Rochester Library hosts Great Decisions Foreign Policy Discussion Series

Unfortunately, we can't get together this year to discuss and debate policy choices around the world. Not to be deterred, Great Decisions Foreign Policy
Discussion Series will be held online this year via Zoom.

We are fortunate to have 3 experts leading our discussions again this year:

Mike Van Dusen worked on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1999, as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East and then as Chief of Staff for the Committee, working closely with Congressman Lee H. Hamilton of Indiana. From 1999 to 2015 he was the Chief Operating Officer for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He and his wife have had a home in Rochester since 1983.

Ann Van Dusen has had a long career in international development, holding senior positions at both the US Agency for International Development and Save the Children. She has taught at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities and is the Founding Director of Georgetown's Masters in Global Human Development. She and her family have been regular visitors to Rochester since 1952.

Elizabeth Shackelford was a U.S. diplomat until December 2017 when she resigned in protest of administration policies. She served in Somalia, South Sudan, Poland, and Washington, DC. Elizabeth is a fellow with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age, published May 2020.

Weekly topics this year include:
o Global Supply Chains and National Security
o Persian Gulf Security Issues
o Brexit and the European Union
o Struggles Over the Melting Arctic
o China's Role in Africa
o The Korean Peninsula
o Roles of International Organizations in a Global Pandemic
o The End of Globalization?

Those who register will be emailed a link before the first discussion that you will need to use to join the discussion.

This program is free to join. However, the Briefing Book purchased from Foreign Policy Association with materials to read prior to discussion is $32. If purchasing a book is a hardship, please let me know and I will see if I can help.

Deadline to be included in a group purchase of books is January 23.

The series will start Wednesday, February 10th at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom.

To register contact the library at rochesterpubliclibraryVT@gmail.com.