From February to April 2017 WWAC and Marlboro College jointly sponsored a series of 6 lectures. Video recordings of four of the the lectures are now online: QUIGLEY, BENT, BIRDSALL AND MURPHY TALKS AVAILABLE ONLINE
Friday, February 10 @ 7:30 pm (coffee/tea, and Peace Corps conversatgion @ 6:30) Kevin Quigley, President, Marlboro College
Peace Corps and Community Service: An Idea Whose Time Has Come Again?”
Before coming to Marlboro, Kevin Quigley served as Peace Corps country director in Thailand, and as president and CEO of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), a global alumni organization for the more than 225,000 former Peace Corps staff and volunteers.
Wednesday, March 1 @ 7:00 pm (coffee/tea and conversation starting @6:30)
Rodney Bent, Former Interim President, Millenium Challenge Corp.
How, Where, and When Can the U.S. Government Effectively Promote International Development?
The Millenium Challenge Corp, an innovative and independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty, works to advance American values by delivering development assistance that promotes sound policy reforms, creates new opportunities for economic growth, and shares learning that makes the discipline of development effective and results-focused. Mr. Bent was the MCC’s Acting Chief Executive Officer for 9 months at the beginning of the Obama Administration.
Wednesday, March 8 @7:00 pm (coffee/tea and conversation starting @6:30)
Nancy Birdsall, Senior Fellow and President Emeritus, Center for Global Development
Globalization: The Fight Against Global Poverty and Inequity
Nancy Birdsall has served as founding president for the first 15 years of the Center For Global Development from 2001-2016. Her current research areas include the roles and financing of the multilateral development banks; climate finance; inequality and the middle class in developing countries; and the long-run effect of modern contraception on women’s economic empowerment.
Wednesday, April 5 @ 7:00 pm (coffee/tea and conversation starting @6:30)
Joan Rohlfing, President, Nuclear Threat Initiative
Nuclear Dangers in the Trump Era
Joan Rolfing was part of the original team that created the mission and scope for Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2000. She became president and chief operating officer of the NTI in January 2010, after nine years as NTI’s senior vice president for programs and operations. She is responsible for managing all NTI programs and operations, overseeing an annual operating budget of $15-$20 million.
Friday, April 7 @ 7:00 pm (coffee/tea and conversation starting @6:30)
W. Patrick Murphy, Deputy Asst Secretary, US Dept of State for Southeast Asia, 04/2016 to present (and BUHS Alumnus!)
Promoting U.S. Interests in Asia During a Time of Change
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, he served previously as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’affaires in Thailand (2013-2016) and Lesotho (2006-2008). Mr. Murphy’s prior Washington service includes Special Representative for Burma, Director/Deputy Director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia, political advisor for the Haiti Working Group, and desk officer for Burma and Laos. Since joining the Department of State in 1992, he has also completed diplomatic assignments in Burma, China, Iraq, Guinea, and Mali.
Read the article about our April 7 Talk in the VT Digger:
VERMONTER HAS DIPLOMATIC VIEW OF U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Friday, April 28 @ 7:00 pm (coffee/tea and conversation starting @6:30)
Pisan Manawapat, Royal Thai Government, formerly Ambassador to the European Union, India, and Canada
Thailand as a Key for Trump Administration’s Agenda in Asia
Pisan Manawapat became the 44th ambassador of Thailand to the United States on Feb. 23, 2015, having most recently served as the Thai ambassador to the European Union, Belgium, Luxembourg, India and Canada.