMaureen Page | Research Director, Defense Intelligence AgencyComplete bios at TNWAC.org
What's it like working in the world?TNWAC hosts a seminar featuring professionals from a variety of occupations to discuss their career paths, experiences and ups and downs of working in international jobs.Dr. Gretchen Neisler - Moderator - University of Tennessee Vice Provost for International Affairs, Director, Center for Global Engagement; Member of Board of Directors, Tennessee World Affairs CouncilTerrance Fluker – U.S. Peace Corps, Tennessee Regional RecruiterSaúl Hernández – U.S. State Dept. Foreign Service Officer and Southeast Diplomat in ResidenceSabrina Miller – SVP, Pinnacle Financial Partners, former Foreign Exchange ManagerRachel Bowen Pittman – Executive Director, United Nations Association, USAApril 12, 2023
TNWAC had the honor of talking with Her Excellency Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to the United States in January. TNWAC President Patrick Ryan spoke with her about the business interests connecting Ireland and Tennessee and the wider United States, political developments in Ireland and the European Union and the special relationship between Ireland and the United States and the historical connections to Tennessee.Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason assumed her role as Ireland’s 19th Ambassador to the United States in August 2022. Geraldine was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York (2017- 22). Previously, she served as Ambassador to France (2014-17), Second Secretary General in the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) (2011-14), Ambassador and Ireland’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU (2005-11)), and Director of the National Forum on Europe (2004-05).During her career, Ambassador Byrne Nason has served in Brussels, New York, Paris, Vienna and Helsinki. As Second Secretary-General in the Department of the Taoiseach from 2011-2014, she was the highest ranking female public servant in Ireland. During that period, she also was Secretary General of Ireland’s Economic Management Council.On her arrival in New York, Ambassador Byrne Nason led Ireland’s successful campaign for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, and led the New York Security Council team for the 2021-2022 term. Geraldine was Chair of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for 2018 and 2019. She has also co-chaired high-level political negotiations on the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela and on the ‘Samoa pathway’ for Small Island Developing States.A native of County Louth, in 2020 Ambassador Byrne Nason was awarded the Freedom of Drogheda, the town’s highest honour and was the third woman to receive the award of its 35 recipients. In 2014, Geraldine was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy, Ireland’s highest academic honour. Ambassador Byrne Nason holds an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Maynooth University as well as Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Literature from Saint Patrick’s College in Maynooth (NUIM). Ambassador Byrne Nason is married and has one son.
The story of the Iraqi Kurds and the establishment of the autonomous zone and the Kurdish Regional Government is a great Middle East epic that continues to play out. The Kurds have sought to carve out their own state amid the turmoil of unfolding regional history. They’ve been gassed and chased into the mountains by Saddam Hussein and attacked by the dangerous terror group ISIS. The Kurds have stood up courageously against their opponents.The Iraqi Kurds and the United States have had a long history of cooperation and, sadly, at times abandonment. The aspirations of the people of Kurdistan took shape in the 2017 independence referendum as the coalition battle against ISIS was winding down. The referendum won with 92% of Kurds voting to free the region from Baghdad’s authority. However, the central government through a Supreme Court ruling, quashed the initiative. The KRG continues its close relationship with Washington as it continues to navigate a tough neighborhood, wedged among its Iraqi neighbors and Turkey, Iran and Syria. The KRG has been very well represented in Washington by the Hon. Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman. TNWAC is pleased to host her for a conversation about the relationship with the U.S. and developments in Kurdistan and the region. Join us.
The TNWAC and American Council on German series "In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine" presents "One Year Later."Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin. From 2001 to 2009, he was chairman of Lazard Freres Germany. He currently serves as senior counsellor to the international law firm Noerr LLP and as a senior adviser to the worldwide consultancy Accenture. Mr. Kornblum has also served on a number of supervisory and advisory boards including those of Thyssen-Krupp, Technologies AG, Bayer AG, Russell Reynolds, and Motorola Europe. He is a member of the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, the American Academy in Berlin, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and of numerous nonprofit organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. He received a B.A. from Michigan State University in 1964, and he has been the recipient of many awards, including a Knights Cross of the Order of Merit from Germany and an Order of Merit from Austria.Dr. Liana Fix Liana Fix is a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She is a historian and political scientist, with expertise in German and European foreign and security policy, European security, transatlantic relations, Russia, and Eastern Europe. She is also the author of A New German Power? Germany’s Role in European Russia Policy (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). Dr. Fix’s work focuses on German domestic and foreign policy, the European Union, transatlantic relations, and Europe’s relations with Russia and China.
SPECIAL EDITIONDISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIESvia ZoomIn Focus: Russia's InvasionUkraine Update: The Humanitarian DimensionAnna NovosadFormer Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine and Member of Parliament and Education Activist in the Midst of a WarElena Byrd & Dr. Madeleine ByrdVolunteers, Ukrainian Refugees Center, Warsaw, PolandJanuary 25, 2023 @ 12:00 p.m. CTwith moderatorLCDR Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret)Founding President, Tennessee World Affairs CouncilIn Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine | A View from KyivThe unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine has been catastrophic for the Ukrainian people. Millions of refugees have fled to neighboring nations to the west, horrendous war crimes have been committed in areas controlled by Russian forces and nation-wide attacks against civilian areas and infrastructure have caused extreme hardships in cities large and small. We continue our "In Focus" series on Russia's invasion with a conversation with Anna Novosad, former Minister of Education and Science from Ukraine and an education activist working to rebuild and restore schools and education infrastructure. She will join us from Kyiv where she is among her countrymen under constant Russian bombardment.
Ireland | International Business | AMB Geraldine Byrne Nason | Jan 19 by Tennessee World Affairs Council
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with the American Council on Germany and with Belmont University Center for Global Citizenship, University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
In Focus: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
via Zoom
Putin and Russia’s War: What Makes Putin Tick?
with
Katja Gloger
Journalist and Author
Andrew S. Weiss
James Family Chair and Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Monday, November 14, 2022
@ 9:00 a.m. CT
It is being reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Bali next week to participate in the G20 Summit. This was confirmed overnight by Moscow’s embassy to Indonesia. At the same time, we are seeing reports that the Kremlin is withdrawing its troops from Kherson, the only regional capital it managed to capture since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February. The retreat from Kherson is one of the most serious blows to Russia in Putin’s war. Just a month ago, he declared that Kherson and three other regions in Ukraine are part of the Russian nation at an event in Moscow’s Red Square.
Join us for a discussion with Putin biographers and Russia experts Katja Gloger and Andrew S. Weiss about the war in Ukraine.
Cyber Threats Across the Spectrum and What's Being Done With Former NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers Former Director National Security Agency and Commander U.S. Cyber Command Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:30-3:00 p.m. CT
With Moderator
Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-5th) House Armed Services Committee Chair, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces And Panelists Ms. Casey Santos CIO, Asurion Mr. Paul Connelly VP Information Protection and Security at HCA Healthcare Dr. Brandon Prins Political Science Department Head, University of Tennessee Knoxville Curtis Clan Chief Information Security Officer State of Tennessee
The Tennessee World Affairs Council and Belmont University Center for International Business, University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
GLOBAL DIALOGUE SERIES
Via Zoom
The Geopolitics of Central Asia
October 13, 2022 | 1 pm CT
A Conversation With Professor John Miglietta
With Moderator
Professor Thomas Schwartz
Professor John Miglietta who teaches international politics at Tennessee State University recently completed a year in Tajikistan as a Fulbright Scholar. In this Global Dialogue he will discuss the geography of the region, the politics and governments of the region and how these countries emerged from the Soviet Union. He will conclude by discussing the roles of China, Russia, and the US. Distinguished historian Professor Thomas Schwartz will moderate the conversation.
Understanding developments in Central Asia is key to understanding developments in Russia and China and American interests in the region.
Professor John Miglietta
John Miglietta is a political scientist who focuses on the study of American foreign policy in the Middle East with an emphasis on international security issues. He is the author of American Alliance Policy in the Middle East, 1945-1992 (Rowman and Littlefield, 2002). This is a study of the dynamics of U.S. alliances in the region focusing on Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Dr. Miglietta also has research interests in studying American foreign policy in Central Asia, as well as weapons proliferation.
Professor Thomas Schwartz
Thomas Alan Schwartz is a historian of the foreign relations of the United States, with related interests in American politics, the history of international relations, Modern European history, and biography. His most recent book is Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography (Hill and Wang, 2020). The book has received considerable notice and acclaim.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with the American Council on Germany and Belmont University Center for International Business, University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg
SPECIAL EDITION
GLOBAL TOWN HALL SERIES
In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine
Ambassador John Kornblum
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
Professor Marieta Velikova
Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for International Business, Belmont University
with moderator
Dr. Breck Walker
Vice President and Board Member, Tennessee World Affairs Council
August 25, 2022 @ 1pm CT
The unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased the friction between the United States and the Russian Federation on many fronts. Our conversation with Professor Thomas Schwartz on August 18 put the relationship in context by exploring the history of the Cold War and relevancy to today's challenges. Our August 25th session of "In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine" will bring that conversation up to date. We'll talk with Ambassador John Kornblum, former top American diplomat to Germany and numerous European affairs institutions, about the state of the US-Russian relationship, what underpins the diplomatic, political, security and economic factors, and where we're headed.
We'll also talk with Professor Marieta Velikova, Director Belmont University Center for International Business, about the internal dynamics of Russia in the wake of the invasion. What impact has there been from the historic breadth and depth of Western sanctions, what are Russians able to learn about the outside world in a propagandized media environment, and how are Russians reacting to the consequences of Moscow's attack on its neighbor.
Historian Dr. Breck Walker will moderate this insightful hour of insights and perspectives on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Join us.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with the American Council on Germany and Belmont University Center for International Business, University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
SPECIAL EDITION GLOBAL TOWN HALL SERIES via Zoom
In Focus: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Cold Wars
Prof. Thomas A. Schwartz
Distinguished Professor of History, Vanderbilt University
August 18, 2022 @ 12:00 p.m. CT
with moderator LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret) President, Tennessee World Affairs Council
The Cold War was a period of intense competition and geo-strategic struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies in the Western and Eastern blocs following World War II. At times it threatened to turn hot -- potential battles between combatants armed with thousands of nuclear weapons -- but always featured political, economic, ideological and military confrontation. The post-Cold War era saw the Russian Federation and the United States work together on bilateral and global issues, a spirit of cooperation. That has evolved into the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, the extensive support of Kyiv by the United States and its allies, the expansion NATO in reaction to Russian aggression and a disruption in global stability and international norms.
Is this a new "Cold War?" Or is it something else? Join Vanderbilt Distinguished Historian Professor Thomas Schwartz in a conversation about Cold Wars, the "big one" and the current confrontation between Washington and Moscow and their allies.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with the American Council on Germany in association with Belmont University Center for International Business, University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
SPECIAL EDITION
GLOBAL TOWN HALL SERIES
via Zoom
The War in Ukraine: How Will This End?
Ambassador John Kornblum
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m. CT
with
Dr. Liana Fix
Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund Washington office
And Moderator
Dr. Steven E. Sokol
President, American Council on Germany
The War in Ukraine: How Will This End?
Although there has been a withdrawal of Russian troops in the north of Ukraine, the images of death and destruction from places like Bucha mark a grim turning point in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Join the American Council on Germany and the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion with Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, and Dr. Liana Fix, Program Director in the International Affairs Department of the Körber Foundation in Berlin, about the latest developments of the conflict in Europe and its lasting consequences.
Join the American Council on Germany and the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion with Ambassador John Kornblum, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, and Dr. Liana Fix, Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States (invited). They will talk about the latest developments of the conflict in Europe and put it in perspective by discussing the implications and possible paths ahead.
Dr. Roger Kangas, Ph.D. Academic Dean and Professor Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University TNWAC Global Town Hall at Belmont University, March 31, 2022 @ 6:00 p.m. CT with Moderator, Dr. Thomas A Schwartz, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of History of U.S. Foreign Relations, Vanderbilt University
Transcript available at TNWAC.org | Support the Tennessee World Affairs Council by becoming a member and making a contribution | Sign up for the newsletter | All on TNWAC.org
Dr. Roger Kangas – Academic Dean and a Professor of Central Asian Studies at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies. Previously Dr. Kangas served as a Professor of Central Asian Studies at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Deputy Director of the Central Asian Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC; Central Asian Course Coordinator at the Foreign Service Institute for the U.S. Department of State; Research Analyst on Central Asian Affairs for the Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) in Prague, Czech Republic; and as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Kangas has been an advisor to the Combatant Commands, NATO/ISAF, the US Air Force Special Operations School, National Democratic Institute, International Research and Exchanges Board, American Councils, Academy for Educational Development, USIA, USAID, and other US government agencies on issues relating to Central and South Asia, Russia, and the South Caucasus. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Kangas holds a B.S.F.S. in Comparative Politics from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Indiana University.
Dr. Thomas A. Schwartz
Thomas Alan Schwartz is a historian of the foreign relations of the United States, with related interests in American politics, the history of international relations, Modern European history, and biography. His most recent book is Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography (Hill and Wang, 2020). The book has received considerable notice and acclaim. Harvard’s University’s Charles Maier has written: “Thomas Schwartz’s superbly researched political biography reveals the brilliance, self-serving ego, and vulnerability of America’s most remarkable diplomat in the twentieth century, even as it provides a history of U.S. engagement in global politics as it moved beyond bipolarity.” Earlier in his career, Schwartz was the author of America’s Germany: John J. McCloy and the Federal Republic of Germany (Harvard, 1991), which was translated into German, Die Atlantik Brücke (Ullstein, 1992). This book received the Stuart Bernath Book Prize of the Society of American Foreign Relations, and the Harry S. Truman Book Award, given by the Truman Presidential Library. He is also the author of Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam (Harvard, 2003), which examined the Johnson Administration’s policy toward Europe and assessed the impact of the war in Vietnam on its other foreign policy objectives. He is the co-editor with Matthias Schulz of The Strained Alliance: U.S.-European Relations from Nixon to Carter, (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with the American Council on Germany and with Belmont University Center for International Business, University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
SPECIAL EDITION
GLOBAL TOWN HALL SERIES
via Zoom
The Implications and Consequences of Russia’s War in Ukraine
Ambassador John Kornblum Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
with Moderator Dr. Steven E. Sokol President, American Council on Germany
Check TNWAC.org archives for video link and transcript.
The Unfolding War in Europe Ambassador John Kornblum
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
March 2, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m. CT
with moderator Dr. Breck Walker
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin. From 2001 to 2009, he was chairman of Lazard Freres Germany. He currently serves as senior counsellor to the international law firm Noerr LLP and as a senior adviser to the worldwide consultancy Accenture. Mr. Kornblum has also served on a number of supervisory and advisory boards including those of Thyssen-Krupp, Technologies AG, Bayer AG, Russell Reynolds, and Motorola Europe. He is a member of the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, the American Academy in Berlin, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and of numerous nonprofit organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. He received a B.A. from Michigan State University in 1964, and he has been the recipient of many awards, including a Knights Cross of the Order of Merit from Germany and an Order of Merit from Austria.
Dr. Breck Walker
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
TNWAC's Global Dialogue speaker series brings insights, perspectives and analyses difficult to come by. We present leading figures in diplomacy, business, military affairs, think tanks, NGOs and elsewhere to help you understand important issues in global affairs.
Today we present Ambassador John C. Kornblum
War has come. The first major ground invasion of a country in the heart of Europe – cradle of two World Wars – since WWII. Putin has set fire to Ukraine. Moscow has signaled a ferocious attack and tens of thousands of civilians may be casualties. The potential for refugee flows into Eastern Europe is staggering. NATO is ramping up reinforcement of its Eastern flank. Stock markets are plunging. Oil prices are skyrocketing. For insights and analysis join TNWAC at a live virtual event with Ambassador John Kornblum, preeminent U.S. diplomatic and business voice on European affairs, NATO and U.S. interests.
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin. From 2001 to 2009, he was chairman of Lazard Freres Germany. He currently serves as senior counsellor to the international law firm Noerr LLP and as a senior adviser to the worldwide consultancy Accenture. Mr. Kornblum has also served on a number of supervisory and advisory boards including those of Thyssen-Krupp, Technologies AG, Bayer AG, Russell Reynolds, and Motorola Europe. He is a member of the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, the American Academy in Berlin, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and of numerous nonprofit organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. He received a B.A. from Michigan State University in 1964, and he has been the recipient of many awards, including a Knights Cross of the Order of Merit from Germany and an Order of Merit from Austria.
Global Nashville with Karl Dean provides a spotlight on community leaders tied to international affairs, who talk about their professions and organizations, current developments in Nashville and their views on what makes Nashville a global city.
The February 17, 2022 episode featured a conversation with John Scannapieco an attorney who is a partner at Womble Bond Dickson (US) LLP in Nashville. John has worked many years with international businesses involved in or looking to be engaged in commercial activity aboard, especially in East Asia. John has been Chairman of the Japan-America Society of Tennessee and serves on the Board of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with the American Council on Germany and Belmont University Center for International Business, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
GLOBAL TOWN HALL
Russia's Threat to Ukraine:
The Crisis Unfolds
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Ambassador John Kornblum
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
February 15, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m. CT
with Moderator
Dr. Steven E. Sokol
President, American Council on Germany
This special event is free but please consider becoming a member or making a donation when you register. Thank you.
The conversation will be guided by the President of the American Council on Germany, Steven Sokol.
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Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin. From 2001 to 2009, he was chairman of Lazard Freres Germany. He currently serves as senior counsellor to the international law firm Noerr LLP and as a senior adviser to the worldwide consultancy Accenture. Mr. Kornblum has also served on a number of supervisory and advisory boards including those of Thyssen-Krupp, Technologies AG, Bayer AG, Russell Reynolds, and Motorola Europe. He is a member of the boards of the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, the American Academy in Berlin, the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, and of numerous nonprofit organizations on both sides of the Atlantic. He received a B.A. from Michigan State University in 1964, and he has been the recipient of many awards, including a Knights Cross of the Order of Merit from Germany and an Order of Merit from Austria.
Steven E. Sokol is the President of the American Council on Germany. Previously, he served as President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and prior to that he was the Vice President and Director of Programs at the American Council on Germany. Earlier in his career, Steve served as the Deputy Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin, was the Head of the Project Management Department at the Bonn International Center for Conversion GmbH (BICC), and a Program Officer in the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He holds a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University as well as an M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. He has also studied at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität in Heidelberg and as a Fulbright Scholar at the Freie Universität in Berlin.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with Belmont University Center for International Business, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
A Conversation with Scott Hamilton
Recorded: January 26, 2022
As the world turns attention to the opening of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing we're reminded of past American Olympic glory. We're pleased to share this conversation with Olympic Champion Figure Skater Scott Hamilton.
Among the many elements that make Nashville a global city is the athletes from around the world who have made Nashville their home. They include professional sports team members from hockey, soccer, and football. There is also a gem of an professional athlete who has made an impact on the community he has come to love -- Olympian, author, activist, youth and community leader, Scott Hamilton. In this episode of "Global Nashville" former Mayor Dean talks with the champion figure skater who broke onto the American consciousness at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, winning the Gold Medal. He has gone on to be a leader in many other areas -- advocate in the battle against cancer, having been touched by its scourge; and proponent and trainer of youth figure skating. We know you'll enjoy Karl Dean's conversation with this unique Nashvillian, Scott Hamilton.
Scott Hamilton
The most recognized male figure skating star in the world, Scott Hamilton has won 70 titles, awards and honors including an Emmy Award nomination, induction into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame and a privileged member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
In 1984, Scott captured the attention of the world with his Olympic Gold medal performances in Saravejo and since has shared his love and enthusiasm for the sport as a analyst/commentator, performer, producer and best-selling author (Fritzy Finds a Hat, 2020, Finish First: Winning Changes Everything, 2018; The Great Eight, 2009; Landing It, 1999). He further inspires others as a speaker, humanitarian, and as a cancer and pituitary brain tumor survivor.
After losing his mother to cancer, then becoming survivor himself, Scott turned activist, launching the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation (Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship). He founded several education and survivorship programs including Chemocare.com and the 4th Angel Mentoring Program. Events such as Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer and An Evening with Scott Hamilton & Friends galas fund research into treatments that treat the cancer and spare the patient harm.
He is also the founder of the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy at the Ford Ice Centers in Antioch, TN and Bellevue, TN, where he may frequently be found coaching Learn to Skate students and sharing his love of skating.
In what little free time remains, Scott can be found on the golf course and enjoys spending time with his wife Tracie and four children – at their home in Nashville, Tennessee.
Germany, Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Switzerland, Kenya, Venezuela, Finland, Panama, Costa Rica, Sweden and more. Nashville is home to athletes who have come from around the world.
Among the many elements that make Nashville a global city is the athletes from around the world who come to play in the city’s professional sports teams — hockey, soccer, football. Take the Nashville Predators for example. In addition to the many Canadian players the roster includes talented athletes from Switzerland, Russia, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Just two of 22 players are from the U.S. Twenty came to Nashville from abroad.
To explore the route of international players to Nashville and their experiences in Music City, former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean spoke with Mattias Ekholm, veteran defenseman and alternate captain of the Nashville Predators. Mattias hails from Borlange, Sweden and has adopted Nashville as his new home to work his trade on the NHL ice and to raise his family of four.
We’re sure you’ll enjoy this conversation about professional hockey and life in Nashville from a premier international athlete.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with the American Council on Germany and Belmont University Center for International Business, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
GLOBAL TOWN HALL
Germany’s Response to the Ukraine Crisis
Ambassador John Kornblum
Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
February 1, 2022 @ 10:00 a.m. CT
with
Dr. Liana Fix
Resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund Washington office
And Moderator
Dr. Steven E. Sokol
President, American Council on Germany
This special event is free but please consider becoming a member or making a donation when you register. Thank you.
When President Joe Biden met the press on January 19th he was candid when addressing consequences for Russia if it attacked Ukraine. “It depends on what [Putin] does as to what extent we’re going to be able to get total unity on the NATO front.” The White House quickly cleaned up what he “meant” to say. In the days since official statements continue to stress NATO solidarity but questions remain.
For example British aircraft carrying weapons to Ukraine flew “around” Germany sparking media questions about Berlin being onboard for support to Kiev, despite Defense Ministry denials it restricted the flights. That was followed by the resignation of Germany’s Navy chief over controversial remarks about the threat to Ukraine. Writing for the Center for European Policy Analysis, Oxana Schmies spoke of “Germany’s paralyzing fear of war,” and warned that for the new government it was “worryingly clear that forging a united Russia policy is difficult and marred by underlying disagreement. [Link]
As the prospects of Russian provocation and action against Ukraine reach the boiling point it’s a fair question to ask where Germany "is," as the United States and allies lean forward in deterrence and preparation for response.
To address this question we turn to Ambassador John Kornblum, preeminent authority on America’s relationship with Europe, and Germany in particular.
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin.
The conversation will be guided by the President of the American Council on Germany, Steven Sokol.
Language Matters
A Conversation with Dr. Kathleen Stein-Smith, Distinguished Lecturer and Author
with Dr. Debbie Barnard
What is the state of foreign language training in the United States? We wanted to know so we asked TNWAC Advisory Board Member and Tennessee Tech University Associate Professor of French, Debbie Barnard to talk to Dr. Kathleen Stein-Smith, noted authority and advocate on the subject and author of, “Multi-lingualism as a Global Competency: Skills for a 21st Century World.”
The answer? About twenty percent of students in America are studying or learning a language according to Stein-Smith who says, “That’s very concerning,” adding, “That would mean a lot of Americans remain mono-lingual. Speaking only English. Understanding only English.
The number reflects a decline in foreign language education. Stein-Smith says the decline isn’t attributable to educators who she says are “dedicated and professional,” but rather to the lack of opportunity. “Foreign language programs have decreased in number significantly in our middle schools and most dramatically in our public schools,” she said, “The figures are really frightening.”
New World Order: The Middle East
Biden Takes Over
Amy Tachco
Office of Regional and Multilateral Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State
December 17, 2020 @ 5p.m. CT
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will take office on January 20 and their administration is likely to be far different from the one led by President Donald Trump. TNWAC is pleased to join WACH in a discussions with experts in domestic and foreign affairs to discuss how the world is likely to change in 2021.
Join us 5 p.m. (Central Time) Thursday, Dec. 17 for our conversation with Amy Tachco, director of the Office of Regional And Multilateral Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. We will open with remarks from Irina Karmanova, from the State Department Office of Public Liaison.
ABOUT AMY TACHCO
Amy Tachco joined the Foreign Service in 2002 after a brief stint in finance in New York. She has served in Karachi, Casablanca, Madrid (twice), Beirut, and in Washington in the Bureaus of Near Eastern and African Affairs. She served as Political Counselor at U.S. Embassy Damascus in the run-up to closure of the Mission in 2012, and was Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations under Ambassadors Samantha Power and Nikki Haley. She also served as Foreign Policy Adviser to the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet Commander in Manama, Bahrain. A graduate of Smith College and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, she speaks French, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic.
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
A Conversation With
Senator Bob Corker
Join us for this important conversation with Senator Bob Corker who served in the Senate from 2009 to 20017. Corker served on the Foreign Relations Committee where he was Chairman from 2015-2019.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council is proud to present one of Tennessee's and the country's most knowledgeable individuals on world affairs and the challenges the United States faces in the world.
March 18, 2021
7:00-8:00 PM CT
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Legacy: After becoming ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2013 and taking the reins as chairman in 2015, Senator Corker made restoring the committee’s power and status a top priority. To do so, he concentrated on three key goals: making the committee function again, focusing the committee’s work on core American interests, and making the committee genuinely matter to the American people and the rest of the world.
In his work to restore the committee’s functionality as a driving force for U.S. foreign policy and an effective check on the executive branch, Corker led a number of successful initiatives.
First State Department authorization bill in 14 years Led the winning battle to ensure Congress had a say in determining whether President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal could move forward (he ultimately opposed the JCPOA) CAATSA sanctions (Russia, North Korea, Iran) Uncovered State’s system for evaluating progress in combatting human trafficking was subject to political interference, took steps to ensure the practice was ended Critical oversight of United Nations, including the pervasive problem of sexual abuse and exploitation being committed by U.N. peacekeepers Kept committee about the fray of the political rancor pervading Washington (tried to start every debate in a bipartisan manner) Prevented Obama administration from sidestepping the Senate on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Got the Senate back on track in fulfilling its responsibility to review and ratify treaties
Bob Corker is a successful businessman, former United States Senator, and was previously named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME Magazine. Corker represented Tennesseans in the Senate from 2007-2018, where he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and became a national and global thought leader on fiscal, financial, and foreign policy issues. He was Tennessee’s commissioner of finance and mayor of Chattanooga before being elected to the Senate, but he spent most of his life in business. At the age of 25, Corker started his own construction company with $8,000 in savings, eventually expanding operations to 18 states across the country. He later purchased two of the largest and oldest real estate holding companies in Chattanooga. He and his wife, Elizabeth, call Chattanooga home.
Karl Dean was the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected on Sept. 11, 2007 and was re-elected on Aug. 4, 2011. He completed his second term in office on September 25, 2015. Dean first held public office when he was elected as Nashville’s Public Defender in 1990, a post he was re-elected to in 1994 and 1998. He served as Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt. Dean was the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 2018. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
A Conversation with Ralph Schulz, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce President
Tuesday, November 9th at 7:00pm CT
Ralph Schulz President, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Karl F. Dean
Global Nashville explores the issues and developments that mark the city and region as part of the global network. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean talks with community leaders about their insights and perspectives.
Join him on November 9th as he talks with Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce President Ralph Schulz to talk about business developments in the region. We should mention here our thanks to Mr. Schulz for standing in as a guest host of the "Global Nashville" program. In August he interviewed Butch Spridon, head of the Nashville Convention and Visitor Corporation.
Mr. Schulz was a "Global Nashville" guest in January 2021 and in April 2020, talking about Nashville businesses' resilience in the face of Covid and new developments in the community from international investments to the prospects for immigration to the area.
On Tuesday, November 9th, Mr. Schulz will be back with updates on the broad array of business issues in the region and his insights and perspectives on the global agenda in Nashville.
Belmont University Center for International Business, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Japan-America Society of Tennessee and Sister Cities of Nashville
GLOBAL TOWN HALL
H.E. Koji Tomita Ambassador of Japan to the United States
Join us for this special presentation by the World Affairs Council. Ambassador Koji Tomita is a seasoned diplomat -- 30 years in Japan's foreign service -- and he will talk about the U.S.-Japan relationship, economic developments, strategic challenges and much, much more.
Don't miss this chance to hear his insights and perspectives and pose your questions to the Ambassador.
Excerpt:
The United States has long been a Pacific power but is focusing new attention on the importance of the region – political, economic and in defense and security. In our State, meanwhile, the relationship with Japan is flourishing to the great benefit of both Tennesseans and our Japanese partners...
...On November 2nd, Nashville will host the Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Koji Tomita and his wife in a visit hosted by the Tennessee World Affairs Council. That evening he will talk with the community at a Global Town Hall at Belmont University about the depth and breadth of the U.S.-Japanese relationship, and everyone is invited.
Ambassador Tomita is likely to speak to more than the importance of national security and business relations. A key strength is the people-to-people ties. Whether it’s the Southern hospitality shown Japanese business people and their families in Tennessee cities and towns, the exchanges of students and teachers, or the gift of cherry trees, symbolizing the bonds of friendship, there are scores of ways Tennesseans and Japanese are connected.
Our welcome for Ambassador and Mrs. Tomita on November 2nd will be one more expression of that friendship and you should join us at the Town Hall to make that welcome.
Ambassador John Kornblum
Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed crosshairs on Ukraine, a country he sees as linked to Russia and the people of Ukraine as “one people” with Russians. To back up this fixation with repairing a “historic injustice” Moscow has amassed a force of over 100,000 troops and supporting armor and aircraft along the border with Ukraine. Leading the West’s response, President Biden has threatened “massive consequences” if Russia invades Ukraine.
American and Russian diplomats are meeting this week. However, the lines are drawn: Putin is demanding an end to NATO’s eastward expansion, to include Ukraine, and Biden and the West say there will be a very high economic price to pay as well as increased deployments on NATO’s eastern flank.
What is the context for this provocation and what are the U.S. and Allies prepared to do? Join the American Council on Germany and the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion with Ambassador John Kornblum about the crisis. Joining us from Berlin, he will also discuss how we got to where we are and what the possible courses of action for the U.S. and Europe might be. The conversation will be led by Dr. Thomas Schwartz, Distinguished Professor of History at Vanderbilt University. This event is held in cooperation with the Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
October 28, 2021 - TNWAC Global Dialogue + In "Home, Land, Security: Deradicalization and the Journey Back from Extremism," Carla Power explores what draws young people to violent extremism and what could bring them back to society. Through a series of interviews with mothers of young men who joined ISIS, a Canadian imam running a "jihadi detox program," a former neo-Nazi who now deradicalizes white supremacists, and many more, Carla explores what lies beyond the stereotypes and headlines.
TNWAC President Patrick Ryan, former military intelligence terrorism analyst, talked with Carla Power about "Home, Land, Security," and how militants are radicalized and some of the efforts at deradicalization.
October 28, 2021 - TNWAC Global Dialogue + In "Home, Land, Security: Deradicalization and the Journey Back from Extremism," Carla Power explores what draws young people to violent extremism and what could bring them back to society. Through a series of interviews with mothers of young men who joined ISIS, a Canadian imam running a "jihadi detox program," a former neo-Nazi who now deradicalizes white supremacists, and many more, Carla explores what lies beyond the stereotypes and headlines.
TNWAC President Patrick Ryan, former military intelligence terrorism analyst, talked with Carla Power about "Home, Land, Security," and how militants are radicalized and some of the efforts at deradicalization.
October 27, 2021
Do you wonder what jobs and careers there are in international affairs? There’s more than you think. On October 27th we had a conversation with a distinguished panel of women working in global business fields. They shared what preparation they undertook to pursue their careers, what the day to day life is like in their jobs and the pros and cons of the work they undertake. ___
Lucy Buck, Moderator Beth-Ann Martorello, Senior VP, Chief Audit Officer, Alliance Bernstein (AB) Masami Tyson, Global Director of FDI and Trade, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) Lulu Lim Copeland, Executive Director TN-China Network; Independent Economic and Workforce Development Consultant Robin Reliford, Head of Health and Safety, WorldStrides
Check out the complete biographies of the panel to learn about their experiences and achievements. https://bit.ly/3bjp8wT
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
A Conversation with Belmont University President L. Gregory Jones
Global Nashville explores the issues and developments that mark the city and region as part of the global network. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean talks with community leaders about their insights and perspectives.
Join him on October 26th as he talks with Belmont University's new President, Dr. L. Gregory Jones, about his ideas on global engagement and the mission of Belmont to produce citizens ready for the world.
About Dr. L. Gregory Jones
Known for his entrepreneurial leadership and fundraising ability, Dr. Greg Jones served as the longtime dean of Duke Divinity School from 1997-2010 and again from 2018 until becoming Belmont’s president on June 1, 2021. Between 2010 and 2018, he served in a variety of roles, including vice president and vice provost for global strategy at Duke University and also as provost and executive vice president of Baylor University. In addition, he has served in advisory and strategic roles with several foundations and educational institutions in the United States as well as in Armenia.
During his time at Duke Divinity, Jones strengthened the School’s financial trajectory, diversified the faculty and staff and led a strategic planning process that garnered great enthusiasm for the school’s future, all while setting new records for gifts to the Annual Fund and to the Divinity School overall. In addition, he currently serves as a senior fellow at Leadership Education, which he founded, and senior fellow at the Fuqua-Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics, both at Duke University. He is passionate about re-shaping cultures within and across organizations and has coined the term “traditioned innovation” to capture how he re-frames complex challenges to seize significant opportunities.
Jones’ tenures as dean were marked by significant growth in Duke Divinity School. More than $102 million was raised under his leadership in The Campaign for Duke (1998-2003), and major new initiatives begun during his tenure include the Center for Reconciliation, the Thriving Rural Communities Program, the Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation, the Clergy Health Initiative, the Reynolds Program in Church Leadership and numerous international partnerships, especially with the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the United Methodist Church in Cote d’Ivoire, and the Center for Reconciliation’s Great Lakes Initiative which embraces the central-east African region. As Duke’s Global Strategist, he led initiatives in China and India as well as helped to engage work in Singapore.
China Town Hall | Local Connections, National Reflections | Oct 19 by Tennessee World Affairs Council
On October 7, 2021, TNWAC President Patrick Ryan talked with Ambassador of Colombia to the United States Juan Carlos Pinzón in Nashville for the Global Dialogue + Webinar/"Global Tennessee" series Podcast, about: U.S.-Colombian relations, regional issues, developments in Colombia, commercial relations with the U.S. and Tennessee, and the people to people connections between the countries.
Join the Tennessee World Affairs Council (TNWAC.org/join) and support with your gift (TNWAC.org/donate) to ensure these quality programs continue. Thanks!
Ambassador Juan Carlos Pinzón
On July 26, 2021, President Iván Duque swore in Juan Carlos Pinzón as Ambassador of Colombia to the United States.
Pinzón previously served as Colombia's Ambassador to Washington from 2015 to 2017. During his tenure, he oversaw the approval of “Peace Colombia or Plan Colombia II” ($450 million per year) that increased the U.S. funding package for security and development. Additionally, he helped establish the “CEO U.S.-Colombia Business Council” at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Atlantic Council's "Colombia Task Force" with the report on the future of the U.S.-Colombia relationship. The accession of the avocado Hass to the U.S. market was an important highlight. While in office, the Colombian Embassy was recognized as the best diplomatic delegation in Washington by the World Affairs Council in Washington, DC.
Prior to that, Ambassador Pinzón served as Minister of Defense of Colombia for nearly four years. Under his leadership, the Colombian Armed Forces dealt the most severe blows in history to terrorist organizations – FARC and ELN – and Criminal Bands, highly degrading their logistics, structure and leadership. Pinzón also strengthened all capabilities of the Colombian armed forces and established Colombia as a regional cooperation leader. By the end of his period, he left the
Armed Forces at its historical peak in manpower, capabilities, welfare, technology and budget. Throughout his career, Pinzón has been a leader in both the public and private sectors. Between 2018 and 2021, Pinzón was appointed President of the Foundation for the Progress of the Capital Region – ProBogotá, a private non-profit for the promotion of common good, public policy and long-term strategic projects for the capital region of Colombia. He is currently a member of several corporate advisory boards and NGOs.
In July 2017, Ambassador Pinzón launched a bid for president with the support of the civic citizens’ movement “Colombia Above All.” In March 2018, he became vice presidential candidate. Additional previous positions include Chief of Staff to the President of Colombia; Deputy Minister of Defense; Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the Board of the World Bank; Vice President of the Colombian Banking Association; Assistant Vice President of Investment Banking at Citigroup; Private Secretary and Chief of Staff for the Finance and Public Credit Ministry; and Economist for Colombia at Citigroup.
Pinzón received an honorable mention for his outstanding academic performance while earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. He also holds three Master degrees. A Master of Science in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. A Master in Public Policy from Princeton University (scholarship awarded). And a Master’s degree (honoris causa) in Defense and National Security from Colombia’s National War College. Pinzón also completed advanced courses in international relations and strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University, in science and technology policy at Harvard University, and smart cities at Nanyang Technological University-Singapore.
Ambassador Pinzón was born in Bogotá on December 22, 1971. He is married to Pilar Lozano and has two children, Natalia and Juan Pablo.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with Belmont University Center for International Business, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement, Lipscomb University and the Tennessee Technological University Department of Foreign Languages
International Careers Panel - Fall 2021 Global Affairs Professions Across the Spectrum
MODERATOR
Professor Susan Haynes Assistant Professor of Political Science, Lipscomb University
DIPLOMACY
Allen DuBose Diplomat in Residence, U.S. Southeast
NATIONAL SECURITY/INTELLIGENCE
Deborah Monroe U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (Retired) and Former Senior Defense Liaison to the United Kingdom
NGO SECTOR
Professor Wayne Barnard, Belmont University and Former International Justice Mission, Director of Student Mobilization
U.S. PEACE CORPS
Meghan O'Donoghue, Former PCV Burkina Faso, UVA PhD Candidate
U.S. GOVERNMENT | US AID
Billy Woodward, U.S. Agency for International Development Official
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Do you wonder what jobs and careers there are in international affairs? There’s more than you think. Every Fall and Spring the World Affairs Council assembles diplomats, business people, NGO officials, returned Peace Corps volunteers and more to talk about their experiences and insights and to answer your questions at this very popular panel. We routinely add a second panel each season to do a deep dive into a specific occupational field.
Join us for this insightful conversation with Andrew Staunton, UK Consul General based in Atlanta. CG Staunton talked about the state of US-UK relations, the economic ties between the UK and Tennessee, the post-Brexit road for the UK, global issues and national security, and his favorite things (and some non-favorites) about Nashville.
Included in our conversation was a discussion of the new, landmark, security pact among the UK, the United States and Australia, the AUKUS agreement.
Recorded: Sep 16, 2021 at Belmont University, Nashville.
BIO: Andrew Staunton took up his appointment in Atlanta as Her Majesty’s Consul General in June 2018. Andrew is the senior UK government representative in the Southeast United States responsible for relations with the states of Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama. He leads a team which works to promote UK-US trade and investment, support British nationals, conduct public diplomacy on key issues, and build scientific and research co-operation. He also sits on the Marshall Scholarship selection committee.
Before taking up his posting in Atlanta, Andrew served four years as Deputy Head of Mission and Economic Counsellor at the British Embassy in Athens. He was also Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Dublin from 2009 to 2013. Throughout both of these postings, Andrew’s main focus was on the economic crises in Greece and Ireland, boosting bilateral relations, promoting the UK’s interests, and working on a range of issues linked to the European Union. Prior to this, Andrew worked in the Foreign Office as Deputy Director responsible for Security.
Andrew joined the UK’s diplomatic service in 1987. He has also served overseas in China, France, Romania and Canada.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council
in association with
Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Global Nashville
Guest Host Ralph Schulz in Conversation with Butch Spyridon
A conversation about Nashville's "global brand" and the importance of tourism in building international bridges.
Butch Spyridon, President/CEO, Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp.
"Global Nashville with Karl Dean" with guest host Ralph Schulz in Conversation with Butch Spyridon A conversation about Nashville's "global brand" and the importance of tourism in building international bridges. August 31, 2021
The metrics were clear before the pandemic crushed global hospitality. Nashville and Tennessee were experiencing a boom in the tourism sector. The #1 leisure destination in the United States, according to Global Traveler's Leisure Lifestyle Awards. Reader's Choice Award for Best Cities in the U.S., according to Conde Nast. A record-high $23 billion in visitor spending in the state in 2019 and trending higher, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Travel in Tennessee generated 195,000 jobs and $1.92 billion in state and local tax revenue -- saving Tennesseans in costs for public services.
Nashville's attraction to visitors is global. The daily attraction of world-class music venues, cultural activities, sporting events and more, not to mention the city's mega-events are magnets for foreign visitors. Among the main industries that drive the economy, tourism is emblematic of international outreach and bridge building among the tens of thousands of foreign visitors who come to Tennessee and Nashville.
The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. web site says it all:
Music is the universal language. Nashville - where music is inspired, created, recorded and performed. Music City is ready to be explored. Experience more music, food, and fashion than ever before. All are welcome to Music City!
Watch this conversation as Nashville's Chamber President Ralph Schulz asks Nashville's visitor majordomo, Butch Spyridon, about the health of the region's hospitality industry and the contribution of tourism to Nashville's brand.
Global Dialogue+
Cuba Protests Examined: A Conversation with Lisset Diaz
Editor's Note: Welcome to the inaugural Global Dialogue+, a program that brings you insights and perspectives on important global developments, featuring brief conversations with newsmakers, officials and specialists. We're pleased to launch the feature with a conversation about the protests in Cuba, talking to Lisset Diaz, lead singer of the Sweet Lizzy Band. The group came to Nashville from Havanna to launch their musical journey in America. Watch Lisset's conversation and then check the CFR Backgrounder on Cuba to become familiar with developments there. .
"It’s been 62 years of dictatorship. I have not said this out loud. I never used this term before for many reasons. The first one is that I didn’t know that we had a dictatorship. When you are born and raised Cuba and you have very limited access to information. You don’t have the Internet, you don’t have any independent media. The only information you get is from the official press, the government. . "So you know what they want you to know. Which means that basically you don’t know what’s going on out there in the real world. So that was the reason I never called it a dictatorship. And more recently because I was afraid. Because I have friends and family there. Because I know that the more I say about this topic, they’re not going to let me back in. And if they do I could go to jail, which is what happens to a lot of other artists. You don’t have to be violent to go through the repression and the other things the Cuban regime does to those who speak up. So that is what has been happening for 62 years. And that is a very long time." -- Lisset Diaz
The Sweet Lizzy Project band came to the United States from Havanna after being featured in a PBS TV special on Cuban bands. They chose Nashville as their home base in their coast-to-coast musical journey. TNWAC talked with lead singer Lisset Diaz about the band's migration for our "Global Tennessee" Podcast in December 2018. In this conversation Lisset talks with TNWAC President Patrick Ryan about the July protests that erupted in Cuba, as citizens risked violent crackdowns and prosecutions to share their rage and demands amidst nationwide economic distress and the Covid-19 health crisis. Join us for our brief talk about how Cubans endured decades of oppression and the situation on the island for friends and family of Lisset and the band.
Afghanistan's Collapse: Trouble for America's Enemies | Prof. Mark Katz by Tennessee World Affairs Council
A conversation about the Tennessee-Japan commercial relationship.
Let’s put the Tennessee-Japan commercial relationship in numbers.
Statewide FDI statistics 1,021 FDI establishments 156,439 employees Approximately $40B in capital investment
Japan is the largest FDI nation 190 establishments in the state with a Japanese parent company 54,080 employees Nearly $20B in capital investment
The 54,080 Tennesseans employed by Japanese-owned companies is more than the employment totals of the next four nations combined (Germany – 20,897; UK-11,600; France – 10,440; Canada – 8,807).
Japan’s investment includes pioneering companies like Nissan, Toshiba, Sharp and Denso along with new investment like Advanex Americas that recently announced a spring manufacturing facility in White House (Robertson County).
The new companies get the big press, but Japanese companies continue to reinvest in communities all across Tennessee … several for over 30 years.
Matt Kisber Former Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Chairman of the Board, Silicon Ranch Matt is a co-founder of Silicon Ranch and served as CEO of the company until becoming Chairman in July 2019. As Chairman, Matt works closely with the company’s executive leadership to set and implement its ambitious growth strategy. Under his leadership, Silicon Ranch has become one of the fastest-growing developers, owners, and operators of solar energy plants in the U.S., with a portfolio that includes more than 1.6 Gigawatts of PV systems that are contracted, under construction, or operating coast to coast. Matt brings a unique background to Silicon Ranch having been a business owner and having served eight years as Tennessee Commissioner of Economic Development. He has also worked with industry leaders from across the U.S. and around the globe to bring investments and jobs to Tennessee. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Matt served 10 terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Philip Bredesen 48th Governor of Tennessee (2003-2011), Founding Chairman, Silicon Ranch Philip Bredesen served as Tennessee’s Governor from 2003 until 2011 and Mayor of Nashville from 1991 until 1999. He is known for his bipartisan approach to problem-solving and his careful fiscal management. Among those who have served in senior elected positions, Governor Bredesen has a unique depth of healthcare experience in both the private and public sectors.
Prior to entering public service, Bredesen worked in the healthcare industry. Between research trips to the public library, he drafted a business plan at his kitchen table that led to the creation of HealthAmerica Corp. in 1980, a Nashville-based healthcare management company. The company eventually grew to more than 6,000 employees and was traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company was sold in 1986. Additionally, Gov. Bredesen is considered a serial entrepreneur, having helped start and mentor several successful companies, many of which subsequently became publicly traded on various stock exchanges.
Consul General of Mexico Javier Díaz de León, based in Atlanta, talked with TNWAC's Patrick Ryan about the economic impact of US-Mexico trade and investment on Tennessee; the USMCA accord on its one-year anniversary and other aspects of commercial relations. They talked about other aspects of the relationship such as the US-Mexico border and migration issues and the shared values and interests of Mexicans and Americans.
Javier Díaz de León Consul General of Mexico in Atlanta
Consul General, Javier Díaz de León, holds a Bachelors degree in International Relations from the Universidad Iberoamericana. He has a Masters in International Conflict Analysis granted by the University of Kent, in England. Diaz has been a member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1991 and has held the rank of Ambassador since April 28, 2017. During his diplomatic career he has held various positions, including: Deputy Consul General in San Diego; Deputy Consul General in New York, Head of the Office of Migratory and Hispanic Affairs in the Embassy of Mexico in the United States and Executive Director of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico City.
From June 2013 to May 2016 he served as Consul General of Mexico in Raleigh, North Carolina. In May 2016, he was appointed Consul General of Mexico in Atlanta, which oversees affairs in the states of Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.
U.S.-Russia Conflict: Post Biden-Putin Summit with Dr. Andrei Korobkov, Professor, Political Science and International Relations, Middle Tennessee State University and Dr. Mark Katz, Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University With Host LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret), Founding President, Tennessee World Affairs Council July 13, 2021 @ 7 pm
What’s Ahead in the U.S.-Russia Relationship After the Biden-Putin Summit
When United States President Joe Biden and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin met in Geneva on June 16th there was an icy cast on prospects for positive results. Yet, Biden said he did what he came to do. That seemed to have been to put Putin on notice concerning: cyber-attacks on American systems; human rights and suppression of Russian opposition; provocative military moves against neighbors like Ukraine; and observance of international norms of behavior.
Going into the summit, the U.S. and Russia were deeply at odds over these and other sources of conflict. Beyond the leaders’ press conferences and officials’ talk show appearances there’s much more to dissect and understand on what the Washington-Moscow relationship is going to look like.
To better understand this important foreign policy challenge for the United States, the Tennessee World Affairs Council is convening a Global Dialogue Webinar on the topic, “U.S.-Russia Conflict: Post Biden-Putin Summit,” featuring Dr. Andrei Korobkov and Dr. Mark Katz on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at 7pm CT.
Dr. Andrei Korobkov Dr. Korobkov is Professor and Director of Russian Studies in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Middle Tennessee State University. He focuses his scholarship on post-Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe. Dr. Katz is a Professor in the Schor School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He has lectured and written extensively on Moscow’s foreign policy. Korobkov and Katz will drill down into the summit outcomes and discuss the path ahead for the conflict-ridden relationship. And they will welcome you into the conversation.
The Global Dialogue on U.S.-Russia relations will be moderated by LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN(Ret), founding President of the Tennessee World Affairs Council and a former intelligence officer.
Dr. Mark Katz The TNWAC Global Dialogue is free and open to the public. Registration is available at the TNWAC.org web site and at the link here
The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational association that promotes international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world. To join, make a gift or for more information visit www.TNWAC.org or call: (931)261-2353 or email: pat@tnwac.org
Legendary travel guru Rick Steves talks with Tennessee World Affairs Council's Amanda Knarr. He's a legendary Europe tour leader, tour book author, television producer and personality and champion of "getting out there." You'll enjoy this candid conversation about the impact of Covid on travel and his business, the importance of travel to build bridges and break out of cultural "ethnocentricity," and Rick's adventures around the globe.
If you like this program please consider supporting the Tennessee World Affairs Council's global affairs awareness mission through a donation of a few bucks. Visit tnwac.org/donate.
Global Dialogue | The Power of Diplomacy | Marshall | Jun 1 by Tennessee World Affairs Council
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with Belmont University Center for International Business, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the George Mason University Schar School Policy and Government and the Wilson Center Kennan Conversations Series presents Global Dialogue | Russia & Iran
A Conversation with Dr. Mark Katz Professor, Schar School of Policy and Government
With Host
Lt. Cmdr. Patrick W. Ryan, USN(Ret)
Mark N. Katz is a professor of government and politics at George Mason University. He earned a B.A. in international relations from the University of California at Riverside in 1976, an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in 1978, and a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982.
He is the author of The Third World in Soviet Military Thought (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982), Russia and Arabia: Soviet Foreign Policy toward the Arabian Peninsula (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), Gorbachev's Military Policy in the Third World (Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1989), Revolutions and Revolutionary Waves (St. Martin's Press, 1997), Reflections on Revolutions (St. Martin's Press, 1999), and Leaving without Losing: The War on Terror after Iraq and Afghanistan (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012).
During 2017, he was a visiting scholar first at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (January-March), and then at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki (April-September). During 2018, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London (January-March), and was then the 2018 Sir William Luce Fellow at Durham University in the UK (April-June). In February 2019, he was appointed a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Links to his recent articles can be found on www.marknkatz.com
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with Belmont University Center for International Business, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Peoria Area World Affairs Council and the University of Tennessee Center for Global Engagement present:
Women at the Table: The Importance of Women's Voices in International Affairs
A Conversation On Political, Economic Issues
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 12:00-1:00 PM CT
The participation of women's organizations and other civil society groups makes a peace agreement 64% less likely to fail. Then why are women only 6% of signatories in major peace processes? This is one of the many questions that the Tennessee World Affairs Council will address this month at our event: Women at the Table: The Importance of Women's Voices in International Affairs.
The discussion will be moderated by TNWAC board member, Ms. Amanda Knarr, and will cover a range of political and economic topics, with a specific focus on the importance of including women in peace building initiatives.
Held on April 21st from 12-1 pm Central Time the panel will feature six distinguished women from around the world, including Ms. Sharon K. Roberson, President & CEO of YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee; Dr. Marlene Spoerri, Director of Inclusive Diplomacy and Systems Change at Independent Diplomat; Dr. Jennifer F. Klot, Partner, Policy & Praxis for Social Change; Ms. Mary Montague, European Representative for Mediators Beyond Borders International; Ms. Gwendolyn Myers, Founder & Executive Director of Messengers of Peace-Liberia Inc.; and Ms. Lorelei Higgins, Métis Canadian Cultural Mediator, a Rotary Peace Fellow, and Positive Peace Activator.
TNWAC thanks Dr. Gretchen Neisler, Vice Provost for International Affairs at the University of Tennessee for sharing opening remarks.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council
in association with
Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce present
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
A Conversation with Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Leaders
Dr. Rolando Toyos, Chairman
Yuri Cunza, President and CEO
With Host Karl F. Dean, Former Nashville Mayor
April 13, 2021 @ 7 pm CT
About the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce:
The Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NAHCC) is the oldest, longest running Hispanic business association in Tennessee, promoting the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs. With a membership of more than 300 businesses, the NAHCC represents their interests in Nashville and surrounding areas connecting entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises, facilitating strategic alliances, networking and sharing of business and financial best practices. The NAHCC is one of the first Hispanic chambers in the nation to receive the CTI Minority Chamber Certification Designation issued by the University of Notre Dame and co-signed by the USHCC, USBC, USPAACC. The CTI Certification highlights the achievements made by the chamber. The NAHCC is a recipient of the "Chamber of the Year Award" presented by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. For more information visit www.nashvillehispanicchamber.com
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with
Belmont University Center for International Business, Tennessee Technological University Department of Foreign Languages, Middle Tennessee State University and Lipscomb University and the Peoria Area World Affairs Council
International Careers & Jobs Panel
A Conversation On
Working in the World of Diplomacy
The United States Foreign Service and the U.S. State Department
Featuring
Foreign Service Officer Allen O. DuBose
Diplomat in Residence
Hosted By
Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Ryan
President, Tennessee World Affairs Council
March 25, 2021
5:30 PM CT
Allen DuBose
Allen DuBose is a management career track Foreign Service Generalist with more than 14 years of experience at the U.S. Department of State. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, DuBose enjoyed a 20 year career that included positions in finance at corporations like IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation. He also rose to the position of regional director of operations for North America at satellite telecommunications provider, Iridium LLC.
Since joining the Foreign Service, DuBose served overseas as a Vice Consul in Hermosillo, Mexico; General Services Officer in Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Management Officer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He has also served as an Area Manager for Latin America with the Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations; in human resources with the Executive Office of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs – South Central Asian Affairs; and as a Post Management Officer with the Executive Office of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs – International Organizations Affairs.
DuBose graduated from The College of William and Mary with a B.A in economics, and Atlanta University with an M.B.A. and concentration in finance. Since he travels frequently, the fastest way to contact him is via his email address, DuBoseA@state.gov.
Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret)
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in association with Belmont University Center for International Business, Tennessee Technological University Dept of Foreign Languages, Lipscomb University and Middle Tennessee State University in partnership with fellow World Affairs Councils including Peoria Area World Affairs Council
International Careers & Jobs Panel - A Conversation With Women in International Law Vicki Prais | Human Rights Lawyer and Independent Human Rights Consultant | London Clàudia Baró Huelmo | Associate at Withers LLP | London Tina Burjarliani | International Lawyer, First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia (2007-2012) Ioana Bara-Busila | International Lawyer | Strasbourg Hosted By Professor Susan Turner Haynes | Member of the Board, Tennessee World Affairs Council and Associate Professor of Political Science, Lipscomb University
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
March 2, 2021
Refugees and Tennessee
A Conversation with Lisa Sherman Nikolas
Executive Director, Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC)
and Special Guests
Louisa Saratora, State Refugee Coordinator, Tennessee Office for Refugees
and Isaac James
Global Town Hall Iran and the Nuclear Deal: The Clock is Ticking A Conversation With Kelsey Davenport Director of Non Proliferation Policy, Arms Control Association and host Lt.Cmdr. Patrick Ryan, USN(Ret) Founding President, TNWAC
Kelsey Davenport is the Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association, where she focuses on the nuclear and missile programs in Iran, North Korea, India, and Pakistan and on international efforts to prevent proliferation and nuclear terrorism. She also reports on developments in these areas for Arms Control Today and runs the Arms Control Association’s project assessing the effectiveness of multilateral voluntary initiatives that contribute to nonproliferation efforts.
She is the lead author of the P4+1 and Iran Nuclear Deal Alertnewsletter, which assesses developments related to the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, and the North Korea Denuclearization Digest, which tracks efforts to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. Kelsey is also the co-author of a series of seven reports assessing the impact of the Nuclear Security Summits on efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism. Kelsey joined the Arms Control Association in August 2011 as a Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow.
Kelsey has been quoted in numerous publications, including the Washington Post, The New York Times, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor, Vox, and The Guardian and has provided commentary on NPR, CBC, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, Fox News, al-Jazeera, and C-Span. She has published opeds in various outlets, including TIME, Reuters, CNN, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and Defense One.
Kelsey is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the National Committee on North Korea. She was selected to the CSIS Mid-Career Cadre in 2018 and serves on the Board of Directors for the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship.
Prior to joining the Arms Control Association, Kelsey worked a think tank in Jerusalem researching Middle East security issues. She holds a masters degree in peace studies from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor of arts summa cum laude in international studies and political science from Butler University.
Global News Review - March 24, 2021
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Global News Review - February 17, 2021
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
TOPICS FOR FEBRUARY 17, 2021
TOPIC 1 – Early Obstacles for Biden Foreign Policy
TOPIC 2 – France and the Sahel Check our bio for link
TOPIC 3 – The World Trade Organization Gets a New Face
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Video: https://youtu.be/ge1xTTyo8M4
TOPIC 1 – BIDEN FOREIGN POLICY SPEECH TOPIC 2 – IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL: THE CLOCK IS TICKING TOPIC 3 – REMEMBERING GEORGE SCHULTZ
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Join us for this conversation with the Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the U.S., Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, a great friend of the Tennessee World Affairs Council and homeland connection to the thousands of Iraqi Kurds who call Nashville home as new Americans. TNWAC thanks her for her previous programs with the Council including hosting our visiting student groups in Washington, D.C.
There is a Kurdish proverb, "No friends but the mountains," that captures the sense of what the Kurds face as an ethnic group living across several international borders in the Middle East. The Kurds living in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq have suffered at the hands of the Saddam Hussein government -- enduring genocidal campaigns -- and attacks from the Islamic State Caliphate.
At the end of the Operation Desert Storm, when a U.S.-led military coalition reversed Saddam's invasion of Kuwait, he turned his army on the Kurds in the north and the Shia minority in the south. The Kurds were being driven into the mountains. Here is how Madam Abdul Rahman described it during a 2016 program with TNWAC and Lipscomb University:
Saddam turned his weapons on us because he had by then been thrown out of Kuwait, and he committed terrible crimes during that period of the uprising. And this was just a couple of years after the chemical bombardment of Halabja, where five thousand people were killed, and the Anfal genocide campaign, where two hundred fifty thousand people were killed.
So when Saddam turned against the Kurdish people everybody thought he would use chemicals again. Everyone fled. They fled to the borders of Iran and Turkey. This was in the spring of 1991, an incredibly cold spring, severe weather conditions. People died on the mountaintops. People starved. They died of exhaustion and exposure.
The United States, Britain, France launched Operation Provide Comfort. It was the biggest military and humanitarian operation, and probably the most successful in history. I’ve met some of the military leaders, American military leaders who were involved in that operation, General Jim Jones, General Bob Barrow, General Jay Garner, and others who were involved in that operation, and they all speak of that operation with great pride because they saved lives. They saved hundreds of thousands if not one and a half million lives.
[Complete remarks here]
The United States went on to enforce a UN "No Fly Zone" that prevented Saddam from persecuting the Iraqi Kurds and allowing the Kurdistan Region to develop as an autonomous area. The 2003 invasion of Iraq permanently eliminated the threat from Saddam. In recent years the Kurds were again beset by the ominous threat posed by the Islamic State. The remarkably brave Peshmerga fighters of Kurdistan stood against ISIS with American and other coalition troops and support joining in the campaign. We commend to your reading the remarks of Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman during her April 2016 program in Nashville.
The KRG enjoys a special relationship with the United States. The Kurdish people have been reliable partners, seeking democracy and independence and looking to the West for partners.
We invite you to talk with Madam Abdul Rahman in this special program.
Global News Review - February 3, 2021
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
TOPICS FOR February 3, 2021
Covid-19: Global Update Myanmar: Leadership Trouble India's Farmers: Growing Trouble for Modi and remembering Ralph Bunche
This week we're pleased to welcome Austin Travis as a guest panelist on the Global News Review. Austin will provide background, context, and analysis of the unfolding drama of a coup in Myanmar.
Austin Travis is a senior at Lipscomb University studying political science and international affairs. He is currently interning with the Tennessee World Affairs Council. Travis is a member of Lipscomb's Model U.N. team and has led Lipscomb's delegation to the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature for three years. Additionally, he volunteers with the YMCA Center for Civic Engagement's Model U.N. conferences for Tennessee high schoolers. Travis is from Dickson, Tennessee, and graduated from Dickson County High School. Since then, he has worked on various campaigns, most recently managing the successful re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives for Rep. Mary Littleton.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Listen to a conversation with former Nashville Mayor Dean and former TN ECD Commissioner Kisber about developments in Nashville. Learn about Silicon Ranch, one of the largest solar power producers in the country. Hear how the state's Economic and Community Development Department brings global businesses to Tennessee.
About Matt Kisber
Matt is a co-founder of Silicon Ranch and served as CEO of the company until becoming Chairman in July 2019. As Chairman, Matt works closely with the company's executive leadership to set and implement its ambitious growth strategy.
Under his leadership, Silicon Ranch has become one of the fastest growing developers, owners, and operators of solar energy plants in the U.S., with a portfolio that includes more than 3 Gigawatts of PV systems that are contracted, under construction, or operating coast to coast. Matt brings a unique background to Silicon Ranch having been a business owner and having served eight years as Tennessee Commissioner of Economic Development. He has also worked with industry leaders from across the U.S. and around the globe to bring investments and jobs to Tennessee.
During his tenure as Commissioner Tennessee received over $33 billion in new capital investment and over 200,000 new jobs. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Matt served 10 terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives and held numerous leadership positions including Chairman of the powerful Finance, Ways & Means committee, which handles all revenue and spending legislation.
In the private sector, Matt grew up in his family's Jackson, TN department store business and developed a great love for the people and the business. He has owned a number of successful small businesses and served as Vice President for Business Development for First Tennessee Bank prior to leading Tennessee's economic development efforts.
Matt is married to Paige Kisber and they have a son who attends Southern Methodist University and a high school daughter who attends Harpeth Hall. He is currently Chairman of the Tennessee Business Roundtable, member of the board of directors of the Adventure Science Center and is a founding board member and former Chairman of the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council.
About Karl Dean
Karl Dean was the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected on Sept. 11, 2007 and was re-elected on Aug. 4, 2011. He completed his second term in office on September 25, 2015. Dean first held public office when he was elected as Nashville’s Public Defender in 1990, a post he was re-elected to in 1994 and 1998. He served as Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt. Dean was the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 2018. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
The Future of Korea Project
United States-Republic of Korea Relations
Join us for a conversation with distinguished speakers from United States Department of State, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the United States, Korean Economic Institute.
Hon. Bob Rolfe
Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development
Panelists
Marc Knapper, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan, U.S. State Department
Hon. YoungJae Kim, Economic Minister, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the U.S.
Troy Stangarone, Korea Economic Institute
Thursday, January 28, 2021
5:30-7:00pm CT
This program is presented by the Tennessee World Affairs Council, the World Affairs Councils of America and the Korea Economic Institute in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
International Business Council Seminar
The Future of Korea Project
United States-Republic of Korea Business Relations
Join us for a conversation with distinguished speakers from United States Department of State, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the United States, Korean Economic Institute.
Thursday, January 28, 2021 @ 9:00-10:00 am CT
Speakers
Hon. Marc Knapper, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan, U.S. State Department
Hon. YoungJae Kim, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the U.S.
Troy Stangarone, Senior Director, Korea Economic Institute
Thursday, January 28, 2021 @ 9-10:00 am CT
This program is presented by the Tennessee World Affairs Council, the World Affairs Councils of America and the Korea Economic Institute in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the Belmont University Center for International Business and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
TOPICS FOR JANUARY 27, 2021
We'll focus on Inauguration Day and the start of the President Joe Biden Administration.
Renewing U.S. Global Engagement Banning Nuclear Weapons: A New Treaty Takes Effect Navalny Jailed, Russians Take to the Streets
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
TOPICS FOR JANUARY 20, 2021
We'll focus on Inauguration Day and the start of the President Joe Biden Administration.
Biden and the World The Biden Team Global Challenges
There's no shortage of issues impacting Nashville's and Middle Tennessee's well-being. On Tuesday evening, January 19th former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean talked with Ralph Schulz, community leader and head of the Nashville Chamber. Join us for this review of important issues affecting you and your neighbors: the impact of the pandemic on business and the economy; the 2nd Avenue bombing aftermath and effects on the hospitality industry and the downtown; effects of new policies in the Biden Administration on immigration, trade and more; the situation for small businesses shuttered or in hibernation as a result of COVID; and much more.
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Join us for our conversation about the Nashville Christmas Day bombing, and domestic and international terrorism.
At 6:28 a.m. a massive explosion ripped through a historic block of North Second Avenue in downtown Nashville. Among the first questions asked were who did it, why did they do it, and was it terrorism. That last question has become a quintessential element of mass violence in America. We may feel some relief when when a heinous act is not called terrorism, sadly, not that its horrific nature is lessened by its label but the implication that it's not part of a wider campaign.
Most bombings have been judged to be terrorism in that they have a political or ideological motivation. The Nashville bombing has yet to be labeled by law enforcement as such, not that the average citizen couldn't be forgiven for concluding the Christmas bombing was "terror" in their minds. [The distinction of an act of "terrorism" is not lost on the home owners and business people who may lose insurance coverage if December 25th was officially designated an act of terror.]
As the FBI continues the investigation into the Christmas bombing and we navigate the aftermath we will try to put it in the context of the threat of such violence from domestic and international sources. To do so TNWAC has invited Malcolm Nance, an expert in analyzing and countering terrorist violence. Nance literally wrote the book on it. A prolific author he produced the "Terrorist Recognition Handbook: A Practitioner's Manual for Predicting and Identifying Terrorist Activities." He has also written extensively on combatting the Islamic State and on Russian hacking attacks on American cyber systems in furtherance of political and national security objectives. Nance's counter-terrorism activities include work in the field to combat terrorist activities.
Nance retired from the Navy after 20 years and promotion to Senior Chief Petty Officer. Among his post-military pursuits was work in preparing Navy special operations forces, SEALs and others, in methods to endure captivity at the hands of a new class of enemies like Al Qaeda militants. He also worked in security and intelligence activities in Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Along the way he became an expert on extremist threats in Iraq and literally wrote the book on ISIS producing a handbook that became a counter-terrorism bible. Nance’s research and writing about ISIS’ use of electronic media led to his dive into what was to emerge as a wide-ranging Russian information warfare capability and campaign.
Hosting the conversation with Malcolm Nance will be TNWAC's founding president and retired Navy Intelligence Officer, LCDR Patrick Ryan. Among his experiences working in Middle East affairs was assignment as chief of terrorism analysis at U.S. Central Command during the bombings of USMTM in Riyadh and the USAF barracks in al-Khobar. He completed his 26 years in the Navy in 1998, on a one-year, Intelligence Community research project into the emergence of the Al Qaeda threat.
A distinguished panel discussed the background and future challenges facing the United Nations on the occasion of the UN turning 75.
Welcome: Matthew Hughes, Executive Director, International Relations Council, Kansas City Introduction: Patrick Ryan, President, Tennessee World Affairs Council Keynote: Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering Moderator: Joyce Davis, President, World Affairs Council of Harrisburg Panel: Hon Gérard Araud, former Ambassador of France to the United States and former Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations (Confirmed) Linda Fasulo, NPR Correspondent at the UN, author “An Insider’s Guide to the UN” (Confirmed) Samuel Rushay, Supervisory Archivist, Harry S. Truman Library and Museum (Confirmed) Dustin Liu, UNA USA Youth Representative
Chief Operating Officer Kate Burke who oversaw the relocation of AB's New York office to Nashville joined former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 7pm CT on our "Global Nashville with Karl Dean" Webinar to talk about: the choice of Nashville for its corporate expansion, the company's international operations, and its integration into the fabric of the community. You are invited to join the conversation.
You may have seen the AllianceBernstein (AB) sign go up on the tower rising at Fifth+Broadway. The new permanent downtown offices for AB will complete the investment of $11.4 million and creation of 200 new jobs in Nashville, as noted by "BusinessFacilities.com." The expansion of the global financial firm that has approximately $623 million in assets under management and offices in 25 countries is one of Tennessee's most consequential economic development wins in recent years, according to Governor Bill Lee. He said, "The creation of hundreds of quality jobs will provide tremendous benefits to the entire Middle Tennessee region.”
The importance of the AB investment was echoed by TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe who said, "It’s hard to overstate how significant AB’s commitment to Nashville is for our state. Once fully operational, AB will have more than 1,250 employees here in Middle Tennessee, making it one of downtown Nashville’s largest employers. We’re incredibly honored that a company of this caliber has so quickly established deep roots in Tennessee and continues to create extremely well-paying and high-quality jobs in Nashville.”
"AllianceBernstein L.P. (AB) will invest $11.4 million and create 200 additional jobs at its global headquarters in Nashville, TN. The expansion will bring the global asset management firm’s planned investment in Nashville to more than $80 million. In May 2018, the company announced plans to relocate its headquarters from New York City to Nashville and bring 1,050 jobs to Middle Tennessee."
Business Facilities, January 14, 2020
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Here’s our December 9th topics: --2021 - What's in Store for America in the World --Iran: Maximum Pressure at the Barrel of a Gun --Brexit: Disorderly Conduct
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence, along with a little fun and your questions.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Foreign Policy Challenges: Russia, North Korea, and Afghanistan – Panel Chair: Dr. Breck Walker, PhD
Panel Chair: Dr. Breck Walker, PhD
DAS Annie Pforzheimer [Afghanistan] U.S. Foreign Service (Ret) Rank of Minister Counselor, former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan; former Deputy Chief of Mission, Kabul, Afghanistan
Svetlana Savranskaya, PhD., [Russia] Senior Analyst, National Security Archive
Ambassador Christopher Hill [North Korea] U.S. Foreign Service (Ret); Chief Advisor to the Chancellor for Global Engagement; former Asst Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; former Ambassador to four countries including South Korea
TNWAC is launching our Election 2020 global awareness series as we prepare for the Presidential Debate hosted by our partner Belmont University on October 22nd.
TNWAC will present interviews and panels with distinguished specialists in international affairs to prepare voters with background and context on the critical issues they should know about the world.
TNWAC is a nonpartisan educational organization that seeks to educate the community on global affairs.
Global News Review - December 2, 2020 Special Edition
2021 - What's in Store for America in the World
With Special Guest Ambassador John Kornblum Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs
And The Usual Gang of Three
Ambassador Charles (Dick) Bowers, U.S. Foreign Service (Retired) Former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia
Dr. Breck Walker, Ph.D. Historian of U.S. Foreign Policy
LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN(Ret) Former Naval Intelligence Officer
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
Today we are going to check into the global response to the U.S. election.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Host: • Karl Dean Guests: • Nawzad Hawrami • Mohammad Kokoy • Halmat Qazi • Mrs. Dilman Yasin • Abdulsattar Recany
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
Topics for November 18, 2020 1 – White House Transition: Global Reactions and Jiggery-Pokery 2 – Mammoth Asia-Pacific Trade Deal: America Outside, Looking In 3 - Peru’s Presidency Problems: Musical Chairs in Lima
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence, along with a little fun and your questions.
Tennessee World Affairs Council Election2020 Project
Chair: Professor Thomas Schwartz, Distinguished Professor of History, Vanderbilt University Ambassador John Kornblum, U.S. Foreign Service (Ret), Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Distinguished Fellow, U.S. Foreign Service (Ret), Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, to Russia, to India, to Israel, to El Salvador, to Nigeria, and to Jordan
PRESENTED BY THE TENNESSEE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL AND "THE TENNESSEAN'S" CIVILITY TENNESSEE CAMPAIGN
Our debate watch party included pre- and post-debate discussions with our panel of specialists on campaign operations, polling, media, global affairs and other relevant fields.
Our panel included: • David Plazas, Opinion Engagement Editor, "The Tennessean" (moderator) • Mark Braden, Senior VP, Mercury LLC, former campaign manager for Senator Lamar Alexander. • Rachael Dean Wilson, Director of External Affairs, Alliance for Securing Democracy, former Senator John McCain staff member and press assistant in McCain 2008 campaign. • Holly McCall, Editor, "Tennessee Lookout" online news • Sarah Lingo, Executive Director, Sister Cities of Nashville • Amanda Knarr, Global Account Manager, Forrester Research; TNWAC Board • Campbell Lahman, Academic WorldQuest Program Rep • Patrick Ryan, President, Tennessee World Affairs Council
Debate Topics: COVID-19 American Families Race in America Climate Change National Security Leadership
Topics for October 21, 2020 1 – Mexico: Dam Water 2 – The Uighurs and Global Human Rights 3 – President Debates and International Affairs
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence. THIS WEEK we're joined by David Plazas of The Tennessean as our guest host to talk about media issues.
David Plazas
David Plazas is the Opinion and Engagement Director for the USA TODAY Network newsrooms in Tennessee and The Tennessean where he serves an editorial writer, opinion columnist, op-ed editor and an editorial board member. He has written award-winning columns on affordable housing, government accountability and civic engagement. He leads the acclaimed Civility Tennessee campaign.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
America's Place in the World
Chair: Professor Thomas Schwartz, Distinguished Professor of History, Vanderbilt University General John Allen, President, Brookings; former Commander NATO International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan (Confirmed) *Dr. Jessica Tuchman Matthews, Ph.D., Distinguished Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years. (Confirmed)
Thomas Schwartz Thomas Alan Schwartz is a historian of the foreign relations of the United States, with related interests in American politics, the history of international relations, Modern European history, and biography. His most recent book is Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography (Hill and Wang, 2020). The book has received considerable notice and acclaim. Harvard’s University’s Charles Maier has written: "Thomas Schwartz's superbly researched political biography reveals the brilliance, self-serving ego, and vulnerability of America's most remarkable diplomat in the twentieth century, even as it provides a history of U.S. engagement in global politics as it moved beyond bipolarity."
John Allen John Rutherford Allen assumed the presidency of the Brookings Institution in November 2017, having most recently served as chair of security and strategy and a distinguished fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings. Allen is a retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general and former commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. He is the co-author of the book "Turning Point: Policymaking in the Era of Artificial Intelligence" alongside co-author Darrell M. West (Brookings Press, 2020)” Allen served in two senior diplomatic roles following his retirement from the Marine Corps. First, for 15 months as senior advisor to the secretary of defense on Middle East Security, during which he led the security dialogue for the Israeli/Palestinian peace process. President Barack Obama then appointed Allen as special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, a position he held for 15 months. Allen’s diplomatic efforts grew the coalition to 65 members, effectively halting the expansion of ISIL. During his nearly four-decade military career, Allen served in a variety of command and staff positions in the Marine Corps and the Joint Force. He commanded 150,000 U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan from July 2011 to February 2013. Allen is the first Marine to command a theater of war. During his tenure as ISAF commander, he recovered the 33,000 U.S. surge forces, moved the Afghan National Security Forces into the lead for combat operations, and pivoted NATO forces from being a conventional combat force into an advisory command. Allen also participated in the Six Party Talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and played a major role in organizing the relief effort during the South Asian tsunami from 2004 to 2005. Allen was the Marine Corps fellow to the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the first Marine officer to serve as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where today he is a permanent member.
Jessica Tuchman Matthews Jessica Tuchman Mathews is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years. Before her appointment in 1997, her career included posts in both the executive and legislative branches of government, in management and research in the nonprofit arena, and in journalism and science policy. She was director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Washington program and a senior fellow from 1994 to 1997. While there she published her seminal 1997 Foreign Affairs article, “Power Shift,” chosen by the editors as one of the most influential in the journal’s seventy-five years. She holds a PhD in molecular biology from the California Institute of Technology and graduated magna cum laude from Radcliffe College.
Topics for October 14, 2020 1 – World Food Program and Alfred Nobel 2 – World Press Freedom Under Attack 3 -- Nuclear Weapons, Dexamethasone and the 25th Amendment
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence. THIS WEEK we're joined by David Plazas of The Tennessean as our guest host to talk about media issues.
David Plazas
David Plazas is the Opinion and Engagement Director for the USA TODAY Network newsrooms in Tennessee and The Tennessean where he serves an editorial writer, opinion columnist, op-ed editor and an editorial board member. He has written award-winning columns on affordable housing, government accountability and civic engagement. He leads the acclaimed Civility Tennessee campaign.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Karl Dean, former Nashville Mayor talks with community leaders about the things that make Nashville a global city.
Global Nashville with Karl Dean Join Mayor Dean for a conversation with Mohamed-Shukri Hassan, Director of the Office of New Americans as they talk about community issues in the headlines.
Hassan, who was born in Somalia, worked with or advised the Metro Public Health Department, New American Development Center, Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Metro Arts and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and the New Americans Advisory Council.
The Mayor's Office of New Americans works to engage immigrants and empower them to participate in our government and our community. The number of foreign-born residents in Nashville has more than doubled over the past decade. Nearly 12 percent of our population was born outside of the United States, and nearly half of those people are recent immigrants who entered the country since 2000. In fact, in 2012, Nashville had the fastest-growing immigrant population of any American city. Nashville is the proud home of the nation's largest Kurdish population, as well as growing enclaves of immigrants from Somalia, Burma, and all over the world.
"Shukri-Hassan’s journey to Middle Tennessee is a unique one. Shortly after being born in Somalia in 1986, his family fled their home country due to the growing Civil War. The family bounced from place to place in East Africa, eventually settling in Nairobi, Kenya. Though they found temporary solace, they had dreams to live in the United States of America. Shukri-Hassan’s mother was the first to make the leap overseas through the immigration lottery. After a few years of saving, the rest of the Shukri-Hassan family joined her in Decatur, Georgia."
Join our panel of professionals who have lived and worked abroad, or work in global affairs fields in the States as they talk about and answer questions in an insightful "how-to" session.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council (TNWAC) was pleased to present six professional women in a variety of fields joining us from three countries on two continents.
We welcome your feedback on what you gained by hearing their stories and perspectives -- info@tnwac.org. Thanks.
^ Chair: Dr. Susan Haynes, PhD; Assistant Professor of Political Science, Lipscomb University ^ Amanda Knarr, Global Account Manager, Forrester Research ^ Lindsay L. Rodman, Executive Director, The Leadership Council on Women in National Security (LCWINS); Adjunct Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security (CNAS); United States Marine Reserve JAG ^ Daniela Segovia, Coordinator, NGO Magnolia Foundation for Peace & Wellness ^ Francine Uenuma, Humanitarian Assistance Advisor to the Military with the U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance ^ Nancy Youssef, Chief Business Development Officer, Soles4Souls, Nashville
THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.
THE VISION of the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.
We invite you to support TNWAC through membership and/or a gift -- TNWAC.org
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments. (Breck had the day off.)
Topics for October 7, 2020 1 – U.S. Commitment in Iraq 2 – QAnon Goes Global 3 - Pentagon Leaders and Covid: Who’s in Charge
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they’ll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence, along with a little fun and your questions.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Distinguished speakers provide an assessment of America's situation in a region it has tried to navigate for decades - the Middle East.
U.S. Foreign Policy Challenges: The Middle East Patrick W. Ryan, President, TNWAC; LCDR, USN (Ret); Panel Chair Rami Khouri, distinguished international journalist; Nieman Journalism Fellow at Harvard University Dr. Paul Pillar, Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Studies of Georgetown University; career official in the U.S. Intelligence Community Mona Yacoubian, Senior Advisor to the Vice President of Middle East & Africa, United States Institute of Peace
Rami Khouri Journalist-in-Residence and director of global engagement at the American University of Beirut, and a non-resident senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He was the executive editor of the Beirut-based Daily Star newspaper, the editor-in-chief of the Jordan Times, and was awarded the Pax Christi International Peace Prize for 2006. He teaches or lectures annually at the American University of Beirut and Northeastern University. He has been a fellow and visiting scholar at Harvard, Mount Holyoke, Princeton, Syracuse, Northeastern, Villanova, Oklahoma and Stanford universities. He also serves on the Joint Advisory Board of the Northwestern University Journalism School in Doha, Qatar. He was general manager of Al Kutba, Publishers, in Amman, Jordan, where he also served as a consultant to the Jordanian tourism ministry on biblical archaeological sites. He has hosted programs on archaeology, history and current public affairs on Jordan Television and Radio Jordan, and often comments on Mideast issues in the international media. He has BA and MSc degrees respectively in political science and mass communications from Syracuse University, NY, USA. Dr. Paul Pillar Paul R. Pillar is a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Studies of Georgetown University. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Geneva Center for Security Policy. He retired in 2005 from a 28-year career in the U.S. intelligence community, after which he was visiting professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University. His senior government positions included National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, Deputy Chief of the DCI Counterterrorist Center, and Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a retired officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. Dr. Pillar received an A.B. summa cum laude from Dartmouth College, a B.Phil. from Oxford University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University. His books include Negotiating Peace: War Termination as a Bargaining Process (1983), Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy (2001), Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform (2011), and Why America Misunderstands the World: National Experience and Roots of Misperception (2016). He is a contributing editor of The National Interest. Mona Yacoubian Mona Yacoubian is Senior Advisor to the Vice President of Middle East & Africa, United States Institute of Peace. She joined the U.S. Institute of Peace after serving as deputy assistant administrator in the Middle East Bureau at USAID from 2014 to 2017, where she had responsibility for Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Yacoubian was a senior advisor at the Stimson Center focusing on the Arab uprisings with an emphasis on Syria. Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Ms. Yacoubian served as a special advisor on the Middle East at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where her work focused on Lebanon and Syria as well as broader issues related to democratization in the Arab world. From 1990 to 1998, Ms. Yacoubian served as the North Africa analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
September 30, 2020
Karl Dean, former Nashville Mayor talks with community leaders about the things that make Nashville a global city.
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
Former Mayor Dean talked with David Plazas, Opinion and Engagement Director for the USA TODAY Network newsrooms in Tennessee and The Tennessean, about community issues in the headlines.
David Plazas David Plazas is the Opinion and Engagement Director for the USA TODAY Network newsrooms in Tennessee and The Tennessean where he serves an editorial writer, opinion columnist, op-ed editor and an editorial board member. He has written award-winning columns on affordable housing, government accountability and civic engagement. He leads the acclaimed Civility Tennessee campaign.
Foreign Policy Challenges: Russia, North Korea, and Afghanistan – Panel Chair: Dr. Breck Walker, PhD
Panel Chair: Dr. Breck Walker, PhD DAS Annie Pforzheimer [Afghanistan] U.S. Foreign Service (Ret) Rank of Minister Counselor, former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Afghanistan; former Deputy Chief of Mission, Kabul, Afghanistan (Confirmed) Svetlana Savranskaya, PhD., [Russia] Senior Analyst, National Security Archive (Confirmed) Ambassador Christopher Hill [North Korea] U.S. Foreign Service (Ret); Chief Advisor to the Chancellor for Global Engagement; former Asst Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; former Ambassador to four countries including South Korea (Confirmed)
What image do you have when someone says Saudi Arabia? Are you sure it's accurate? Spend a little time with us as we talk with David Rundell, the American with the most experience as a diplomat in the Kingdom.
This country is key to American policy in the Middle East. You should know more about it.
"In February 1979, the last Shah of Iran was overthrown by a violent Islamic revolution. Two years later when I arrived in the Middle East, many commentators expected Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd would soon be the next monarch to fall. The Washington consensus held that we had paid inadequate attention to events outside of Iran’s capital, Tehran. We did not want to repeat that mistake. So, as the American Embassy’s most junior political officer, I was assigned to spend ten days a month for nearly two years traveling the byroads of rural Saudi Arabia to see what I could learn. I learned a great deal, and when I was done I argued against considerable skepticism that there would be no Saudi Revolution. Why was that my assessment then—and, more importantly, is it still correct today?" -- David Rundell That is how David Rundell began his affair with Saudi Arabia and how he opened his book on the Kingdom he came to know during a large part of his thirty years as a United States Foreign Service Officer. He was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. He served at various times chief of mission, deputy chief of mission, political counselor, economic counselor, and commercial counselor. Join us for this Special Edition of Global Dialogue with David Rundell, author of "Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at a Crossroad.
Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean hosts a conversation with Global Young Professionals Bronte Prins and Mary Love Richardson, of theTennessee World Affairs Council Board. The Global YP Group is associated with the Tennessee World Affairs Council, a nonpartisan educational organization that works to connect our community to global affairs awareness programs and resources.
The Young Professionals group of the Tennessee World Affairs Council unites like-minded young professionals living and working in Tennessee who are interested in international affairs and global literacy. With a strong focus on networking, YP-TNWAC is committed to creating a connected community and providing opportunities for its members to develop socially and professionally.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they'll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence.
THIS WEEK'S TOPICS: 1 - TikTok outcome 2 - The World Needs a Better World Health Organization 3 - The Mediterranean: Sea of Troubles
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Aug 25, 2020
Global Update Webinar Featuring Consul General of Mexico in Atlanta, Javier Diaz de Leon
The Nashville Chamber’s International Business Council, in partnership with Baker Donelson, hosted a Global Update Webinar featuring Consul General of Mexico in Atlanta, Javier Diaz de Leon. We discussed the latest in US-Mexico business connections, including the USMCA, Mexico’s response to COVID-19, and opportunities for future collaboration between Tennessee and Mexico.
This event was in partnership with the TN World Affairs Council and Center for International Business at Belmont. Moderating the event will be IBC advisory board member John Scannapieco.
Part One - September 2, 2020
Examining Critical Issues in the Global Pandemic
COVID-19 has touched every part of the world but its effects and the reaction of different countries has been uneven. In an interconnected world we need to understand the pandemic’s impact beyond our borders. Importantly, the progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic treatments is a global pursuit. There are, as well, already no shortage of changes made and those to come in reaction to the global catastrophe – in our communities, technology, health and science, government performance, elections, the global economy and our lifestyles.
A group of World Affairs Councils – nationwide, independent, nonpartisan educational organizations – is joining together with an international network of journalists and specialists to organize conversations over the course of two evenings in early September. The goal is to help Americans understand the impact of the pandemic in an interactive program open to all.
We invite you to join this unique partnership to inform and inspire Americans to know more about COVID-19’s impact around the world, the race for a vaccine and how the vaccine has changed the world.
On September 2nd and 3rd journalists, physicians, researchers, NGO officials and others will come together to discuss the global impact of COVID-19 and the pursuit of a vaccine.
The program is brought to the public in partnership with many of the nationwide networks of World Affairs Councils and an international network of journalists.
The World Affairs Councils of Kansas City, Denver, Colorado Springs, Western Massachusetts, Harrisburg and Tennessee have joined together to organize “COVID Complexities: A Global Town Hall,” an international virtual event set for September 2nd and 3rd.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 @ 7-8p ET/6-7p CT/5-6 MT
Panel One -- COVID-19: Impact in the Developing World
The opening night of the two-night program will begin with a scene-setting keynote from Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, U Penn Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and a former advisor for health policy in the Obama White House. That will kick off a deep dive into COVID-19 beyond America’s borders.
Through the eyes and reporters’ notebooks of journalists based around the world we’ll learn from: Yu Fen Tsao, Radio Free Asia’s Executive Director about “China, WHO and the Origins of the Pandemic”; Henry Flores, Regional Reporter Director for Unbound, an NGO that focuses on vulnerable communities on the situation in Latin America; Linord Moudou, VOA’s senior health reporter for Africa on COVID-19 in Africa; and Niusha Boghrati, Radio Farda RFE/RL Iranian Service Executive Editor on the situation in Iran.
The conversations will be aided by questions from our worldwide audience, consisting of nationwide World Affairs Council viewers, the general public, student groups and a virtual group tied in through our global network of partners.
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they’ll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence. [Register Below]
Topics for September 2, 2020: 1 – Japan: Abe Stands Down 2 – Russian Election Interference: Here We Go Again 3 - Turkish-Greek Face Off in the Eastern Med
TNWAC needs your support now more than ever. With a suggested donation of $100, you can help the Council continue to offer free and public programming to discuss global issues of critical importance to Americans’ security and prosperity. www.TNWAC.org/donate
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Join us as we talk with Prof. Thomas Schwartz, Distinguished Professor of History and Politics at Vanderbilt University
ABOUT THE BOOK
The definitive biography of Henry Kissinger―at least for those who neither revere nor revile him
Over the past six decades, Henry Kissinger has been America’s most consistently praised―and reviled―public figure. He was hailed as a “miracle worker” for his peacemaking in the Middle East, pursuit of détente with the Soviet Union, negotiation of an end to the Vietnam War, and secret plan to open the United States to China. He was assailed from the left and from the right for his indifference to human rights, complicity in the pointless sacrifice of American and Vietnamese lives, and reliance on deception and intrigue. Was he a brilliant master strategist―“the 20th century’s greatest 19th century statesman”―or a cold-blooded monster who eroded America’s moral standing for the sake of self-promotion?
In this masterfully researched biography, the renowned diplomatic historian Thomas Schwartz offers an authoritative, and fair-minded, answer to this question. While other biographers have engaged in hagiography or demonology, Schwartz takes a measured view of his subject. He recognizes Kissinger’s successes and acknowledges that Kissinger thought seriously and with great insight about the foreign policy issues of his time, while also recognizing his failures, his penchant for backbiting, and his reliance on ingratiating and fawning praise of the president as a source of power. Throughout, Schwartz stresses Kissinger’s artful invention of himself as a celebrity diplomat and his domination of the medium of television news. He also notes Kissinger’s sensitivity to domestic and partisan politics, complicating―and undermining―the image of the far-seeing statesman who stands above the squabbles of popular strife.
Rounded and textured, and rich with new insights into key dilemmas of American power, Henry Kissinger and American Power stands as an essential guide to a man whose legacy is as complex as the last sixty years of US history itself.
ABOUT PROFESSOR THOMAS SCHWARTZ, PHD
See his bio on TNWAC.org
TNWAC needs your support now more than ever. With a suggested donation of $100, you can help the Council continue to offer free and public programming to discuss global issues of critical importance to Americans’ security and prosperity.
Join our team of Ambassador Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Patrick Ryan for expert analysis of current global developments.
Give Dick, Breck and Pat 45 minutes and they’ll give you the world. Analysis and entertaining commentary on the top events and issues leading global news reports. Hard to find insights and perspectives from diplomacy, academia and intelligence. [Register Below]
Topics for Sep 9, 2020 1 – UNGA 2 – China’s Military Power 3 – Brexit: Still
TNWAC needs your support now more than ever. With a suggested donation of $100, you can help the Council continue to offer free and public programming to discuss global issues of critical importance to Americans’ security and prosperity. www.TNWAC.org/donate
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
TNWAC needs your support now more than ever. With a suggested donation of $100, you can help the Council continue to offer free and public programming to discuss critical global issues affecting Americans' security and prosperity. www.TNWAC.org/donate
Dr. Susan Haynes
Susan Turner Haynes is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Lipscomb University. Prior to her doctorate, Haynes was selected as a Public Policy and Nuclear Threat (PPNT) fellow at the University of California, San Diego. Haynes research specializes in Chinese nuclear strategy (Chinese Nuclear Proliferation: How Global Politics is Transforming China’s Weapons Modernization, 2016). In addition, Haynes has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Asian Perspectives, Asian Security, PS: Political Science and Politics, Strategic Studies Quarterly, The Nonproliferation Review, and Comparative Strategy.
Dr. Yang Zhong
Professor Zhong's is Professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His main research interests include Chinese local government and politics, mass political culture in China, Sino-U.S. relations and relations between China and Taiwan. He has published two scholarly books and edited several others. He has published three scholarly books and edited several others. He has also published over 50 journal articles and book chapters. Some of his works have appeared in top political science journals such as The Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly and Comparative Political Studies. Dr. Zhong also serves as an External Research Associate at China Policy Institute of the University of Nottingham.
Mr. Jeremy Goldkorn
Jeremy Goldkorn is the founder and director of Danwei, a research firm which began life in 2003 as a website that translated and analyzed Chinese media, Internet, government regulation, and censorship. In 2009, shortly after Goldkorn opened a consulting business in Beijing to operate the website, it was blocked, and the company pivoted to providing media and market research services. The Financial Times acquired Danwei in 2013. Goldkorn is an affiliate of the Australian National University’s Centre on China in the World, and a co-editor of the China Story website and annual China Story Yearbook published by the Centre. He is is co-host of the Sinica podcast, and founder of Great Wall Fresh, a social enterprise to help Chinese peasant farmers run small tourism businesses catering to foreign outdoor enthusiasts.
Ms. Bonnie S. Glaser
Bonnie S. Glaser is a senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at CSIS, where she works on issues related to Asia-Pacific security with a focus on Chinese foreign and security policy. She is concomitantly a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. Ms. Glaser has worked for more than three decades at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and U.S. policy. From 2008 to mid-2015, she was a senior adviser with the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, and from 2003 to 2008, she was a senior associate in the CSIS International Security Program. Prior to joining CSIS, she served as a consultant for various U.S. government offices, including the Departments of Defense and State. Mr. John Scannapieco
John Scannapieco is head of the global business team at Baker Donelson.
Examining Critical Issues in the Global Pandemic
Thanks to sponsors: University of Harrisburg of Science and Technology and the Kansas University Medical Center
COVID-19 has touched every part of the world but its effects and the reaction of different countries has been uneven. In an interconnected world we need to understand the pandemic’s impact beyond our borders. Importantly, the progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic treatments is a global pursuit. There are, as well, already no shortage of changes made and those to come in reaction to the global catastrophe – in our communities, technology, health and science, government performance, elections, the global economy and our lifestyles.
A group of World Affairs Councils – nationwide, independent, nonpartisan educational organizations – is joining together with an international network of journalists and specialists to organize conversations over the course of two evenings in early September. The goal is to help Americans understand the impact of the pandemic in an interactive program open to all.
We invite you to join this unique partnership to inform and inspire Americans to know more about COVID-19’s impact around the world, the race for a vaccine and how the vaccine has changed the world.
On September 2nd and 3rd journalists, physicians, researchers, NGO officials and others will come together to discuss the global impact of COVID-19 and the pursuit of a vaccine.
The program is brought to the public in partnership with many of the nationwide networks of World Affairs Councils and an international network of journalists.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 @ 7-8p ET/6-7p CT/5-6 MT
Panel Two – COVID-19: Global Response and the Future
The second evening of the COVID-19 Global Town Hall will focus on the responses to COVID-19 including the global pursuit of a vaccine and therapeutic remedies with a conversation with Irina Lagunina, Senior Editor at Radio Svoboda, Radio Free Europe’s Russian service; what was America’s response in an international context with Dr. Sandy Johnson, Director of Global Health Affairs at the University of Denver; and how the pandemic has impacted efforts at peace and security in an already troubled world, with Susan Stigant of the U.S. Institute of Peace. Other invited panelists will be announced.
As with panel one, the Wednesday evening panel will feature a distinguished keynote speaker to focus the conversation and the participation of a nationwide audience in the United States and attendees from a global network.
COVID COMPLEXITIES – A GLOBAL TOWN HALL
A Collaboration among World Affairs Councils And An International Network of Journalists
Organized through a partnership of: World Affairs Councils of Kansas City, Denver, Harrisburg, Tennessee, Colorado Springs, Western Massachusetts and Kentucky & Southern Indiana
Part One - September 2, 2020
Examining Critical Issues in the Global Pandemic
COVID-19 has touched every part of the world but its effects and the reaction of different countries has been uneven. In an interconnected world we need to understand the pandemic’s impact beyond our borders. Importantly, the progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic treatments is a global pursuit. There are, as well, already no shortage of changes made and those to come in reaction to the global catastrophe – in our communities, technology, health and science, government performance, elections, the global economy and our lifestyles.
A group of World Affairs Councils – nationwide, independent, nonpartisan educational organizations – is joining together with an international network of journalists and specialists to organize conversations over the course of two evenings in early September. The goal is to help Americans understand the impact of the pandemic in an interactive program open to all.
We invite you to join this unique partnership to inform and inspire Americans to know more about COVID-19’s impact around the world, the race for a vaccine and how the vaccine has changed the world.
On September 2nd and 3rd journalists, physicians, researchers, NGO officials and others will come together to discuss the global impact of COVID-19 and the pursuit of a vaccine.
The program is brought to the public in partnership with many of the nationwide networks of World Affairs Councils and an international network of journalists.
The World Affairs Councils of Kansas City, Denver, Colorado Springs, Western Massachusetts, Harrisburg and Tennessee have joined together to organize “COVID Complexities: A Global Town Hall,” an international virtual event set for September 2nd and 3rd.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2020 @ 7-8p ET/6-7p CT/5-6 MT
Panel One -- COVID-19: Impact in the Developing World
The opening night of the two-night program will begin with a scene-setting keynote from Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, U Penn Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and a former advisor for health policy in the Obama White House. That will kick off a deep dive into COVID-19 beyond America’s borders.
Through the eyes and reporters’ notebooks of journalists based around the world we’ll learn from: Yu Fen Tsao, Radio Free Asia’s Executive Director about “China, WHO and the Origins of the Pandemic”; Henry Flores, Regional Reporter Director for Unbound, an NGO that focuses on vulnerable communities on the situation in Latin America; Linord Moudou, VOA’s senior health reporter for Africa on COVID-19 in Africa; and Niusha Boghrati, Radio Farda RFE/RL Iranian Service Executive Editor on the situation in Iran.
The conversations will be aided by questions from our worldwide audience, consisting of nationwide World Affairs Council viewers, the general public, student groups and a virtual group tied in through our global network of partners.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council in cooperation with a half dozen sister Councils collaborated to bring you a two-evening special presentation on COVID-19. This is the sterling keynote and scene setting address by a leading physician and expert on the pandemic, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel.
Dr. Ezekiel Emanual, MD, Ph.D., is an American oncologist, bioethicist and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. He is the current Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy.
Dr. Emanuel was keynote speaker for the first of two evenings of the COVID-19 Complexities: Global Town Hall seeking a better understanding of the impact of the pandemic and the way out.
Examining Critical Issues in the Global Pandemic
COVID-19 has touched every part of the world but its effects and the reaction of different countries has been uneven. In an interconnected world we need to understand the pandemic’s impact beyond our borders. Importantly, the progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic treatments is a global pursuit. There are, as well, already no shortage of changes made and those to come in reaction to the global catastrophe – in our communities, technology, health and science, government performance, elections, the global economy and our lifestyles.
A group of World Affairs Councils – nationwide, independent, nonpartisan educational organizations – is joining together with an international network of journalists and specialists to organize conversations over the course of two evenings in early September. The goal is to help Americans understand the impact of the pandemic in an interactive program open to all.
This episode features Amb Dick Bowers, Dr. Breck Walker and LCDR Pat Ryan as they do a deep dive into top global news items. Here's where you can keep up with the news you won't see on your TV. Topics for Aug 26, 2020 1 – The Race for a COVID-19 Global Vaccine 2 – Belarus Post-Election Revolt 3 – UAE-Israel Normalize Relations
This episode, recorded August 25th, features former Defense Secretary William Perry, Ploughshares Fund Director of Policy Tom Collina and WPerry Project Communications Director Lisa Perry.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council hosted a Webinar with former Secretary of Defense William Perry and Tom Collina of the Ploughshares Fund about their new book, The Button, which recounts the terrifying history of nuclear launch authority, from the faulty 46-cent microchip that nearly caused World War III to President Trump’s tweet about his “much bigger & more powerful” button. Secretary Perry and Tom Collina will share their firsthand experience on the front lines of the nation’s nuclear history and address the concerns we should all have in 2020 about a president’s ability to launch a nuclear weapon.
IBC Global Update Webinar with Consul-General of Japan in Nashville, Ms. Kayoko Fukushima
Thursday, June 25, 2020
The Nashville Chamber’s International Business Council in partnership with Baker Donelson hosted a Global Update Webinar featuring Consul-General of Japan in Nashville Kayoko Fukushima. The Consul General offered updates on Japan’s response to COVID-19, the US-Japan business relationship and more.
Consul-General Fukushima assumed her post as Consul-General of Japan in Nashville in December 2019. This is her third diplomatic assignment in the U.S.; she received a Master of Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University in 1985 and served at the Consulate-General of Japan in New York (1993-1996). The Consul- General has extensive experience working with the United Nations. She served as a Program Officer at the United Nations University (2003-2006) and as the founding Director of the UN Women Japan Liaison Office (2015-2017), both based in Tokyo.
Consul-General Fukushima joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA) in 1981 after receiving a Bachelor of English Literature from Sophia University. She has held a variety of posts at MOFA headquarters in Tokyo, most recently serving as Director of Diplomatic Archives (2017-2019). Prior to that, she held several posts in the Minister’s Secretariat, including as Senior Coordinator of the Public Diplomacy Strategy Division (2014-2015) as well as Assistant Chief of Protocol (2011-2013). She served overseas at the Embassy of Japan in Ireland (1985-1988) and the Embassy of Japan in Thailand (2006-2008). Consul-General Fukushima is married with two adult daughters.
The event is in partnership with the TN World Affairs Council and Center for International Business at Belmont. Moderating the event will be IBC advisory board member John Scannapieco.
Former Nashville Mayor Dean will be talking about the Sister Cities of Nashville with key staff and board members.
So, what do Kamakura, Japan and Mendoza, Argentina have in common? How about Edmonton, Canada and Magdeburg, Germany? Tamworth, Australia and Chengdu, China?
Caen, France and Taiyuan, China?
They can all claim to be sister cities of Nashville.
Tonight you’ll learn about the relationships Nashville enjoys with these international partners, and about the organization that makes it all happen.
With us are Sarah Lingo, Executive Director of Sister Cities and a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand; Claire Coleman, Sister Cities Director of Student Exchanges, with an extensive background working with youth and international programs; and Professor Marieta Velikova, Member of the Sister Cities Board, immediate past Chair and lucky for us, a member of the TNWAC board and Council Vice President.
When she’s not working in service to the community she moonlights as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Belmont University, partner to the World Affairs Council.
Sarah’s, Claire’s and Marieta’s experiences and achievements are many and I invite you to visit their biographical details on our web site. www.TNWAC.org Please support the Tennessee World Affairs Council with your membership and donations.
Ambassador Dick Bowers, LCDR Patrick Ryan and Dr. Breck Walker, Ph.D., discuss the top five items in the week’s global news providing commentary and assessments, background and context; and they take your questions and comments.
Topics for Aug 4, 2020 1 – Global Covid Update – 2 – North Korea: Warhead Diplomacy 3 – Germany: GI Auf Wiedersehen 4 – Turkey: On the Edge of NATO 5 – The Passing of John Hume
In this episode former Nashville Mayor Dean will talk with Consul-General Kayoko Fukushima of Japan. Nashville is home to the Consulate. Japan and the Nashville region have a long history of friendship and collaboration. Our economic connections go back decades with Japanese-owned companies like Nissan, Bridgestone and Mitsubishi making Nashville their North American headquarters. Over 19,000 Middle Tennesseans go to work each day in Japanese-owned companies.
Japan is the state’s and the region’s largest foreign direct investor nation both by job creation and capital investment. To put some context around exactly what that means, we would have to add up the jobs created by the next 4 countries to get close to Japan’s 19,000 jobs. The roots of our relationship may have been built on business connections but it is the people who have made this relationship flourish.
Consul-General Fukushima assumed her role as Consul-General of Japan in Nashville in December 2019. The Consulate of Japan in Nashville services the states of Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. This is Consul-General Fukushima’s third diplomatic posting in the United States. She has held a variety of posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Tokyo and has extensive experience working with the United Nations having served as the founding director of the UN Women Japan Liaison office based in Tokyo.
Among the topics that may be discussed:
- The role of the Consul-General and the Japanese Consulate
- Japan-US and Japan-Tennessee relations — commercial, cultural and friendships
- JET (Japan Education and Teaching) Program
- Impact of Japanese economic and cultural influences on Nashville The new social media work at the Consulate The Tokyo Olympic Games set for July 23, 2021
- Consul General Fukushima’s goals for the time she will be posted in Nashville
There couldn’t be a more timely program.
Admiral Bill Owens fostered bilateral conversations at the highest levels between American and Chinese military officers for the purpose of building trust and confidence and developing initiatives to resolve conflict.
This is a must see episode of Global Dialogue with host Patrick Ryan and guest co-host John Scannapieco as they talk with Admiral Owens about his insights and perspectives on the deterioration of relations with China and the necessity to find ways to cooperate for the good of both nations and the planet.
Washington and Beijing are doubling down on conflicts in an already troublesome relationship. Consulates in Houston and Chengdu have been ordered shut. Secretary Pompeo traveled to the Nixon library to deliver an address on America’s future approach, “Today China is increasingly authoritarian at home, and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else.” With the backdrop of increased hostility between the two dominant global powers we present four-star Admiral Bill Owens at this week’s Tuesday evening Global Dialogue Webinar. In addition to serving as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Owens is author of “China-US 2039: The Endgame?,” and supported over ten years of dialogues between the most senior retired officers in the United States and Chinese militaries.
Ambassador Dick Bowers, LCDR Patrick Ryan and Dr. Breck Walker, Ph.D., discuss the top five items in the week’s global news providing commentary and assessments, background and context; and they take your questions and comments.
This week Dr. Charles Womack, MD, joined the conversation about key issues in global news especially his insight and perspectives on COVID-19. Dr. Womack is a founding member of the TNWAC Board of Directors, former TNWAC Vice President and Member of the Board since 2007. He represented TNWAC on a WACA leaders delegation to the People’s Republic of China. Dr. Womack is a retired physician from Cookeville, Tennessee, a two-term Mayor of Cookeville and a member of the Cookeville City Council.
This week's topics: 1 – In Pursuit of a Vaccine 2 – COVID-19 3 – London Calling: Huawei, 5G and the West 4 – October Surprises 5 – The End of World Order and American Foreign Policy
Ambassador Dick Bowers, LCDR Patrick Ryan and Dr. Breck Walker, Ph.D., discuss the top five items in the week’s global news providing commentary and assessments, background and context; and they take your questions and comments.
This week Dr. Charles Womack, MD, joined the conversation about key issues in global news especially his insight and perspectives on COVID-19. Dr. Womack is a founding member of the TNWAC Board of Directors, former TNWAC Vice President and Member of the Board since 2007. He represented TNWAC on a WACA leaders delegation to the People’s Republic of China. Dr. Womack is a retired physician from Cookeville, Tennessee, a two-term Mayor of Cookeville and a member of the Cookeville City Council.
This week's topics: 1 – In Pursuit of a Vaccine 2 – COVID-19 3 – London Calling: Huawei, 5G and the West 4 – October Surprises 5 – The End of World Order and American Foreign Policy
In this episode former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean talked with Commissioner Bob Rolfe.
He heads the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development at a critical time for Tennesseans and the business community.
The ECD is responsible for recruiting business and industry to the state, supporting existing companies, expanding economic opportunities across rural Tennessee and boosting the state’s overall economic prosperity.
Commissioner Rolfe has served as commissioner since March 2017.
Under his leadership, TNECD has increased Tennessee’s global footprint. He has led the State’s efforts in the recruitment and expansion of over 100 international projects, which represent an investment of $5.6 billion and 18,000 job commitments.
TNECD has placed a major focus on job creation and community development in rural Tennessee. Since 2017, the department has provided more than $240 million in funding to rural communities throughout the state. In addition, companies have invested $4 billion and committed to create 21,500 new jobs in rural communities over the past three years. Commissioner Rolfe has more than three decades of experience in business and investment banking in Tennessee.
Before joining TNECD, he held the position of CEO of Medical Reimbursements of America, Inc., a company that provides specialty reimbursement solutions to improve financial performance for hospitals and health systems nationwide.
He co-founded West End Holdings in 2011, a Nashville-based private equity partnership and he spent the first 18 years of his career as an investment banker at J.C. Bradford and Co. Rolfe received his E.M.B.A. from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and his B.S. from the University of Alabama’s School of Commerce and Business Administration.
Ambassador Dick Bowers, LCDR Patrick Ryan and Dr. Breck Walker, Ph.D., discuss the top five items in the week’s global news providing commentary and assessments, background and context; and they take your questions and comments. We were pleased to welcome Dr. Walker to the weekly Global News Review team as a regular co-host.
This week Professor Thomas Schwartz joined the conversation about key issues in global news especially his assessment of the question on a "New Cold War" between the U.S. and China. Dr. Schwartz is a Distinguished Professor of History at Vanderbilt University. (Bio below)
Topics:
1 – Global Covid Update 2 – Has a U.S.-China Cold War Already Begun? 3 – Afghanistan: U.S.-Taliban Negotiations Update 4 – Iran-China: Wedding Bells 5 – The End of World Order and American Foreign Policy
Check TNWAC.org for bios on Amb Bowers, Dr. Walker and LCDR Ryan.
Guest Co-Host | Professor Thomas Schwartz
Distinguished Professor of History; Professor of Political Science; Professor of European Studies; Vanderbilt University. Thomas Alan Schwartz is a historian of the foreign relations of the United States, with related interests in Modern European history and the history of international relations. He is the author of Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography, to be published in September 2020 by Hill and Wang. Professor Schwartz has held fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the German Historical Society, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Center for the Study of European Integration. He has served as President of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations. He served on the United States Department of State’s Historical Advisory Committee as the representative of the Organization of American Historians from 2005-2008.
Recorded: July 14, 2020
Moderator: Patrick Ryan, President, Tennessee World Affairs Council
[If you appreciate the work we do to inspire an understanding of the world please become a member or donate to the Tennessee World Affairs Council (www.TNWAC.org). Thank you!]
The global energy market is in turmoil. Inventories are high and demand is low. We recently saw a negative price call for crude oil and fully laden tankers are sitting at anchorages waiting for customers. The International Energy Agency said oil demand was “down nearly 5% in the first quarter, mostly by curtailment in mobility and aviation which account for nearly 60% of global oil demand. By the end of March, global road transport activity was almost 50% below the 2019 average and aviation 60% below. The energy market fallout from the pandemic, and the crash in oil prices, has threatened the economic stability of numerous countries, especially those in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Some have sought to ensure market share through price slashing over production, worsening the inventory glut.
This Global Dialogue episode with veteran journalist, author and scholar Thomas Lippman will aim to sort through the global energy crisis and to discuss his new book, “Crude Oil, Crude Money.” It, “tells the untold story of how Exxon, Mobil, Chevron, and Texaco teamed up with the CIA and Department of State to thwart the plans of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who almost managed to reshape the Middle East.”
About Thomas Lippman
Thomas W. Lippman is an author and journalist who has written about Middle Eastern affairs and American foreign policy for four decades, specializing in Saudi Arabian affairs, U.S.- Saudi relations, and relations between the West and Islam. He is a former Middle East bureau chief of the Washington Post, and also served as that newspaper’s oil and energy reporter. Throughout the 1990s, he covered foreign policy and national security for the Post, traveling frequently to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries. He has been a frequent visitor to Saudi Arabia for many years.
Before his work in the Middle East, he was the Washington Post correspondent in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Lippman is the author of numerous magazine articles, book reviews and op-ed columns about Mideast affairs, and of eight books about the Middle East and Islam. His latest book, Crude Oil, Crude Money: Aristotle Onassis, Saudi Arabia, and the CIA,” was published in 2019.
Lippman has appeared on all major US television networks, NPR, the BBC, and many television stations overseas. He has lectured on Gulf regional affairs at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School, at the National Defense University, at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute, and at the Brookings Institution. He has also been also a consultant to film producers, the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Counterterrorism Center, and corporations that do business in the Gulf.
Lippman is an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington and was an Edward R. Murrow Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ambassador Dick Bowers, LCDR Patrick Ryan and Dr. Breck Walker, Ph.D., discuss the top five items in the week’s global news providing commentary and assessments, background and context; and they take your questions and comments. We were pleased to welcome Dr. Walker to the weekly Global News Review team as a regular co-host.
This week Professor Mark Katz joined the conversation about key issues in global news especially his analyses of US-Russian affairs. Dr. Katz is a Professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University. (Bio below)
Topics:
1 – Thucydides Takes a South China Sea Cruise 2 – Vladimir the Great — Putin can serve through 2036 3 – Russia’s murder for hire program in Afghanistan 4 – Hong Kong: End of One City, Two Systems 5 – Iran: Why Are There Fires Breaking Out
This week Dick and Pat welcomed Dr. Breck Walker aboard the News Review team as a regular member. They also shared the program with Dr. Mark Katz, a specialist on Russian affairs.
Dr. Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
Guest Co-Host | Professor Mark Katz
Mark N. Katz, Professor of Government and Politics, began teaching at George Mason University in 1988. He writes on Russian foreign policy, the international relations of the Middle East, transnational revolutionary movements, and other subjects. During 2017, he was a visiting scholar first at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (January-March), and then at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki (April-September). During 2018, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London (January-March), and then the 2018 Sir William Luce Fellow at Durham University in the UK (April-June). In February 2019, he was appointed a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Links to his recent articles can be found at www.marknkatz.com
In this episode former Nashville Mayor Dean talked with Alderman Frank McCoubrey. He is the current Lord Mayor of Belfast, Northern Ireland, one of Nashville’s sister cities.
They were accompanied by leaders from Nashville and Belfast to join the conversation about the Sister City relationship and exchanges and the common issues in municipal government in times of health and economic challenges.
Lord Mayor of Belfast Alderman Frank McCoubrey (53) represents the Court area of West Belfast. Alderman McCoubrey has achieved the rare honour of serving as High Sheriff, Deputy Lord Mayor and now Lord Mayor of Belfast. He has served as a councillor on Belfast City Council since May 1997.
Karl Dean was the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected on Sept. 11, 2007 and was re-elected on Aug. 4, 2011. He completed his second term in office on September 25, 2015. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
John Greer is the Director of Economic Development at Belfast City Council and leads a team delivering the economic development, tourism, festival, heritage and markets strategies.
Áine Mallaghan, based in Chicago, is responsible for the USA Mid-West operations for Invest Northern Ireland, an agency within the Northern Ireland government responsible for growing the economy of Northern Ireland. Áine has worked with companies such as Baker McKenzie, Allstate, Caterpillar, Dow Chemical and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to set up and expand operations and jobs in N Ireland.
John leads the Global Business Team at Baker Donelson a distinguished Nashville law firm. Among his many contributions to the community is his service on the Board of our World Affairs Council. And importantly, for this conversation, John is the Honorary Consul General of the United Kingdom in Tennessee.
LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret) is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Ambassador Charles "Dick" Bowers and LCDR Patrick Ryan tick through the top 5 items in the week's news and provide analysis and commentary. Special guest co-host Dr. Breck Walker joins the team for todays news review.
Topics:
1 — Covid Update 2 — US-Russia Relations: GRU Bounties on American GIs in Afghanistan 3 — India-China: Great Power Conflict at 14,000 Feet 4 — EU-US Relations and the travel ban on the new “Ugly American” 5 — Climate - Five Alarms
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Breck Walker received his PhD in Diplomatic History from Vanderbilt in 2007. His dissertation was on the foreign policy of the Carter administration. He taught at Sewanee, the University of the South, 2007-2012, and on the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea Program in Spring 2013 and Fall 2015. He worked as a historian in the Historical Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense 2013-2016, researching and writing a book on early Pentagon cyber policy. Prior to becoming a history professor, Breck worked for twenty years as an investment banker, the last ten as co-head of the Corporate Finance Group at J.C. Bradford & Co in Nashville. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University. Breck serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
This episode was a terrific panel of State Department Office of Policy Planning staff officers who talked with our moderator, Professor Thomas Schwartz of Vanderbilt, about the "longer term, strategic view of global trends. It was a good tour d'horizon of foreign policy challenges especially the shift to "Great Power" issues.
Panelists: Martha Simms, whose portfolio includes counterterrorism, diplomatic security and Western Europe. She was previously Special Advisor to the Counterterrorism Coordinator, and before working at the State Department, she was on the House Homeland Security Committee under Chairman Michael McCaul, working on foreign policy and terrorism screening policy.
Shawanesh Underwood covers NATO, Nordic Baltics and Southern Europe issues. Shawanesh previously served in the Press and Public Outreach Office in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
Colonel William Schaum is a U.S. Army Senior Service Advisor to the Department of State. He previously served as the Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation in the Republic of Turkey. Prior duties included extensive assignments across the Middle East and in stateside assignments focused on that region.
Moderator Thomas Schwartz Professor Thomas Schwartz, Professor of Political Science and Professor of European Studies; Vanderbilt University.
His considerable academic credentials are also on the web site, but I’ll mention he is the author of Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography, to be published in September 2020.
See www.TNWAC.org for more bio details for our panel and moderator. While there please make a gift to the World Affairs Council or become a member to support our global affairs awareness programs.
Ambassador Charles "Dick" Bowers and LCDR Patrick Ryan tick through the top 5 items in the week's news and provide analysis and commentary.
Topics:
1 – Covid Update 2 – The Book – “The Room Where It Happened” - Bolton 3 – The Finish of the Start? – The future of nuclear arms control 4 – The Finish of the Love Affairs – Pyongyang Acting Up 5 – The Finish of American Deterrence in Europe – Troop Reductions in Germany
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Ambassador Charles "Dick" Bowers and LCDR Patrick Ryan tick through the top 5 items in the week's news and provide analysis and commentary.
Topics:
1 - Global Solidarity BLM/George Floyd 2 - Troop Reductions in Germany 3 - China Propaganda Attacks 4 - Libya 5 - Israel West Bank Annexation
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Recorded June 9, 2020 Designing an Economic Model for Nashville as a city of the Future Join former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean in his conversation with Amr El-Husseini, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, consultant, and business leader in what will be a stimulating conversation about the future of Nashville’s economy in the wake of current global events. As founder and CEO of Lodestone Advisory Group in Nashville, Amr will share his specialized insights and perspectives on the business challenges that, amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic, requires cities like Nashville to pivot and reposition themselves for growth. He will talk about the need to focus Nashville business growth on creating jobs of the future from within the community rather than investing scarce resources on importing jobs, creating high quality jobs that spawn expansion of a knowledge economy – an ecosystem of jobs that are “sticky” and resilient to economic challenges. Amr will reflect on the experiences of cities that recreated themselves through innovation, entrepreneurship and smart investing. He will also address the implications of the “new normal” in the global economy, what that means for different industries, and how economies around the world could become more connected than before. You don’t want to miss this edition of “Global Nashville with Karl Dean” and Amr El-Husseini discussing inclusive economic models for Nashville as a city of the future.
Amr El-Husseini
A seasoned global investor and strategist, Amr has worked across five continents over the course of his career in corporate development, venture capital, turnaround and transformation, corporate strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship, international expansion, and investment banking. Prior to founding Lodestone, Amr served in several capacities, the last of which was the Head of International Development at the QIB Group. There, he was responsible for the bank’s international operations and strategic investments (M&A, Ventures and Integrations) as well as the bank’s international network stretching from the UK to Malaysia, where he led a number of successful turnarounds and restructuring assignments. Amr’s role with QIB also involved the development and execution of the bank’s international expansion strategy. Continued at TNWAC.org
Recorded: June 10, 2020
Special Episode: Global Dialogue International Speakers Program
This episode featured Rachael Dean Wilson and David Salvo of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and moderator Mark Braden of the World Affairs Council Board of Directors.
Foreign interference in our democracy isn’t just about Russia – and it shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Foreign-backed cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, and hack and leak efforts aimed at damaging our democratic system only exacerbate the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic. China has shown an increasing willingness to adopt more aggressive “Russian-style” information manipulation tactics to mislead Americans about the coronavirus. U.S. state and local officials are rightfully working to adjust election day plans to account for the pandemic, and foreign actors could seize on changes to try to mislead Americans about the voting process. Ultimately, these efforts are part of a longer continuum to undermine democracy in the United States, regardless of who occupies the White House or which party controls Congress. Rachael Dean Wilson and Dave Salvo from the bipartisan Alliance for Securing Democracy discussed the tools and tactics used by authoritarian actors like Russia, China, and Iran to accomplish these goals ahead of the 2020 election and beyond. Ref: https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/
Ambassador Charles "Dick" Bowers and LCDR Patrick Ryan tick through the top 5 items in the week's news and provide analysis and commentary. This week the were joined by Gillian Sjoblom, guest co-host, to talk about the recent release of the 2020 Global Peace Index.
Topics:
1 – Global Covid Update 2 – U.S.-Iraq Strategic Talks 3 – Global Peace Index 4 – U.S. Civil Protests Resonating Around the World 5 – Press Freedom Under Attack – The Case of the Philippines
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Gillian Sjoblom is a volunteer on the staff of the Tennessee World Affairs Council. She is a student at Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she majors in International Relations/Political Science. Gillian is a 2019 graduate of Hume-Fogg Academic High School in Nashville Tennessee. She was on the team of Hume-Fogg students who won the 2019 Academic WorldQuest Championship of the TNWAC and represented Tennessee at the National Championship match in Washington, D.C.
Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
In this episode recorded June 16, 2020, TNWAC President Patrick Ryan talks with Nancy Lindborg, President of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). They discussed: - Ms. Lindborg's background and how she came to work in international affairs especially the world of peace and conflict. - The United States Institute of Peace, in its 35th year, its mission and functions and the work it does around the world and in America. - Ms. Lindborg's experiences abroad in her job as USIP President including programs with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, whose vision overlaps the USIP mission statement. - The mobilization of a new peace and justice movement in the United States and how that's reflected globally, and Ms. Lindborg's recent statement on the USIP.org web site. - The many excellent questions from the Webinar participants, such as the importance and role of women in peace-building efforts; USIP education outreach for young people, and prospects for peace in places like South Sudan, South Asia and the Balkans.
Nancy Lindborg has served as the president and CEO of the U.S. Institute of Peace since February 2015. Created by Congress in 1984 as an independent, nonpartisan, federally funded institute to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict around the world, USIP links research, policy, training and direct action with partners in conflict-affected areas. Prior to joining USIP, she served as the assistant administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) at USAID. From 2010 through 2014, Ms. Lindborg directed the efforts of more than 600 team members in nine offices focused on crisis prevention, response, recovery and transition. She also led response teams for some of the biggest challenges the world was facing at the time, including the crisis in Syria, the droughts in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, the Arab Spring, as well as the Ebola crisis. For more visit: https://www.usip.org/people/nancy-lindborg
Karl Dean, former Nashville Mayor talks with Dr. James Hildreth about the Covid-19 global pandemic.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational charity that depends on your support for the global affairs awareness programs like this one that we provide to the community. Please join or make a gift - www.tnwac.org -- Thanks! ~~~Support TNWAC – Text to Give ~~~ Text ‘Give 10’ to 844-959-2934 ~~~
James E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D. is the 12th president and chief executive officer of Meharry Medical College, the nation’s largest private, independent historically black academic health sciences center.
James E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D., was born and raised in Camden, Arkansas. In 1975, he began undergraduate studies at Harvard University and was selected as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar from Arkansas in 1978. He graduated from Harvard magna cum laude in chemistry in 1979. That fall, Dr. Hildreth enrolled at Oxford University in England, graduating with a Ph.D. in immunology in 1982. On July 1, 2015, Dr. Hildreth returned to Meharry Medical College to serve as the 12th president and chief executive officer of the nation’s largest private, independent historically black academic health sciences center.
The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational charity that depends on your support for the global affairs awareness programs like this one that we provide to the community. Please join or make a gift - www.tnwac.org -- Thanks! ~~~Support TNWAC – Text to Give ~~~ Text ‘Give 10’ to 844-959-2934 ~~~
This Week's Topics: 1 – Covid News – • The Numbers • UK – L’affaire Dominic • The Americas – New Global Hotspot • WHO and hydroxychloroquine - safety fears 2 – China – Two Sessions 3 – China – Hong Kong 4 – Brazil – Bolsonaro and Covid 5 – North Korea and Nuclear Deterrence
Ambassador Charles Bowers (U.S. Foreign Service (Retired)) Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret), President, Tennessee World Affairs Council Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Consul General Staunton provides an update on the UK response to Covid-19, Brexit and the U.S.-UK Trade Agreement negotiations that are just beginning. Moderating the event was British Honorary Consul and IBC advisory board member John Scannapieco.
Americans and the British are jointly battling the new stormy seas of global pandemic and economic disaster that pose unimagined complications to the already challenging questions of commercial ties as the UK enters the era of Brexit and national security questions as Washington backtracks on international obligations. Yet, the generations old special relationship between Americans and British allies remains as the glue that forms the mutual interest of the relationship. Watch this Webinar with UK Consul General Staunton talking about the paramount strategic consequences of U.S.-UK trade and investment and security challenges that impact our nation and states.
Supporting partners for the event included Baker Donelson, the Center for International Business at Belmont University and the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
As part of Harvard’s American Diplomacy Project: A Foreign Service for the 21st Century, Americans who are “tuned in” to world affairs are asked to contribute their perspectives to this non-partisan national discussion of how to revitalize and modernize American diplomacy and the U.S. Foreign Service. The goal is to generate specific proposals to be published in a Harvard University report for the White House, Congress and the Department of State in the winter of 2020.
Video of this program: https://youtu.be/53MM6oxLIKs
As part of Harvard’s American Diplomacy Project: A Foreign Service for the 21st Century, Americans who are “tuned in” to world affairs are asked to contribute their perspectives to this non-partisan national discussion of how to revitalize and modernize American diplomacy and the U.S. Foreign Service. The goal is to generate specific proposals to be published in a Harvard University report for the White House, Congress and the Department of State in the winter of 2020.
Ambassador (Ret.) Marcie Ries is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project. She is also a Senior Advisor in the Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute Leadership and Management School. During thirty-seven years of diplomatic service, she served in Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. She is a three-time Chief of Mission, serving as Head of the U.S. Office Pristina, Kosovo (2003-2004); as United States Ambassador to Albania (2004-2007); and, most recently (2012-2015), as United States Ambassador to Bulgaria.
Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
Professor Thomas Schwartz -- Professor of History; Professor of Political Science; Professor of European Studies; Vanderbilt University. Thomas Alan Schwartz is a historian of the foreign relations of the United States, with related interests in Modern European history and the history of international relations. Professor Schwartz has held fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the German Historical Society, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Center for the Study of European Integration. He has served as President of the Society of Historians of American Foreign Relations. He served on the United States Department of State’s Historical Advisory Committee as the representative of the Organization of American Historians from 2005-2008.
Join TNWAC President Patrick Ryan and guest co-host Colleen Ryan for a review, commentary and analysis of the top five topics in global events this week. Today's Topics: 1 – Covid News – World Health Assembly; 2 – China – Belt and Road Trip; 3 – Global Energy – Cheap Oil and the Outlook; 4 – Afghanistan – Peace and Covid; and 5 – International Criminal Court in America’s Crosshairs
Video of this program: https://youtu.be/T0KGHcw3MCk
Your Hosts LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret), President, Tennessee World Affairs Council Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
Colleen Elizabeth Ryan Colleen Ryan is a JD candidate at Belmont University School of Law. Raised in Middle Tennessee, she attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she received a BA in Global Studies and Sociology Honors in the Haslam Scholars Program. A participant in the Baker Scholars Program of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Public Policy Center, Colleen wrote an honors thesis on prison reform policy in Uganda’s post-conflict transition, and she was the 2017 Outstanding Graduate in the global studies program. During college, she studied abroad in Uganda, the United Kingdom, and Costa Rica, interned with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and served in numerous campus-wide roles promoting research and study abroad to fellow students.
In 2018, Colleen earned an MA in Post-war Recovery Studies from the University of York on a Fulbright postgraduate grant, during which time she took coursework in conflict transformation and humanitarian response, conducted fieldwork on peacebuilding and social change in Kosovo, and served as a cultural ambassador for the United States in northern England. At York, she completed her dissertation on Chinese engagement in peacebuilding processes in the Global South in preparation for spending a year as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. There, she completed an MA in Global Affairs, worked in research and programming at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy, and wrote her capstone paper on the evolution of Chinese foreign policy regarding humanitarian intervention.
In addition to study, research and work abroad, Colleen has had the opportunity for extensive leisure travel across North America, Europe, East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. Committed to the belief that every person should be globally engaged, she has volunteered with the Tennessee World Affairs Council since its inception in 2007 and enjoys contributing to TNWAC’s work making educational programming and resources about global affairs available to all Tennesseans.
Amb Dick Bowers and Pat Ryan host a weekly review of current global events with commentary and assessments on hot topics in the news. This week we welcome Dr. Marieta Velikova as a guest host. May 12, 2020 - This week's topics: 1 – Covid News – almost all Covid, all the time 2 – Russia and Election Interference – Part 1 – Background and Context 3 – Russia and Election Interference – Part 2 – Current Developments 4 – China-US Relations – Election year, global pandemic – what could go wrong 5 – Middle Powers and Diplomacy – Australia has had enough China and America
Ambassador, U.S. Foreign Service (Retired) @United States Department of State Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012.
LCDR Patrick Ryan, President Tennessee World Affairs Council Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
This week former Mayor Dean will talk with Doug Kreulen, the head of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) which overseas Nashville International Airport (BNA) and John C. Tune airport. They will talk about Doug’s background including his career in the US Air Force; the BNA Vision project; the damage at Tune airport from the Super Tuesday tornado; the impact of Covid-19 on BNA and the airline industry; BNA as a global gateway; and how MMNA sees Nashville as a global city.
Douglas E. Kreulen President and CEO Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority
Doug Kreulen joined the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority in 2012 and was named president & Chief Executive Officer in December 2017. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw Operations, Facilities Maintenance, Public Safety and Development and Engineering departments for both Nashville International and John C. Tune airports.
Before joining MNAA, Kreulen served four years as director of Operations for Huntsville International Airport, during which time the airport received the highly regarded FAA Southern Region Airport Mark of Distinction Award and FAA Air Carrier Airport Safety Award.
Prior to beginning his career in the commercial aviation sector, Kreulen served in the United States Air Force for 27 years, earning the rank of Colonel. During his service, he held prominent command and staff leadership positions including:
Chief of Staff for the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Vice Commander of the 374th Airlift Wing at Yokota Air Base in Japan, with responsibility for 11,000 civilian and military personnel involved with operations, support, maintenance and medical; Commander of the 314th Operations Group at Little Rock Air Force Base, with responsibilities for 2,000 military personnel and a fleet of 50 C-130s; Chief of the Readiness Division for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington D.C., charged with evaluating the armed services ability to carry out the National Military Strategy; and Commander of the 37th Airlift Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Kreulen is a decorated veteran, earning the Bronze Star (Kosovo), Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal (National Military Strategy and Service on Joint Staff Crisis Action Team following events of 11 September 2001); Air Medal and Meritorious Service Medal (Bosnia-Herzegovina).
An Accredited Airport Executive (AAE), Kreulen is a graduate of National War College with a Master of Science in National Security Strategy, Troy University with a Master of Science in Personnel Management and Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Laboratory Technology.
--Moderator, Ambassador William Luers, US Foreign Service (Retired), Director, The Iran Project --Dr. Gary Sick, Senior Research Scholar, Columbia University’s Middle East Institute and Adjunct Professor at the School of International and Public Affairs --Ellie Geranmayeh, Senior Policy Fellow and Deputy Program Head, Middle East and North Africa Program at the European Council on Foreign Relations --Host, LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN (Retired), President, Tennessee World Affairs Council
This special edition of the TNWAC Global Dialogue: International Speakers series presents a conversation about current developments in relations with Iran. Ambassador Bill Luers will moderate a conversation with Professor Gary Sick of Columbia University and Ellie Geranmayeh of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Iran remains at the center of U.S. decision makers attention in the Middle East as Tehran grapples with the effects of Washington’s “Maximum Pressure” campaign and the catastrophic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile Tehran continues its “Maximum Resistance” response through maritime provocations, space vehicle (potential ICBM) launches and backing Iraqi militias that are in conflict with U.S. forces.
This Tennessee World Affairs Council Webinar is part of the “CxC Amplified: Ideas Summit – Putting the World Back Together Again” — a weeklong series of virtual events organized by the 90+ councils of the World Affairs Councils of America.
This episode of the "Global Dialogue: International Speakers Program" organized by the Tennessee World Affairs Council (TNWAC.org) featured Jeremy Goldkorn and John Scannapieco with host Patrick Ryan (TNWAC President). This superb discussion of the current tension in the Sino-American relationship focused on the consequences of the Covid-19 virus spread, the commercial ties and the national security issues that have shaped Beijing's and Washington's "lobbing of hand grenades" back and forth. Excellent background, context and analysis of the situation.
GOLDKORN Jeremy Goldkorn is editor-in-chief of SupChina.com, and co-host of the Sinica Podcast. He moved to China in 1995 and became managing editor of Beijing’s first independent English-language entertainment magazine. In 2003, he founded the website and research firm, Danwei, which tracked Chinese media, markets, politics and business. It was acquired in 2013 by the Financial Times. While in China, Jeremy published and edited several magazines, books, and websites. He also lived in a workers dormitory, and produced a documentary film about African soccer players in Beijing.
SCANNAPIECO John M. Scannapieco is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson and is a co-leader of the Firm’s Global Business Team. John provides strategic guidance and counsel to businesses and individuals regarding their existing global operations or to those contemplating global expansion. He also advises companies that are contemplating pursuing a China strategy, as well as those companies that are currently doing business in China or with China-based businesses. John assists U.S. manufacturing companies with their activities overseas and foreign companies desiring to expand operations to the United States. He is a board member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s International Business Council and a member of the board of the Japan American Society of Tennessee. He has been recognized by Mid-South Super Lawyers in International Law. Around town, John, has been chair of the Community Resource Center – a key element of Nashville’s Super Tuesday tornado relief and the supply line to the front lines of poverty. John also serves on the board of Sister Cities of Nashville, and more. Last note, John is the Honorary Consul of the United Kingdom to the State of Tennessee.
Amb Dick Bowers and Pat Ryan host a weekly review of current global events with commentary and assessments on hot topics in the news. This week we welcome Dr. Marieta Velikova as a guest host. May 5, 2020 - This week's topics: 1 – Covid Update 2 – Covid and Its Impact on the Economy 3 – China – Strategic Friction 4 – China – Economic Implications 5 – Iran – Maximum Pressure meets Maximum Resistance
Dr. Marieta Velikova, Associate Professor of Economics, Belmont University Dr. Marieta V. Velikova received her undergraduate degree from the People's Friendship University of Russia. Her M.A. in Financial Economics and Ph.D. in Applied Economics were both earned at Mississippi State University, where she worked as a research assistant, academic tutor, and instructor of economics. She teaches graduate and undergraduate economics and international business courses in Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey College of Business Administration, where she has advised members of ENACTUS, and has been involved in the creation of the IB Society - an organization for students interested in international studies. Dr. Velikova has led numerous travel-study trips to Turkey, Japan, Guatemala, Cuba, London, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Her research interests include macroeconomics and monetary economics; energy and natural gas industry, however, her primary area of specialization at Belmont has been pedagogical research. [more at Belmont.edu]
LCDR Patrick Ryan, President Tennessee World Affairs Council Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
This episode of former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's conversations with community leaders featured Sean Henry, Nashville Predators President and CEO, with co-host Pat Ryan, TNWAC President. Karl asked Sean about his background and the experiences he has brought to the Predators organization. They talked about the situation for the Predators and Bridgestone arena as a result of the pandemic and shutdown of in-person events; prospects for returning to operations; and what the organization is doing during the pandemic. They talked about the "new normal" we can expect after the pandemic. Karl asked about the international dimension of the Predators and players' experiences and outlooks about Nashville especially all of the foreign-born athletes. Sean described the locker room "melting pot" of international backgrounds of the team and the attention accorded Nashville through media in a variety of global markets. They concluded by asking Sean about the prospects for NHL games in Europe and the 20/21 season plans for the Predators to play in Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
The pandemic crisis has created a “stay at home” reality for students, teleworkers and others. The “Global Engagement” video webinar will offer a week-day, weekly or bi-weekly opportunity to talk about current international events with co-hosts Ambassador Charles Bowers and TNWAC President LCDR Patrick Ryan (USN,Ret). They will run down the week’s current global events and invite your questions and comments during the live webinar. You can participate in future programs via interactive Webinars -- see TNWAC.org. You can support the TNWAC global affairs awareness programs like this one through membership, donation or sponsorship. Visit TNWAC.org for details.
This week in the world: 1 - Covid-19 – What’s going on around the world? 2 – North Korea – Leadership Questions 3 - Israel – pending annexation of parts of the West Bank 4 – China – Wolf Warriors – Aggressive foreign policy 5 – Covid and Art – how staying at home inspires creativity
Your Hosts
Ambassador Charles Bowers (U.S. Foreign Service (Retired)) Charles Richard (Dick) Bowers served as the US Ambassador to Bolivia from 1991 through 1994. During that time, the American Embassy in Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, was the largest and most complex U.S. embassy in South America. Ambassador Bowers grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, attended the University of California, Berkeley. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1967. From 1961 to 1964 he served in the U.S. Army as a Russian linguist in West Berlin at the height of the Cold War. As a career member of the U.S. diplomatic corps, Ambassador Bowers served in the U.S. Embassies in Panama, Poland, Singapore, Germany and Bolivia. He retired from the Foreign Service in 1995. Amb Bowers has been a Board Member of the Tennessee World Affairs Council since 2012. More info here.
LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN(Ret) (President,Tennessee World Affairs Council) Patrick Ryan is a native of New York City. He enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and volunteered for submarine duty. He served aboard nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile boats during the Cold War, rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. In 1982 he was commissioned and served aboard a cruiser in the Western Pacific before becoming a Navy Intelligence Officer. Ryan served aboard the carrier Constellation in the Pacific, the Joint Staff Intelligence Directorate in the Pentagon, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Intelligence Directorate of U.S. Central Command. Ryan retired from the Navy in 1998 and worked as a consultant on Intelligence Community projects and as the VP/COO of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. Ryan ran a newsletter publishing business on international affairs from 1999-2016. He founded the Tennessee World Affairs Council in 2007.
NASHVILLE, APRIL 21: The pandemic crisis has created a “stay at home” reality for students, teleworkers and others. The “Global Engagement” video webinar will offer a week-day, weekly or bi-weekly opportunity to talk about current international events with co-hosts Ambassador Charles Bowers and TNWAC President LCDR Patrick Ryan (USN,Ret). They will run down the week’s current global events and invite your questions and comments during the live webinar. You can participate in future programs via interactive Webinars -- see TNWAC.org. You can support the TNWAC global affairs awareness programs like this one through membership, donation or sponsorship. Visit TNWAC.org for details.
This week in the world: 1 - Covid-19 – What’s going on around the world? (China – US relations getting rockier) 2 – Earth Day/Climate Crisis – looming existential threat off the radar 3 – North Korea – Dear Leader get well card 4 – Immigration Ban 5 – Ramadan – start of the holy month
Subscribe to TNWAC newsletters at the web site (TNWAC.org) and check the site calendar to be kept up to date on “Global Engagement” program schedules.
NASHVILLE, APRIL 21: The Middle East is still there and the Covid-19 pandemic has not made any of the troubles there any better. Let's have a dialogue.
Join us for a tour d'horizon of this important region where Americans serve in harm's way with David DesRoches, retired US Army Colonel and Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University.
We're pleased to present internationally recognized expert David Des Roches. He is a regular commentator on Voice of America, Sky News, Arabia, France 24, Al Jazeera, Turkish Radio-Television and Al Araby; he is an authority quoted in The New York Times and Washington Post. You won't find anyone more conversant in the Middle East region, a part of the world where American interests continue to be challenged, a part of the world where thousands of men and women in our armed forces are in harm's way every day. Our Zoom Webinar included a briefing by Colonel Des Roches and your questions.
Registration for our Webinar events is free but we ask you to consider making a donation to offset our unanticipated expenses to create video-based programming, and to become a member of the World Affairs Council. www.TNWAC.org. Thanks!
Global Engagement
World News: Review and Commentary With Ambassador Dick Bowers and LCDR Pat Ryan Video: https://youtu.be/3pv6r5YV3iU
April 14, 2020
In this episode Dick and Pat review these topics in the news: 1 - Covid-19 – What’s going on around the world? 2 – U.S. Role in International Organizations 3 - Iraq – What’s going on in the politics of this pivotal Middle East country 4 - USS Theodore Roosevelt and Covid, what are the national security implications 5 - Global Economy and Environment – can we have both economic recovery and compliance with the Paris Accord?
We invite you to listen to this Webinar and join us for future editions of "Global Engagement" and other TNWAC video and Podcast programs -- check TNWAC.org for Webinar schedules.
We invite our community business friends to sponsor this and other TNWAC video programs. Contact pat@tnwac.org for details.
Runtime: 56:31
LINKS
1 – COVID UPDATE
Religious Bigotry in India https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/world/asia/india-coronavirus-muslims-bigotry.html
China Medical Supply Chains and Broader Trade Issues - Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46304?fbclid=IwAR0VK6CPcJ6GzFuUL7Yw-Szjrlmt4psS4YAsOkds9WrLFbJXDq1s_yO3iJM
2 – U.S. ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
The U.S. Role in International Organizations’ Response to COVID-19 – US State Department https://www.state.gov/the-u-s-role-in-international-organizations-response-to-covid-19/
3 -- IRAQ – WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE POLITICS
Intel: US signals support for Iraq’s latest prime minister-designate https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/04/intel-us-signal-support-iraq-prime-minister-kadhimi.html#ixzz6JbGL604y
4 -- USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND COVID, WHAT ARE THE NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS
Michael O’Hanlon – “Why Crozier was Correct” Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/04/07/why-crozier-was-correct/
5 -- GLOBAL ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT – CAN WE HAVE BOTH ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE PARIS ACCORD?
Japan Minister: Paris Accord under threat if coronavirus trumps climate change https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-japan/japan-minister-paris-accord-under-threat-if-coronavirus-trumps-climate-change-idUSKCN21V13T
In this episode Karl Dean, former Nashville Mayor, talks with Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Ralph Schulz about the business environment in Nashville during this time of pandemic.
We invite you to listen to this Webinar and join us for future editions of "Global Nashville with Karl Dean" -- check TNWAC.org for Webinar schedules.
April 14, 2020
Runtime: 31:58
00:01 Welcome / Introduction -- Invitation to friends in the business community to sponsor “Global Nashville with Karl Dean.” Contact pat@tnwac.org 02:30 Prior to pandemic how was business in Nashville? 03:36 How has the business community been affected by the pandemic? 05:35 What role has the Nashville Chamber had dealing with these circumstances? 07:04 Is hospitality the hardest hit sector in the pandemic? 08:10 Healthcare sector impact. 08:46 Tell us about business expansions and relocations. 09:18 Interest on the part of global tech in Nashville. 09:30 How is the Federal response, money flow from Washington? 09:59 PPP and other programs have been life preservers for some businesses. 10:33 What connections have you had with other chambers? Best practices? 11:02 Today’s chambers’ call – interesting range of cities, where they are in the pandemic. 11:55 People are working toward the ‘things’ that will help companies come back. 12:13 Businesses most interested in their plan going forward, adaptation to the current situation is done. How fast can we get back to being fully productive? 12:48 Hot topic is reopening, getting back to “normal.” How will that play out? 13:29 Some sort of “phasing” will be necessary to return to “normal.” 14:30 Education is a major focus of the Chamber; how do you see school situation? 16:09 Global economy and Nashville: what has the Chamber’s approach been? 18:15 How has the pandemic impacted the global economic sector? 18:42 Nashville’s “calling card” is how it responds to adversity. 19:18 Alliance Bernstein an example of business approach to Nashville culture. 19:48 Like coming out of the flood and recession Nashville will demonstrate how to bounce back. 20:15 Optimism makes Nashville a special place. 20:40 Is the pandemic the biggest challenge you’ve faced at the Chamber? 21:08 The recovery from the flood was “no small task” either. 21:50 Hopefully we can be helpful and supportive of businesses and the public sector. 22:20 More “unknowns” and “uncertainty” in the pandemic recovery – vast array of problems. 23:10 Unknowns are compounded by progression of the virus. Scary in some ways, energizing in some other ways. Confronting issue out of necessity. 23:59 Entrepreneurship. Nashville has benefited greatly. How do you keep that spirit of optimism in entrepreneurship going? 24:46 Entrepreneurs in Nashville are drawn to the next big challenge. 25:00 24% of economy in the region is driven by entrepreneurship. 25:33 Key for Nashville is to be a community to attract and retain creative people. 25:55 New enterprises will come out of the crisis because entrepreneurs are here. 26:20 Do you see a role for the Chamber in support to small businesses. 26:42 Small businesses are the largest and most fragile part of the economy under these circumstances. 27:22 Nashville has the ability to adapt, but small businesses have a tough outlook, but Nashville small business owners usually find a way when others don’t 27:49 What about Metro’s response? 28:53 City has a lot to proud of. 29:13 Proud of Chamber’s staff. Adjusting to new circumstances. Delivering value. 29:57 Last thoughts? Nashville is “well positioned to exceed expectations” coming out of this crisis. You, Mayor Dean, were personally a big part of establishing that personality for Nashville that has led to our momentum. A lot of faith in Nashville and its people. 30:50 Nashville’s best days are ahead. 31:07 Invitation to friends in the business community to sponsor “Global Nashville with Karl Dean.” Contact pat@tnwac.org
“Global Engagement” A Review of News and Issues in World Affairs
Presented by the “Global Tennessee” project of the Tennessee World Affairs Council [www.TNWAC.org] April 7, 2020 With Amb Charles Bowers, USFS(Ret) LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN(Ret)
This week in the news:
1 - Covid-19 Update 2 – United Kingdom 3 - US-Iran Developments 4 - Global Governance and Democracy 5 - Afghanistan and America’s Longest War
Welcome to Global Engagement. This is a World Affairs Council global affairs awareness project that connects you with current events. We’re starting this during the “stay at home” period of the pandemic response especially as students are working from home and can find this conversation useful in knowing the world.
Each week we’ll share five important topics from the news and provide background, context and analysis. And we’ll get you involved through the Webinar’s interactive features.
Global Engagement will be broadcast live every Tuesday at 2pm Central Time as a Webinar on Zoom where you can participate with your questions and comments. The series will be archived by video on the Tennessee World Affairs Council’s Youtube Channel and by audio on our “Global Tennessee” Podcast. You can find links to all of the episodes on our web site, TNWAC.org.
Timeline 00:30 Introduction. Ryan 02:01 Discussing TNWAC pivot to Webinars. “Going Zoom.” Bowers 04:50 Discussing TNWAC Educational Outreach Program: WorldQuest, Tennessee Global Scholar Certificate Program, “What in the World?” Weekly Quiz. Ryan 07:52 On to the news Japan – Olympics/Paralympics postponed Emergency conditions in some cities What are you doing in response to Covid? 15:45 Italy – European epicenter Infections “plateau” European Union not much of a union Universal healthcare responds to pandemic 20:15 What’s going on in Russia? What about China? POTUS dropped “China Virus” talk Which countries are doing well against Covid? 22:39 Stay Calm and Carry On – What about the UK? Queen Elizabeth talks to her nation PM Boris Johnson, an early Covid-denier, infected, in ICU Who’s going to pick the crops? Migrant issues. 25:40 New leader of the UK Labor Party “Competence vs Charisma” Who’s in charge? 28:20 Iran and the pandemic Distinguished leaders sign statement favoring easing limitations on medical supplies to Iran during pandemic Holy city of Qom epicenter of Covid infections 33:40 Reliability of data. How many actual infections? 35:46 Iran-backed militias in Iraq Trump will “go up the food chain” if more attacks on US forces Time for a humanitarian gesture to lessen tension? Tough sell 38:27 Global Governance and Democracy “You are living in historic times” Now in a fight to save our democracy… and how our way of life will be. Side note: take a look at think-tank newsletters and reports, good content in their studies and reports. e.g. CFR, CSIS, Carnegie Endowment Carnegie Report: “How will the Coronavirus Reshape Democracy and Governance Globally” Concern about breakdowns, civil wars, riots as people become desperate Bottom up pressure, top down pressure Pandemic as cover to seize power Viktor Orban in Hungary – indefinite rule by decree. End of checks/balances. 46:50 Brazil – Bolsonaro another Covid-denier Any countries remain without Covid? 48:40 Afghanistan Endgame Who are the Taliban? 9/11 terrorist safe haven America’s longest war Afghan government – two heads? US-Taliban agreement. Government not onboard. 53:05 Dick’s Book Picks “Prisoners of Geography” by Tim Marshall Pat’s Book Pick “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide“ by Samantha Power 55:40 Calendar of TNWAC video broadcasts Sign Off
April 7, 2020
A conversation on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Nashville and around the world and the TNWAC pivot to digital global awareness programs
With Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean Amb Charles Bowers, USFS(Ret) Jim Shepherd, Chairman, TNWAC Board John Scannapieco, Chair Baker Donelson Global Business Team LCDR Patrick Ryan, USN(Ret)
Check TNWAC.org for program schedule
Karl Dean | Welcome to the new Global Nashville.
Today, we’re going to tell you about the World Affairs Council, about the programs we’re building to keep you connected to global issues, and we’ll have a discussion of the events that are shaping developments in Nashville and the elements that will make up the “new normal.”
With me today are several members of the World Affairs Council board in addition to President Pat Ryan, a former Navy intelligence officer. Here today are Jim Shepherd, Chairman of the Council board and former president of a company with international reach; Ambassador Dick Bowers, a career diplomat and former US Ambassador to Bolivia; and John Scannapieco, an attorney at Baker Donelson and chair of the firm’s global business team. John is an expert on international commercial relationships, especially with the Far East.
TIMELINE 00:00 Introduction / welcome 01:35 Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean provides an overview 02:39 Jim Shepherd, TNWAC Chair, on the role, mission and programs of the World Affairs Council 09:05 Ambassador Charles Bowers talks about TNWAC’s pivot from in-person programs to Webinars for speakers programs and global affairs awareness programs. 12:45 John Scannapieco, Baker Donelson Global Business Team Chair and Community Resource Center board member, talks about Nashville’s tornado relief and pandemic response. CRCNashville.org 17:04 John Scannapieco, what should we know about what’s happening in America’s relationships with East Asia? 18:30 Significant issues in China. Supply chain impact. Freight capacity reductions. 20:14 Countries cutting off export of medical supplies. Lack of multilateralism affecting ability to fight the pandemic. 21:15 Do we have the global institutions needed to fight the pandemic? What do we need to build? Dean. 22:29 Building higher walls is not a solution. Ryan 23:30 Most existential crisis faced since WWII. U.S. became a global leader in response. Current paucity of leadership. World becoming more fractured and fragmented. Amb Bowers not optimistic about global outlook. 25:30 Are we seeing a reordering of the global institutions? Shepherd 26:02 Wrong thing when we’re competing with our allies for scarce resources instead of mobilizing America’s industrial might. Bowers 26:50 We’re in for a long troubled time. Strongmen. Food shortages. Bowers. 27:20 We’ll be seeing changes in global commerce, supply chains, global stocks. Change in who people look to for leadership. Unless things change it’s not going to be the United States. Scannapieco. 28:32 Possibly the final piece in nations deciding who to follow. 29:09 Signs of higher inclination to pull up the drawbridge in the international scene. Rough road ahead for globalization and America’s place in the world. Ryan 30:21 American leadership, at federal level, needed for internal purposes too. Bowers 31:02 Can’t imagine this retreat from leadership is what most Americans want. “Lord of the Flies” scenario. We used to see marshaling of effort. Scannapieco 32:57 Summing up. Implications are enormous. Need better international system. Issues will be discussed constantly. World Affairs Council has strong role to play. Dean 34:17 Last points? People need to be knowledgeable about these issues. 35:06 World Affairs Council programs ahead. “Zoom world.” Global Nashville with Karl Dean, Global Dialogue, Global Engagement. Bowers 36:29 Reach out to friends and family to participate in the conversations. Shepherd 37:01 Be optimistic, take care of yourself. Dean
Recorded: Oct 8, 2019
A conversation on the U.S.-Korea business relationship, US-Japan relations and U.S.
In this episode we hear from the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Harry Harris, a Tennessee native. He was in Nashville to visit with business leaders as part of his effort to promote trade ties. Ambassador Harris spoke to a group hosted by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. TNWAC was a partner for the event along with the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the U.S. Commercial Service. Ambassador Harry Harris was confirmed by the United State Senate on June 28, 2018 as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (ROK) following a distinguished naval career which culminated in commanding the U.S. Pacific Command. He is the first Asian-American to hold four-star rank in the U.S. Navy and the first to head USPACOM. Prior to USPACOM, he commanded the U.S. Pacific Fleet. From 2011 to 2013, Ambassador Harris served as the representative of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Secretary of State. In this role, he traveled to over 80 countries with the Secretary and participated in most of the Secretary’s meetings with foreign leaders. He also served as the U.S. Roadmap Monitor for the Mid-East Peace Process. Ambassador Harris was born in Japan and reared in Tennessee and Florida. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978. He holds master’s degrees from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. He also did post-graduate work at Oxford University and completed the Seminar 21 fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Originally recorded: Sep 12, 2019
In this episode we will bring you conversations on an organization promoting “Smartpower” and an organization promoting development and humanitarian aid.
The USGLC works in our nation’s capital and across the country to strengthen America’s civilian-led tools — development and diplomacy — alongside defense. By advocating for a strong international affairs budget, the USGLC is working to make America’s international affairs programs a keystone of U.S. foreign policy. They’re all about “Smartpower.”
We’re going to learn more about USGLC from their national outreach coordinator Carey Campbell.
Carey comes to the USGLC from her previous position as Chief of Staff to the South Carolina House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader James Smith, where she oversaw all political and legislative priorities. Her previous experience includes serving as South Carolina Deputy Political Director for the Hillary for President campaign during the 2008 primaries and a former lobbyist for a South Carolina education organization. Carey has worked on numerous political campaigns at the local, state, and presidential level overseeing field, fundraising, and policy development. She graduated with honors from the University of South Carolina, where she focused on political science. She is a native of native of Decatur, Alabama and spent several years in Nashville.
Carey was in Nashville recently along with Jeremy Tolbert, the Outreach Coordinator for the Southeast. They organized a community event featuring David Stanton from USAID.
USAID leads international development and humanitarian efforts to save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance and help people progress beyond assistance. It was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to lead the us government’s international development and humanitarian efforts.
More on the agency at: usaid.gov
David Stanton is a public health leader and the former Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) office of HIV/Aids. He has 19 years of experience working with USAID’s HIV/Aids program and over 30 years of experience in public health, including working on sexually transmitted infections, HIV and aids treatment, and clinical epidemiology. David has 4 years of overseas experience in West Africa. Additionally, he served on the transition team that established the office of the U.S. Global Aids Coordinator at the U.S. Department of State.
We thank Carey and Jeremy for bringing David Stanton to Nashville and we thank Carey and David for taking time to talk with Global Tennessee.
Special Episode - Coronavirus - Medical and Commercial Implications
In this episode arranged in response to the rapid spread of Coronavirus into a global and U.S. health emergency we talk with Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Mary-Margaret Fill of the Tennessee Department of Health's Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness (CEDEP) Division about the medial implications of the Coronavirus outbreak. John Scannapieco, Chief of the Global Business Team at Nashville's Baker Donelson law firm and a long-time specialist on China commercial relations will talk about the impact on trade and investment in China and with U.S. businesses.
Listen to this important special Podcast episode to be up to date on the Coronavirus implications on health and commerce.
References: John Scannapieco and his colleagues at Baker Donelson authored an article with must know insights, "Novel Coronavirus Outbreak in China - What You Need to Know Right Now." Find it here: Baker Donelson Paper https://www.bakerdonelson.com/novel-coronavirus-outbreak-in-china-what-you-need-to-know-right-now An excerpt: A new coronavirus is causing an outbreak of respiratory illness that began in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The outbreak began in early December 2019 and continues to spread in China and beyond. As of January 28, 2020, Chinese health officials have confirmed 4,565 cases and 106 deaths related to the virus. In addition, there are more than 70 confirmed cases globally, including five confirmed cases in the United States. In an effort to slow the spread of the virus, Chinese authorities are imposing quarantines and restricting travel throughout the country. Hong Kong has closed some of its borders with mainland China and has stopped issuing travel permits to mainland Chinese tourists. Mongolia and Russia (Far East border) have closed their respective borders with China. Mainland Chinese authorities are trying to keep citizens at home by extending the Chinese New Year holiday through February 3, 2020, with some areas (Shanghai, Suzhou, Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province) extending the holiday through February 9, 2020. While Chinese health officials claim that the virus can spread by a person before symptoms appear by what is known as asymptomatic transmission, the Center for Disease Control in the United States (CDC) and state health officials believe it is unlikely that the virus can be transmitted until an individual appears symptomatic.
Biography - Dr. Mary-Margaret Fill Dr. Mary-Margaret Fill is a Medical Epidemiologist with the Tennessee Department of Health, where she oversees waterborne and zoonotic disease surveillance and outbreak response, and directs overarching strategy for communicable disease surveillance systems and informatics initiatives.
She received her undergraduate degree (BS) in Microbiology and a minor in Security and Intelligence from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She then earned her Doctor of Medicine from the Mercer University School of Medicine in 2011, where she was inducted into both the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Gold Humanism Society. She completed dual-residency training in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and is board certified in both specialties. Following residency, Dr. Fill served as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, assigned to the Tennessee Department of Health, and she was a member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative Class of 2017. Dr. Fill has worked on food-borne, waterborne, vaccine-preventable and healthcare-associated disease outbreaks, emerging pathogens, and analysis of surveillance systems and novel datasets.
John Scannapieco Bio https://www.bakerdonelson.com/john-m-scannapieco
In this episode host Patrick Ryan talked with Tomas Baert, Head of Trade and Agriculture of the European Union Delegation to the United States based in Washington, DC.
They talked about US-EU trade, Brexit, multilateral relations and issues of the day.
If you want to know insights about Brexit -- the separation of the UK and the EU -- you won't get elsewhere take a listen to this interesting Podcast that will bring you up to date on the hot topics in European Union developments.
Check out these important references: Delegation of the EU to the US https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/united-states-america_en EU-US Trade https://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/united-states/ Biography
Tomas Baert is the head of the Trade and Agriculture section at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. Between 2016 and 2018, Tomas was the Head of Unit for Trade Strategy at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade). He led the team responsible for the development and implementation of the 2015 Trade for All strategy and the 2017 Communication on A balanced and progressive trade policy to harness globalisation. In this capacity, he also coordinated DG Trade's work on questions relating to the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, including the preparatory discussions on the future EU-UK trade relationship. Prior to becoming a Head of Unit, from 2014 to 2016, Tomas was an assistant to Director-General for Trade Jean-Luc Demarty, advising on a number of trade priorities such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations in the run-up to the tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Tomas holds an MSc from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an MA from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Belgium. He spent a term at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland and completed the Mastering Trade Policy program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Recorded: Jan 8, 2020 -- In this episode Canada's Consul General to the Southern US, Nadia Theodore talked with host Patrick Ryan, Ambassador Charles Bowers and TNWAC Chair Jim Shepherd about the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement signed by President Trump on Jan 29, 2020; about US-Canada and US-Tennessee commercial relations and the global issues connecting Americans and Canadians.
Biography
Nadia Theodore joined the Canadian civil service in 2000. She has made her career in the Trade Agreement and Negotiations Branch of Global Affairs, holding leadership positions on several recent and major trade initiatives of Global Affairs Canada, including serving as one of the two Deputy Chief Negotiators for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and as the Executive Director of Canada’s Secretariat for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. Consul General Theodore previously served at Canada's Permanent Mission to the World Trade Organization and at Canada's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, in Geneva Switzerland. Directly prior to being named Consul General for the US Southeast, in August 2017, she served in Ottawa as Chief of Staff and Executive Director to Canada’s Deputy Minister for International Trade.
With over 10 years of trade policy experience, Ms. Theodore’s appointment came as Canada, Mexico and the United States launched negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). As part of Canada’s international trade negotiating team, Ms. Theodore built a reputation for forging strong partnerships with government and business leaders and managing complex, priority trade initiatives.
Ms. Theodore was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London and an M.A. in Political Science from Carleton University.
-- United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Why was an agreement necessary? NAFTA shortcomings? What are the main points of the agreement? What are the benefits for Canada? What are the benefits for the USA? -- CPTPP – Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership Can you tell us about Canada’s reaction to the death of the TPP and its participation in the CPTPP? -- Canada commercial activity with Tennessee Discuss the scope of trade/investment What should Tennessee business people know about Canada opportunities? THE RELATIONSHIP -- What is the state of US-Canada relations?
"In foreign affairs Congress has a big role." -- Rep Jim Cooper
Every American has three people who represent their interests in Congress — two Senators and a Representative — on issues of war and peace, commerce and prosperity, and the functioning and aims of U.S. foreign policy and national security. There can be little of more importance to our understanding of world affairs than what our elected representatives’ roles and perspectives are in the arena of foreign relations.
In this episode Global Tennessee host Patrick Ryan and TNWAC Chairman Jim Shepherd talk with Congressman Cooper about the role of Congress in U.S. foreign policy, Cooper's role as Chair of the HASC Subcommittee responsible for nuclear weapons and more, and a review of current global challenges for the Untied States.
Congressman Cooper represents Tennessee's 5th Congressional District. He is assigned to the three most significant committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the Armed Services Committee which ensures the military has the resources needed to defend America. The Committee oversees a $660 billion military budget.
Congressman Cooper serves as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces which overseas our nation’s strategic weapons, ballistic missile defense, space programs and the Department of Energy national security programs.
He also serves on the Seapower & Projection Forces Subcommittee and the Intelligence, Emerging Threats & Capabilities Subcommittee.
If you like the Global Tennessee Podcast please subscribe so you get future episodes and consider becoming a member of the World Affairs Council at: wwwnTNWAC.org/join. Thanks!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE RUSSIAN INFORMATION OPERATIONS CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE UNITED STATES AND ABOUT MALCOLM NANCE, A SPECIALIST ON INTELLIGENCE, TERRORISM, NATIONAL SECURITY AND THE RUSSIAN ATTACK ON AMERICA.
Today we’re coming to you from beautiful Belmont University where we’re talking with Malcolm Nance, career Navy man, counter-terrorism and national security specialist, author and expert on the Russian information warfare campaign being waged against the United States.
There could be no more timely conversation just as headlines focus on a new effort by Vladimir Putin and Russia, to deflect blame for its information campaign against the 2016 election. We will unpack Russian information operations with Nance whose books, public speaking and television appearances have earned him recognition as an expert on the subject.
But first we’re going to talk with him about his background, Navy service, and work in intelligence and national security that led him to getting inside the Russian attack on America.
Mr. Nance hails from a family rich with military tradition, traced back to a great grandfather and grand uncle who escaped slavery and joined a regiment of the Federal Colored Troops in Tennessee.
Nance chose the Navy like his father, a career Master Chief Petty Officer and was trained as a linguist in the Cryptologic community – the Navy’s elite group that exploits adversaries’ communications. He became an expert in Russian Cold War military and intelligence activities and in the Arab world.
Nance retired after 20 years and promotions to Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer.
Among his post-military pursuits was work in preparing Navy special operations forces, SEALs and others, in methods to endure captivity at the hands of a new class of enemies like Al Qaeda militants.
He also worked in security and intelligence activities in Iraq after the 2003 U.S. invasion. Along the way he became an expert on extremist threats in Iraq and literally wrote the book on ISIS producing a handbook that became a counter-terrorism bible.
Nance’s research and writing about ISIS’ use of electronic media led to his dive into what was to emerge as a wide-ranging Russian information warfare capability and campaign.
In the months leading to the 2016 presidential election Nance knocked out a book called, “The Plot to Hack America.” It was written and released in the same timeframe as the U.S. Intelligence Community’s analysis of the Russian support for the Trump campaign and eventual public statement charging Moscow with an attack on America’s elections.
What followed? What is the story of Nance’s relentless analysis and speaking out?
That’s what we’re getting into today with Malcolm Nance – Navy leader, intelligence and national security expert, author, commentator.
MORE INFORMATION AT: https://www.TNWAC.org/podcast
INFORMATION ABOUT MALCOLM NANCE'S BOOKS - visit Amazon.com
Complete Podcast Notes: https://www.tnwac.org/2019/11/12/global-nashville-with-karl-dean-china-with-john-scannapieco-gnkd5-ep-32/
Podcast Notes Excerpt: 03:00 Tell us about your background. How did you become involved in global business? 05:11 Was international business your focus in college and law school? 06:32 Tennessee has significant interests in global commercial relations, how did you become involved in work with Chinese businesses? 08:35 How much travel time do you spend on the global business portfolio? 09:20 What is the importance of the US-China business relationship? 10:41 What do Americans want from China in terms of goods? 12:18 What does China want from the United States? 13:25 US-China trade wars. How did it begin? What led us to this point? 15:50 Prior to tariffs last year was it a relatively free bilateral trade relationship? 17:12 China expected to have world’s largest economy, is that right? 18:40 Tell us about the tariff process that is the center of the trade war. 20:34 How are we feeling the tariffs in Tennessee? 21:00 What about the TPP? What was it? What happened to it? 24:35 What was the geo-strategic and political implications of TPP? 25:34 BREAK 28:25 What is the issue with China over Intellectual Property (IP)? 33:01 What are the big issues with China and will they get worked out? Is the deal that the U.S. wants possible? 35:35 What can the U.S. lose in the trade war with China, particularly in Tennessee? 37:39 How do the issues fit into the process of globalization? 39:08 Are walls going up? Are we seeing economic dislocations? 41:15 What does China trade mean to Tennessee -- by the numbers? 43:25 What references and resources do you suggest for people who want to know more about U.S.-China relations and the trade war? 46:00 End
For more go to: https://www.tnwac.org/2019/11/12/global-nashville-with-karl-dean-china-with-john-scannapieco-gnkd5-ep-32/
"Why Europe Matters"
Recorded: September 10, 2019
Ambassador John C. Kornblum has a long record of service in the United States and Europe both as a diplomat and as a businessman. He is recognized as an eminent expert on U.S.-European political and economic relations, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2001. Before that, he occupied a number of high-level diplomatic posts, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs, Special Envoy for the Dayton Peace Process, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Process), Deputy U.S. Ambassador to NATO, and U.S. minister and deputy commandant of forces in divided Berlin.
Join us as we gain insights and perspectives hard to find unless you're talking to someone who has lived the history. As Ambassador Kornblum said, "Living history is part of understanding the world. Understanding history that you didn’t live if harder.” So that you may appreciate not only history but also where the U.S. and Europe are as we move forward, we are proud to present this Global Tennessee Podcast episode with John Kornblum.
3:25 Why Nashville? “Nashville is the place we like the best.” 4:30 Why does Europe Matter? Europe and a close relationship and close cooperation is in America’s interest. 6:30 Need in Europe for America to exert leadership. Largest community, the US with Europe, of like minded economies. Largest investment and trade community in the world. Trade: $1 billion a day. 8:58 Better to have a partner like Europe than to be finding our way alone in the world. 10:47 NATO is the only integrated defense force in the world. Article 5 (common self-defense) first invoked after US attacked on 9/11. 13:30 Should there be a focus on China? 14:20 What does it cost the U.S. for the Transatlantic Alliance. 17:40 Why isn’t Europe good enough for you. Europe IS paying their bills. 19:50 Amb Kornblum and an important role in resolving the Balkan conflict where over 200,000 people died – a real war. 23:51 American security begins in Europe – the Balkans conflict and US intervention. 24:38 Amb Kornblum assigned to implement the agreement. 26:17 What was the role of diplomacy in ending the conflict in the Balkans? 28:06 15,000 US troops involved, no combat casualties. 28:57 The Dayton Accord – “a very dramatic experience” 31:40 “Mr. President, you sit down!” -- three weeks with Slobodan Milosevic. 33:18 Break 35:15 Taking a look at Brexit. Starting from the beginning. Born out of sense of disunity and keeping up with progress. Confrontation within the Conservative Party. Basis: England is not Europe – like Texas and Massachusetts. 42:02 “If there was ever a time for the United States and Europe to stick together, it’s now.” No alternative to working with others. There’s no “Make America Great Again” by being angry. 43:45 What is the feeling for other “Brexits”? There could be countries that “fall out.” 45:49 Freedom of movement in Europe. Lost generation in Italy. The danger of societies not being able to keep up. Conflict building in Europe between north and south. 46:54 “If you want to see a real wall go to the Serbian-Hungarian border.” Immigrant, refugee problem. 48:11 City/Countryside differences. People being left behind results in confrontation. 48:46 The world is coming together in ways we never expected not because of brilliant achievements but through the pressures of society – passage of time, immigration, technology, etc. 49:42 What’s going on in the U.S. diplomatic service? 50:20 Three Administrations have pushed away from traditional foreign policymaking. 51:04 New generations coming with new points of view. Sleep walking since 1990. “Living history is part of understanding the world. Understanding history that you didn’t live if harder.” 54:09 Last thoughts. Even a country as big and strong as the United States can’t go it alone.
GNKD4 | Global Nashville with Karl Dean focuses on the elements of Nashville that make it a global place. Today's episode is a roundtable on current issues with former Mayor Karl Dean talking with TNWAC Board Chair Jim Shepherd, Ambassador Dick Bowers and co-host TNWAC President Pat Ryan.
The roundtable started with tales of the North Atlantic with Mayor Dean recounting his summer sailing vacation in the Svalbard archipelago in the far North Atlantic, and the story of his "abandoning ship" and subsequent helicopter rescue. He also talked about Svalbard, the Arctic and climate change.
The other topics tackled by today's roundtable were the new leadership in Nashville with the election of Mayor Cooper; international business in Nashville; the city as an international "destination" including the work of Sister Cities of Nashville; developments with New Americans including refugee resettlement and TIRRC, and cultural events in the city.
Karl Dean -- former Mayor of Nashville Jim Shepherd -- Chairman, TNWAC Board; former President of Carlex Glass and chairman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce International Business Council Amb Dick Bowers -- U.S. Foreign Service (Ret), career diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Pat Ryan -- LCDR, USN (Ret) President Tennessee World Affairs Council, Executive Producer Global Tennessee Podcast service
Resources: Nashville Chamber International Business Council https://www.nashvillechamber.com/economic-development/international-business/international-business-council New Americans Advisory Council https://www.nashville.gov/Mayors-Office/Diversity-and-Inclusion/New-Americans/New-Americans-Advisory-Council.aspx World Population Review | Nashville Tennessee Ranke #1 in Business Climate https://businessfacilities.com/2019/07/business-facilities-15th-annual-rankings-state-rankings-report/ http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/nashville-population/ Sister Cities of Nashville https://www.scnashville.org Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition https://www.tnimmigrant.org
THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.
THE VISION of the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.
Learn more about the Council and find how you can join, donate and volunteer at: www.TNWAC.org —
Join / Donate / Volunteer
Ambassador Christopher R. Hill: Chief Advisor to the Chancellor for Global Engagement, University of Denver Dean, Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Head, U.S. Delegation to Six Party Talks on North Korean Nuclear Weapons U.S. Ambassador to Poland U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia Special Envoy to Kosovo
Ambassador Christopher Hill is one of America’s most distinguished ambassadors who—in his career of service to his country—was sent to some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy. From the wars in the Balkans to the brutality of North Korea to the endless war in Iraq, he will offer insight about the real life of an American diplomat negotiating with difficult partners. Based on his experiences, Ambassador Hill lays out a vision for the role of diplomacy in addressing national crises, and America’s role in global politics.
Biography: ABOUT AMBASSADOR HILL
Christopher R. Hill served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea among other significant diplomatic posts as a career member of the Foreign Service.
Ambassador Hill is currently the chief advisor to the chancellor for global engagement and professor of the practice in diplomacy at the University of Denver.
Prior to this position, he was the dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University, a position he held from September 2010 to December 2017.
On February 14, 2005, he was named as the head of the U.S. delegation to the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Previously he has served as U.S. ambassador to Poland (2000-04), ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia (1996-99) and special envoy to Kosovo (1998-99). He also served as special assistant to the president and senior director for southeast European affairs in the National Security Council.
Earlier in his Foreign Service career, Ambassador Hill served tours in Belgrade, Warsaw, Seoul, and Tirana, and on the Department of State’s Policy Planning staff and in the department’s Operation Center. While on a fellowship with the American Political Science Association he served as staff member for Congressman Stephen Solarz working on Eastern European issues. He also served as the Department of State’s senior country officer for Poland. Ambassador Hill received the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award for his contributions as a member of the U.S. negotiating team in the Bosnia peace settlement, and was a recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work on the Kosovo crisis. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Hill served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon.
Ambassador Hill graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, with a BA in economics. He received a master’s degree from the Naval War College in 1994. He speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian.
Ambassador Hill is author of Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir, a monthly columnist for Project Syndicate, and a highly sought public speaker and voice in the media on international affairs.
Episode 28 of "Global Tennessee" opens our conversations with candidates for Federal office in 2020. We talked with Mr. James Mackler, candidate for U.S. Senate and the Democrat nomination.
Mr. Mackler's web site: https://www.jamesmackler.com
"Global Tennessee" host Patrick Ryan talked with Mr. Mackler about his background, education, military service and family. Then they discussed the role of the U.S. Senate in foreign policy -- war powers, advise and consent, military appropriations.
Then they discussed positions and perspectives on global issues and challenges including: relations with Russia, China and international institutions such as the United Nations, NATO, etc.; existential threats - global nuclear weapons proliferation, the new nuclear arms race, US nuclear modernization plans, the climate threat; regional issues across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America and Europe; international commerce - trade, tariffs, trade wars; and international alliances.
The conversation ended with the question: Where do you see America in the world?
***The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonpartisan educational charity but strives to bring speakers with diverse views on global affairs to the community.
The World Affairs Council does not endorse any candidate or party and invites all serious candidates for Federal office to participate in our "Global Tennessee" Podcast.
Executive Producer: Patrick Ryan Technical Director: Bill Ryan Voice of Global Tennessee: Ben Olson
Tick Tock... The "Doomsday Clock" is set at two minutes to midnight, a "new abnormal" according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. You should understand the fundamentals of global nuclear proliferation and the expansion and modernization being undertaken by the major nuclear powers.
Dr. Susan Haynes talked with the "Tick Tock Project" of our "Global Tennessee" Podcast about nuclear weapons strategies and concepts as well as a review of Chinese and Russian nuclear forces. Haynes also discussed the United States nuclear forces and modernization and the impact of strategic missile defenses on proliferation.
Dr. Susan Haynes is a Professor of Political Science, Lipscomb University and author of "Chinese Nuclear Proliferation: How Global Politics is Transforming China's Weapons Buildup and Modernization."
Join us for this Podcast, the second Podcast episode in our "Tick Tock Project" -- a six month deep dive at the Tennessee World Affairs Council into the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons, made even more critical with the current proliferation, expansion and modernization. Check the TNWAC.org/calendar for other programs related to our examination of global nuclear issues. As always send feedback and suggestions to info@tnwac.org.
Thank you.
Joe Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund talked with TNWAC's President Patrick Ryan for an edition of "Know Now" presented by the World Affairs Councils of America.
There is a high risk that someone will use, by accident or design, one or more of the 17,000 nuclear weapons in the world today. Many thought such threats ended with the Cold War, but they remain an ongoing nightmare. Author of the books Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late, Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons and Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats, Joe Cirincione is one of the leading experts in the country on U.S. nuclear weapons. Join Cirincione as he discusses the major nuclear weapons threats the world faces today and the debate over the best policies to counter them with Tennessee WAC's Patrick Ryan.
Former Homeland Security Secretary and current University of California President Janet Napolitano talked with Patrick Ryan at "Global Tennessee" about her new book, "How Safe Are We: Homeland Security Since 9/11?" She talked about the mission of DHS, what DHS got right, where DHS needs to improve and homeland security in the current era. Napolitano described some of the challenges she faced as Homeland Security Secretary: aviation security; natural disasters; environmental catastrophes like the Deepwater Horizon; pandemics like the H1N1 threat; terrorism like the Boston Marathon bombing and much more. After the break they talked about the southern border security challenge and the current immigration, refugees and asylum seekers issues; the cyber threat to U.S. infrastructure systems and elections; and existential threats from nuclear weapons and climate change. Napolitano concluded with a conversation about "Black Swans" -- low probability, high risk phenomena and policy through risk analysis.
About the Book: "How Safe Are We: Homeland Security Since 9/11" by Janet Napolitano (Author), Karen Breslau (Contributor) 240 pages; Publisher: Public Affairs (March 26, 2019)
Biography of President Napolitano Janet Napolitano is the 20th president of the University of California, and the first woman to serve in this role.
She leads a university system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three affiliated national laboratories, and a statewide agriculture and natural resources program. The UC system has more than 273,000 students, 223,000 faculty and staff, an operating budget of $36.5 billion, and two million living alumni.
A distinguished public servant, Napolitano served as the U.S. secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 2013, as governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009, as attorney general of Arizona from 1998 to 2003, and as U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona from 1993 to 1997.
More.. https://www.ucop.edu/president/about/index.html
Global Tennessee is the Podcast series of the Tennessee World Affairs Council. For more information about becoming a member visit TNWAC.org/join or TNWAC.org/donate.
Mission The mission of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.
Vision A well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.
Recorded: June 13, 2019 Iranian scholar Dr. Neda Khodaverdi is completing a year as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at Vanderbilt University. Global Tennessee spoke with her about her year in Nashville as a fellow. The purpose of the fellowship, how she got involved, what was her experience with the fellows from around the world and what she has seen and done in Nashville and the United States.
Dr. Khodaverdi was joined in the Podcast with her husband Saed Sahebjamee, who runs the SAED Cultural and Educational Institute in Tehran and Terry Rustan, a TNWAC volunteer and a Humphrey Fellowship "Friendship Family."
Dr. Khodaverdi thanked Nancy Dickson, Humphrey Fellowship Coordinator at Vanderbilt University and Dr. Eric Carter, Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University.
We also talked with Dr. Khodaverdi about her work in Iran teaching English as a second language to children on the autism spectrum.
About Dr. Neda Khodaverdi Neda Khodaverdi, from Iran, is an adjunct university lecturer at Islamic Azad University and an Educational Supervisor and English teacher at SAED Educational and Cultural Institute in Tehran. Her professional focus includes training new teachers of English language, and teaching English as a foreign language to Persian-speakers, including children with special needs. She has developed her own teaching methodology for students with high-functioning autism, and is currently in the process of developing professional development resources to train more instructors to work with special-needs populations. Her previous appointments include English teacher and supervisor at schools and private language centers, and lecturer at Allameh Tabataba’I University. Ms. Khodaverdi holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in TEFL from the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature, Tehran, Iran, a Master’s in TEFL from Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran, and a Bachelor’s in English Language Translation from Islamic Azad University, North Branch, Tehran, Iran. She also holds honors certificates in IELTS Teacher Preparation and Knowledge of English Language Teaching Test from TESOL Arabia Testing, Assessment, and Evaluation.
About Saed Sahebjamee Saed Sahebjamee is a Petrochemical engineer who was born in Tehran, Iran in 1983. He got his BS from Islamic Azad University in 2006. Since then he has worked in his field study. Besides, he established his own language institute in Tehran in 2011 under the title of SAED Cultural and Educational Institute. His mission is teaching English to Persian speaking students and more importantly, help the Iranian students to get familiar with other countries and their cultures by registering students in summer camps of international schools around the world. He is so passionate about his job.
About Terry Rustan Terry is a Humphrey Fellowship "Friendship Family" and a volunteer with the Tennessee World Affairs Council staff in addition to many other service activities in the community. She has worked in China at the Zhejiang Ocean University and at the University of Washington Program on the Environment. Terry holds a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington.
About the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship The program brings accomplished educational leaders from developing nations and emerging democracies to the United States for an academic year to study, gain related professional experience, build their leadership capacity and foster mutual understanding. The program provides a basis for lasting ties between US citizens and the Fellows while strengthening the global exchange of knowledge and expertise. Humphrey Fellows are selected based on their potential for leadership and their commitment to public service in either the public or the private sector.
Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean hosts a conversation with Rear Admiral Brian Pecha of the U.S. Navy along with TNWAC President Patrick Ryan. They discussed Navy Week in Nashville, Admiral Pecha's career in the Navy and the Navy's operations in support of national security around the world.
“Global Nashville with Karl Dean” Podcasts present leaders from Nashville and other specialists who are connected with global issues or an aspect of the city and region that contributes to the international flavor.
The conversations, with former Mayor Karl Dean, touch on their roles, experiences, and accomplishments in the city and region and their insights and perspectives on all of the things that make Nashville a “global city.”
In this episode Karl talks with Rear Admiral Brian Pecha, U.S. Navy. Admiral Pecha, a Memphis native, was in Nashville for Navy Week in early June 2019. TNWAC President Patrick Ryan, a retired Navy man, joined the conversation.
Run time: 36.41
Including his deployment to Anbar Province in 2006 at the height of the insurgency in Iraq.
01:43 Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean Welcoming 02:02 “Tell us about what Navy is bringing to Nashville.” 03:44 “What is the impact on Navy public affairs of having sailors walking around Nashville?” 06:11 Talking to organizations around the community – Rotary, Vanderbilt, businesses, local leaders, people in service to the community. 08:03 “How did you get from where you were to where you are?” 10:56 Talking about service with the U.S. Marines, the “green side” of the Navy. 11:45 “Tell us about your deployment to Iraq in 2006.” 15:23 Talking about service at U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Fleet Forces Command. 16:48 Break 17:33 “What’s going on in the world and how the Navy fits in?” 19:30 We live in a global neighborhood and not all the neighbors are friendly. 19:52 Talking about the Navy’s international humanitarian missions. 20:25 How much impact does the humanitarian mission have on Navy “optempo”? 21:37 “How has the rise of China and the Chinese Navy impacted the U.S. Navy? 23:11 Talking about Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. 24:15 “A large part of what we do is ensuring freedom of the seas.” 26:03 “Can you talk about Navy presence in the Middle East, Persian Gulf?” 27:40 Talking about Russian military modernization and their return to the world stage. 29:20 The new competition over Arctic access and resources. 30:35 “What would you say to a young Tennessean who dreams about seeing something different; what are the opportunities in the Navy?” 32:40 “Loved ones are always anxious to tell the story of their family member.” 33:29 “Army-Navy. What the heck is going on?” 34:15 Thanks to the World Affairs Council. Tennesseans can benefit from broadening their view of the world.
Bio - Rear Admiral Brian S. Pecha, MC, USN, Reserve Fleet Surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command https://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/bio.asp?bioID=712
Global Tennessee talked with Nashville native Sam Denney and the road he took from Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt University to the fast-paced environment of the Brookings Institution, a world-renowned public policy think tank in Washington, DC. We discussed his work in Germany at the Budestag (Parliament) and scholarship at the Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service. Learn about the path from Music City to Massachusetts Avenue and the inside workings of one of the premier think tanks that shapes important policy in the nation's capital. Also hear Sam's take on hot topics around the world, especially European Union politics, and life in Washington.
“Global Nashville with Karl Dean” Podcasts present leaders from Nashville and other specialists who are connected with global issues or an aspect of the city and region that contributes to the international flavor.
The conversations, with former Mayor Karl Dean, touch on their roles, experiences, and accomplishments in the city and region and their insights and perspectives on all of the things that make Nashville a “global city.”
Global Nashville with Karl Dean
Renata Soto Director, Conexión Américas
00:30 Welcome / Global Nashville with Karl Dean Intro 01:05 Introduction of Renata Soto 02:57 Karl Dean Opening 03:30 “Tell us about your background.” 07:00 “What are your memories, what do you love about Costa Rica?” 11:20 “You eventually co-founded an organization, Conexión. Tell us what Conexión does and why you founded it.” 14:48 “You’re one of the most established organizations in the city, highly respected and doing great work. How small were you at the beginning?” 17:15 “What does [Casa] Azafran mean?” 19:35 “When you began this project in 2002, did you have a sense of what the non-native population of Nashville was at that point?” 21:30 Break 22:35 “I want to talk about Conexion Americas more. You mentioned that when the organization began in 2002 there were new census figures that Nashville was becoming the home to more and more people with a Latin American background. That only intensified in the years following. Is that fair?” 23:44 “People noticed that the community was changing … you faced challenges because of those reactions … one of those most important reactions was the effort to pass legislation through a referendum that would make Nashville an “English only” city. What was your reaction to that?” 25:58 “And that was in ‘09 and as you said the city, you can be proud, the city rejected that.” 27:02 “The city stood up and said this is not who we are … came out of that much stronger … your public profile increased dramatically … people in Nashville felt this is a cause we should be supportive of.” 28:46 “Immigrants are very entrepreneurial … talk about that.” 31:35 “We still saw resistance and concerns, particularly at the state level, being voiced about immigration. The issue of the Dreamers became an important issue … you reached the point where the President of the United States comes to see you. Tell us about that.” 36:53 “There’s been a change in the presidency … just looking at Nashville and Tennessee what are the biggest challenges that immigrants face? What’s number one on your list of things that need to happen?” 41:54 “Immigration issues in terms of the Federal Government, in immigration reform seem so difficult. Are you optimistic about the future?” 44:39 “This is Global Nashville … and Nashville has become so much more of a diverse city not only with the people’s background who live here, but with business, education … it seems to me that’s a trend that’s going to continue.” 46:13 “So what is next for you?” 48:35 RS comments on rise of the right. 50:03 End
About Conexión Américas from the Web site
Our Mission At Conexión Américas, our mission is to build a welcoming community and create opportunities where Latino families can belong, contribute and succeed. Our Approach We believe successful efforts to promote the integration of immigrant families into their new community recognize that integration is a multi-dimensional process.
We talked with the 2019 winners of the World Affairs Council's Anne Smedinghoff Academic WorldQuest Challenge championship match about their experiences visiting international organizations in Washington and competing in the national title match. The team -- Sarah Matthews, Gillian Sjoblom, Libby Riddle and Christine Li with their teacher/coach Philip Lovell -- represented TNWAC this year and were back to back champs. The team (w/o Gillian) talked about the highlights of the Washington visit and their preparations for the competition -- good tips for next year's teams. They also discussed the importance to them of the competition being named in honor of Anne Smedinghoff, a U.S. Foreign Service Office killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2013.
01:28 About Anne Smedinghoff, namesake of the TNWAC Academic WorldQuest challenge 04:18 Segment 1 - Our WorldQuest team talks about their Washington DC experience and the national championship match of Academic WorldQuest 26:27 Segment 2 - Christine, Libby and Sarah reflect on Anne Smedinghoff. The team gives away their secrets to producing a championship team. Notes: Academic WorldQuest - http://www.tnwac.org/worldquest TNWAC Honors Falled Diplomat - https://bit.ly/2Dpmchs Photos of the Team Visits in DC - https://www.flickr.com/photos/tnwac
Blessed are the peacemakers! Global Tennessee's Pat Ryan talked with Ann-Louise Colgan, Director of Public Education at the United States Institute of Peace. They talked about her visit to Centennial High School in Franklin, TN to visit one of four USIP "Peace Teachers" in the country and about the mission and function of USIP in fostering peace in numerous international potential conflict, current conflict and post conflict zones.
Ann-Louise Colgan U.S. Institute of Peace, Director of Public Education
Ann-Louise Colgan is the director of public education at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). The work of this department is grounded in USIP’s original congressional mandate and is dedicated to increasing the American public’s understanding of international conflicts and nonviolent approaches that can be used to resolve them. The department extends USIP’s longstanding educational work through outreach to new audiences in all 50 states, offering resources and initiatives that bring peacebuilding to life and offer opportunities for engagement with the work of the Institute.
Ann-Louise joined USIP in 2010 after more than a decade working at organizations focused on international human rights issues, peace and conflict, and U.S. foreign policy. Her background includes research and policy work, as well as extensive experience in communications and public education. From human rights organizations to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where she managed the high-level Genocide Prevention Task Force and subsequently served as director of the Museum’s Academy for Genocide Prevention, Ann-Louise developed and implemented plans to engage policymakers and educate a broad public audience on issues of peace and conflict and other global priorities.
She holds a master’s degree in International Studies and a bachelor’s degree in European Studies, and she is certified as a Teacher of English as a Foreign (Second) Language.
ABOUT THE US INSTITUTE OF PEACE
The United States Institute of Peace is a nonpartisan, national institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent or halt bloodshed. To reduce future crises and the need for costly interventions, USIP works with governments and civil societies to help their countries solve their own problems peacefully. It provides expertise, training, analysis, and support to those who are working to build peace.
More at www.USIP.org
"Global Nashville with Karl Dean"
A Conversation with Matthew WiltshireDirector, Nashville Mayor's Office of Economic and Community Development Recorded: April 4, 2019 at Belmont University
"GLOBAL NASHVILLE WITH KARL DEAN" is a regular feature of the Global Tennessee Podcast from the Tennessee World Affairs Council. It explores business, culture, education, politics, New American's issues and more -- all in an effort to highlight the people, places and things that make Nashville a global city.We welcome your thoughts on topics or individuals to talk to on "Global Nashville with Karl Dean" and to hear your feedback on our Podcasts.
Does your company want to sponsor and participate in "Global Tennessee" Podcasts? Contact: patryan@tnwac.org
ABOUT Matthew Wiltshire
Matthew A. Wiltshire (Matt) Chief Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs Officer Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency
In April 2019, Matthew Wiltshire was named the Chief Strategy and Intergovernmental Affairs Officer for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency in Nashville. In this capacity, Wiltshire is responsible for helping to guide Mayor David Briley’s $750 million affordable housing initiative, UnderOneRoof2029 (www.underoneroof2029.com).
Prior to joining MDHA, Wiltshire served for eight years as the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development in Nashville. In this capacity, Wiltshire helped recruit companies to Nashville, including Amazon, AllianceBernstein, Lyft, Philips, Warner Music and Warby Parker. He also worked with companies that expanded operations in the city such as HCA, Bridgestone, UBS, Asurion and AIG. During Wiltshire’s time in this role, the unemployment rate in Davidson County fell from over 8% to 2.3%.
Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Wiltshire was a Director in the Investment Banking Group at Avondale Partners, a Nashville-based investment banking firm, and was a partner at NEST-TN, LLC, a venture capital firm. Prior to returning to Nashville to join Avondale, Wiltshire helped found Greenbridge Partners, a private capital firm in Greenwich, CT and was a principal at Compass Advisers, an investment banking boutique in New York City. Wiltshire began his investment banking career as an analyst with Montgomery Securities in San Francisco and in New York.
A Hume-Fogg Academic High School alumnus, Wiltshire graduated with a BA degree in government from Dartmouth College. He was a member of Dartmouth’s heavyweight crew team and won multiple awards at collegiate, national and international competitions. Prior to joining the Mayor’s Office, Wiltshire served as the president of the board of Hands On Nashville and on the executive committee of the boards of the Center for Nonprofit Management and the Tennessee Justice Center. He enjoys running and cycling and has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya. Matt is married to Crissy Wieck and has two sons, a daughter, two stepdaughters and a stepson.
ABOUT Karl Dean
Karl Dean was the 68th Mayor of Nashville and the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected on Sept. 11, 2007 and was re-elected on Aug. 4, 2011. He completed his second term in office on September 25, 2015. He was the Democrat Party nominee for the office of Governor of Tennessee in 2018.Dean first held public office when he was elected as Nashville’s Public Defender in 1990, a post he was re-elected to in 1994 and 1998. He served as Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt.
What's going on in Kurdistan in northern Iraq? Who are the Kurds? What is their status within Iraq? Michael McClellan, career American diplomat and current President of the American University of Kurdistan Foundation was at the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a standing room only Global Town Hall on March 20, 2019 to talk about these questions and about AUK and its exchange programs with Tennessee Universities.
This topic plays on a common Kurdish saying, but leaves open the possibility to talk about a wide range of topics and will allow a Q&A to go all over the place. One of the central points I want to make is that Kurds finally have the chance to run their OWN educational system and they are making choices that will benefit Kurds throughout the world. By establishing two American-style universities, Kurds are preparing for a future that can go either way and that is the vital thing now. Also, it is a chance to promote Kurdish culture and language globally, an opportunity that Iran, Turkey, and Syria do not afford the Kurds, but Iraq does.
Kurdistan is one of the very few bright lights in the Middle East – the cornerstone of stability and a model of tolerance and diversity for the entire region. McClellan’s brief will be upbeat, but realistic, will address independence/autonomy, but focus on the positive role of education in advancing the cause of the Kurds.
About Michael McClellan
Michael McClellan became President of the American University of Kurdistan Foundation in August 2018. Prior to that, he was Diplomat-in-Residence at Western Kentucky University and a Recruitment and Outreach Officer with the U.S. Department of State, responsible for recruiting for the U.S. Foreign Service by increasing awareness of the many internship, fellowship, and career opportunities available with the Department.
During his three decades with the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Department of State, Michael served as a Public Diplomacy Officer in Yemen, Egypt, Russia, Serbia, Germany, Kosovo, Ireland, Iraq (twice), Ethiopia, and South Sudan, where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission. He was also Diplomat-in-Residence at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He retired in 2014 with the rank of Minister-Counselor.
Michael’s work in Public Diplomacy focused on press and media, often as the official Embassy Spokesman. He was Spokesman in Kosovo right after the NATO bombing campaign and then in Iraq when the U.S. military withdrew in 2011. However, Michael’s proudest accomplishment in the Foreign Service was founding the American University in Kosovo, which opened its doors in 2004 and continues educating Kosovo’s youth from all communities to this day. As a Public Affairs Counselor in several embassies, Michael oversaw the Public Diplomacy grants to local NGOs and was responsible for ensuring compliance of grantees with USG regulations.
Throughout his career, Michael maintained a lifelong interest in photography and religions, which culminated in a book on Egypt’s Coptic Church monasteries that was published by the American University in Cairo Press and extensive outreach on Muslim-Christian interfaith understanding during several overseas assignments. Later in his career, working mainly in Africa, he promoted organic and sustainable farming and Appalachian culture.
A Kentucky native, Michael has a B.A. in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Louisville, an M.A. in Photojournalism and International Relations from Syracuse University, and completed doctoral studies in International Communication at Indiana University in Bloomington.
As a diplomat, Michael spoke Russian, Arabic, and German, as well as some Serbian and Albanian. He lives in Dohuk, Kurdistan, as well as Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he has a small organic farm and keeps bees.
Global Tennessee host Patrick Ryan talked with Karl Dean, 68th Mayor of Nashville (2007-2015) and 2018 Gubernatorial Candidate in Tennessee, John Scannapieco (TNWAC Board) and Logan Monday (TNWAC Staff). Dean discussed his post-mayoral experiences including running for Tennessee Governor and his views on international affairs and global affairs awareness and education. The Roundtable talked about Nashville as a Global City and the relations through Sister Cities and organizations like the Consulate of Japan. We welcome you to this episode to gain a new view on Nashville as an international place and the work of the World Affairs Council and other organizations to help its citizens 'know the world.'
Today Global Tennessee presents an interview with Ambassador of Japan to the United States H.E. Shinsuke J. Sugiyama and in our second segment an interview with Project C.U.R.E. President Dr. Douglas Jackson.
TNWAC President Patrick Ryan and Board Member John Scannapieco (and Chairman of the Japan-America Society of Tennessee) talked with Ambassador Sugiyama about U.S.-Japan relations, Japan-Tennessee commercial relations and foreign direct investment and people to people connections -- cultural, educational and other bridge building activities.
Ambassador Sugiyama has represented Japan in Washington since March 2018. He previously served as Deputy Minister and Vice Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs among other leadership positions in Japan's foreign service.
Ambassador Sugiyama's visit to Nashville and his participation in the "Global Tennessee" Podcast have been coordinated by our friends at the Consulate of Japan in Nashville and Consul-General Hiroyuki Kobayashi.
In our second segment of this episode Dr. Doug Jackson, PhD, C.U.R.E. President and Ms. Katherine Lay Miller, Nashville Executive Director, talked with Patrick Ryan about their organization (Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment) that identifies, solicits, collects, sorts and distributes medical supplies and services according to the imperative needs of the world to over 130 countries. Dr. Jackson talked about the history and mission of the organization.
Notes: Amb Sugiyama Bio - https://bit.ly/2twhV6M Consulate of Japan in Nashville - https://bit.ly/2TXS4Qx Japan-America Society of Tennessee - https://japanamericasocietyoftennesseeinc.wildapricot.org
Project C.U.R.E. - https://projectcure.org Dr. Douglas Jackson Bio - https://projectcure.org/people/douglas-jackson-phd-jd Ms. Katherine Lay Miller Bio - https://projectcure.org/people/katherine-lay-miller
Joe Cirincione is the preeminent voice on the existential threat to life on earth posed by nuclear weapon proliferation. He heads Ploughshares Fund, the preeminent group working to reduce and eliminate this threat. Join us for a conversation with Joe during his Nashville speaking tour to hear about the top 5 issues and what is happening in the US government and elsewhere to address the scourge of nuclear weapons, the "new arms race" and the situation with Iran and North Korea.
Notes:
"The Doomsday Clock is ticking. How can we turn it back?," "The Tennessean," by Joseph Cirincione and Patrick W. Ryan, February 10, 2019 https://soundcloud.com/tnwac/global-tennessee-episode-013
Ploughshares Fund https://www.ploughshares.org
"The Next Trump-Kim Summit," Ploughshares.org, February 4, 2019 https://www.ploughshares.org/issues-analysis/article/next-trump-kim-summit
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), U.S. State Department https://www.state.gov/e/eb/tfs/spi/iran/jcpoa/
Roundtable with TNWAC Alumnae
We kick off this episode of “Global Tennessee” with a conversation with Ali Humbrecht and Colleen Ryan about their World Affairs Council experiences as interns and volunteers and representatives to the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) National Conferences. We also talked about their extensive international travel as students in study abroad programs.
Ali Humbrecht is a 2018 graduate of Belmont University. She worked as an intern with TNWAC as the liaison between the Council and Belmont University and coordinated the Council's social media operations. Ali attended a National Conference of WACA as a scholarship student. Last year she spent a semester at Bard College in Berlin. Ali served as tour guide for Colleen and her family last spring when they visited Berlin.
Colleen Ryan has been a volunteer with the Tennessee World Affairs Council since its inception in 2007. She attended the University of Tennessee as a Haslam Scholar and graduated in 2017 with a degree in Global Studies and Sociology. Colleen attended the University of York as a Fulbright Scholar completing her Master of Arts in Post-War Recovery Studies before heading to Beijing, China where she is completing a Masters in Management Studies as a Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University.
Interview with Sister Cities of Nashville (Start at 22:31)
In our second segment we talked with Heather Cunningham and Dr. Marieta Velikova of Sister Cities of Nashville. Heather is Executive Director and Marieta serves as Board Chairman. They discussed the origins and mission of this bridge-building organization and its relationship and programs with Nashville's eight sister cities: Belfast, Northern Ireland; Caen, France; Edmonton, Canada; Kamakura, Japan; Madgeburg, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Tiayuan, China; and Tamworth, Australia.
Heather and Marieta explained the mission of Sister Cities: creating relationships based on cultural, educational, information and trade exchanges, creating lifelong friendships that provide prosperity and peace through person-to-person “citizen diplomacy.”
GLOBAL TENNESSEE
The Wide World With Dick and Pat #1
This episode launches a new “Global Tennessee” program in which Ambassador Dick Bowers, USFS (Ret) and LtCdr Patrick Ryan, USN (Ret), will occasionally discuss current issues in global affairs. Their experience across 50 years of service and travel in about 120 countries between them will be applied in analysis, commentary and entertaining discussion of current events, hot topics and international affairs trends.
Today they open their program with a review of 2018 through discussion of a top 10 list published by the Council on Foreign Relations and their personal insights and perspectives on top issues of the year. After the break they’ll look at the year ahead and talk about challenges to the United States in the world and how American decision makers are approaching the world.
Dick and Pat also mix in conversations about local international food haunts in Nashville and offer recommendations for your bookshelf.
So take a listen, write a review and send feedback directly to Dick and Pat (patryan@tnwac.org).
Notes: Ten Most Significant World Events in 2018 | Council on Foreign Relation https://www.cfr.org/blog/ten-most-significant-world-events-2018 Opinion | Why 2018 Was the Best Year in Human History! - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/05/opinion/sunday/2018-progress-poverty-health.html Can China join the big free-trade deal that Donald Trump failed to kill? | South China Morning Post https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2181439/can-china-join-big-free-trade-deal-donald-trump-failed-kill Secretary's Remarks: A Force for Good: America Reinvigorated in the Middle East https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2019/01/288410.htm CLIMATE We have 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, warns UN | Environment | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report CHINA. Remarks by Vice President Pence on the Administration's Policy Toward China | The White House https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-pence-administrations-policy-toward-china/
CHINA. Pence’s China Speech Seen as Portent of ‘New Cold War’ - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/05/world/asia/pence-china-speech-cold-war.html?login=email&auth=login-email Signal: Top Risks for 2019 https://mailchi.mp/eurasiagroup/signal-top-risks-for-2019-a-lion-ride-in-sudan-dr-congo-delayed-count?e=9024203d9c
Global Tennessee co-hosts Patrick Ryan and Jim Shepherd talked with Ralph Schulz about the Nashville Chamber's role in international business, why global companies are finding good homes in the region, how Nashville makes itself attractive to foreign trade and investment, the impact of the Japan-Tennessee relationship on the city's and state's economic well-being, the "Big Stories" of 2018 in Nashville and a glimpse into the year ahead for Nashville businesses. Don't miss this episode.
Global Tennessee is the Podcast of the Tennessee World Affairs Council, a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational association. We rely on support of members and donors to sustain our global affairs awareness efforts. We ask you to become members and make a gift, and for businesses to contact us about sponsoring and participating in Global Tennessee and other community and education outreach programs that bring the world to Tennessee. Contact Patrick Ryan (931-261-2353 / patryan@tnwac.org)
Ralph Schulz was named president and CEO of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerceby the Chamber’s board of directors in November 2006, following a 30-year career in nonprofit management, marketing and fundraising. In taking the position, he accepted a leadership role at one of Middle Tennessee’s oldest and largest business federations, an organization dating back to its founding in 1847.
During his tenure, the Chamber has played a key role in helping the region emerge from the 2007 recession to a period of unprecedented growth with a business relocation and expansion strategy known as Partnership 2020. Additionally, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce was the lead organization in the creation of the nationally recognized Nashville Entrepreneur Center and the passage of a public referendum supporting construction of the Music City Center convention facility. Since Schulz has taken on the role of president and CEO, the Chamber has also led the movement to improve public school performance through the creation of the Academies of Nashville, established the Moving Forward initiative to ensure the creation of a regional transportation solution through a cohesive community effort and developed into a respected publisher of data on the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area with the annual publication of the Vital Signs report.
In 2009, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce was named “Chamber of the Year” by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), recognizing the Nashville Chamber’s organizational excellence, service to members, development of leaders and volunteers and its impact on key community priorities. The ACCE award referenced the Nashville Chamber’s role in the creation of Nashville for All of Us,a campaign made up of community leaders aligned to defeat a 2009 charter referendum which would have prohibited Nashville city government from conducting business in a language other than English. The Chamber was also praised for its creation of A Leading Edge, a broad range of programs aimed at helping Chamber members navigate the turbulent waters of the recession.
Global Tennessee brings you a special Podcast featuring renowned photographer Ronald Modra, 25 years with “Sports Illustrated” and a whopping 70 “SI” covers!
In our second segment we talk with Lisset Diaz, lead singer of the Sweet Lizzy Project, a band with its roots in Havana, Cuba that is now working hard to make it big in Music City in the process making some great sounds.
LEGENDARY LENSMAN
Mention any legendary athlete from the last four decades and there’s a likelihood that she or he has been at the other end of Ron Modra’s camera lens. Mickey Mantle, Muhammad Ali, Pete Rose, Brett Favre, Nolan Ryan, Martina Navratilova, Lawrence Taylor, Tom Brady, Cal Ripken, Joe Montana. World Series, Olympic Games. Portraits, action shots, coffee table books. Well you get it. Ron’s 25 years with SI put him front row with the world’s best. Then there’s his love of the Blues and his portraits of some of America’s finest musicians.
But there’s more.
Travel photography. We loved talking with Ron about the best of the best professional athletes and his great stories – like winding up in Gordie Howe’s home for Thanksgiving dinner – but our lane in the road is Ron’s international travel photography. Galapagos, Argentina, Cuba, China, Italy, Scotland, and many more. Special images of people and places – bringing the world to you in the magic of still photography.
Join us in our conversation with photographer Ronald Modra, one of the people who make Nashville a special place, as we learn about capturing the world with a camera.
Also learn about how you can join Ron and his colleague, Don Smith, on an upcoming photo excursion. “Fall in the Scottish Highland” next October can be your chance to experience the mystical landscapes and villages of the Isle of Skye, Isles of Harris and Lewis and the Glencoe area. Check Don Smith’s web site for details on this fabulous opportunity.
http://www.ronaldcmodra.com http://www.donsmithphotography.com
SWEET LIZZY PROJECT
“Turn up the radio.” Indeed. In our conversation with Cuban native Lisset Diaz (aka Lizzy of the Sweet Lizzy Project) we learned the value of being in the right places at the right times. If making great music is only part of the formula for success in a tough business Sweet Lizzy Project is well on their way. Mix in their good fortune of being profiled in a PBS documentary “Havana Time Machine” along with the “Mavericks” from Nashville and lead singer Raul Malo. That connection led to an invitation to Nashville, an opportunity that was almost lost to Washington’s change in visa policy under the current White House. Fortunately Sweet Lizzy Project had performed for American diplomats in Cuba and managed to get their paperwork through just under the wire.
Listen to this Global Tennessee Podcast to hear the rest of Lisset’s and the band’s story of making great music in Nashville, inside a Tennessee mountain cavern and in their travels around America – “a distinctive sound imbued with overtones of classic American indie pop-rock suffused with an intoxicating Latino flair.” We have several of Sweet Lizzy Project’s songs in our Podcast for your enjoyment.
The Sweet Lizzy Project – official web site https://www.sweetlizzyproject.com
The Sweet Lizzy Project perform in “Bluegrass Underground” inside the Caverns of the Cumberland Mountains https://youtu.be/IUsO-M7oEc8
“Havana Time Machine” http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/havana-time-machine-full-episode/7326/ (Paywall for NPT members)
“Raul Malo explores music, Cuban heritage in 'Havana Time Machine'” https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2017/10/04/raul-malo-havana-time-machine-documentary-pbs/724224001/
European Consuls General based in Atlanta from UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, and Greece talked to Global Tennessee about business to business relations -- trade, foreign direct investment, tariffs; government relations and politics -- issues between the current US Administration and EU partners; and developments in Europe. Check out this special report interview for a snapshot of US-European relations and analysis of current issues. Interview conducted by TNWAC's Patrick Ryan and "The Tennessean's" David Plazas, Opinion Engagement Editor.
Consul General of France -- Louis de Corail; Consul General of Germany in Atlanta -- Dr. Heike Fuller; Consul General of the United Kingdom -- Andrew Staunton; Consul General of Greece -- Emmanouil Androulakis; Consul General of Ireland -- Shane Stephens; Consul General of Belgium -- William De Baet.
In our Roundtable segment Pat talks with Lori Odom, VP International Business about Nashville developments -- new business, Amazon, EY, direct international flights from BNA and global business impact and trends. In our "Conversation" segment Dr. Marieta Velikova, native of Western Siberia and current Professor of Economics at Belmont and Keith Simmons, distinguished Nashville attorney and former Cold War USAF ICBM missile officer talk about preconceived notions, stereotypes and perspectives on Russia, with Keith sharing his observations from recent travel in the Russian Federation. Marieta and Keith reflect on the importance of building bridges among people despite the challenges of national security relationships.
Pat Ryan talks with Prof. David Des Roches (Col, USArmy Ret.) from the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University. He is an expert on Middle East affairs, especially US-Saudi relations and talked about the crisis in the relationship since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018. Prof. Des Roches also provides insights and perspectives on developments in the Middle East and the challenges to US policymakers.
About Professor Des Roches
David Des Roches is an Associate Professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies. Prior to this, he was the director responsible for defense policy concerning Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Prior to this assignment, he has served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the DoD Liaison to the Department of Homeland Security, as the senior country director for Pakistan, as the NATO operations director, and as the deputy director for peacekeeping. His first job in government was as a special assistant for strategy and later as the international law enforcement analyst in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
A British Marshall Scholar, he has also attended the Federal Executive Institute, the German Staff College’s Higher Officer Seminar, the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School and the US Army Command and General Staff College.
An Airborne Ranger in the Army Reserve, he was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan. He has commanded conventional and special operations parachute units and has served on the US Special Operations Command staff as well as on the Joint Staff.
The Global Tennessee team does a deep dive into the "Braving A New World" National Conference of the World Affairs Councils of America in Washington. They walk through the most insightful panels and speakers like: America's global leadership status, US China relations, the health of the Transatlantic Alliance, the global commons of space and much more. Part II, "The Conversation" is an interview with the Asia Development Bank's Bart Edes talking about Pacific trade and the work of international development banks.
This special edition of Global Tennessee is an extended presentation by Afshin Molavi, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at John Hopkins University, SAIS and Co-Director, emerge85 Lab. Molavi's "Where Are We Going?" presentation is a remarkable collection of his insightful assessments of global trends and facts on the ground that shape the world we live in and where it is headed. You will finish this edition of Global Tennessee much better equipped to deal with the news and information that shapes your world.
U.S. Senator Bob Corker, Chairman Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke at a Tennessee World Affairs Council event about international issues, U.S. foreign policy and domestic politics. Corker offered a fascinating and very candid glimpse into the world from the perspective of Capitol Hill and the Congress' leader on U.S. international policies, laws, and oversight.
Global Tennessee's (Part I) "Roundtable" with "The Tennessean's" David Plazas and TNWAC's Pat Ryan and Logan Monday explore the nexus of global affairs and the mid-term elections and in "The Conversation" (Part II) Jim Shepherd, TNWAC Board Chair talks about his week-long fact-finding delegation visit to the Persian Gulf State of Qatar with a World Affairs Councils of America leadership group.
Welcome to the Global Tennessee podcast. Pat Ryan, Jeff Overby and Lori Odom talk about the programs and resources the Tennessee World Affairs Council brings to the community in an effort to education people about the complex global landscape we all navigate -- whether trying to make sense of the news or in educational and professional pursuits. Part II, "The Conversation," featured TNWAC Board Chair Jim Shepherd on the Council's mission and vision.