Wednesday, May 28th, 2014 at noon
Doors open at 11:30am
Petroleum Club (3301 C St, Ste 120, 99503)

Members: $32 prepay, $35 at-the-door
Non-Members: $42 prepay, $45 at-the-door
Lecture only: $15
Students: FREE! Thanks to the generous support of BP.

Space is limited, please RSVP by Monday, May 26th by registering online, emailing info@alaskaworldaffairs.org, or calling (907)276-8038

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Bio:

Sir Peter Westmacott, KCMG, LVO became British Ambassador to the United States in January 2012. This is his second posting in Washington, having previously served as the British Embassy’s Counsellor for Political and Public Affairs in the mid-1990s.

Prior to his service as ambassador to the United States, Peter served as the British Ambassador to France—from 2007 to 2011—and as Ambassador to Turkey starting in 2002. Peter’s forty-year career in the British Diplomatic Service has included postings in Tehran and Brussels, time as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Director for the Americas, and a seat on the board of the Foreign Office as Deputy Under Secretary. In addition, he served as Deputy Private Secretary to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales from 1990 to 1993.

Peter’s personal connection to the United States extends back even further than his diplomatic posting. In 1942, his father was a sailor on the HMS Illustrious as it underwent repairs in Norfolk, Virginia to recover from damage inflicted during fighting at Malta.

Peter was born in the village of Edington, Somerset in the South West of England in December 1950. He was educated at New College Oxford and joined the Diplomatic Service in 1972. He married Susie Nemazee in 2001; together they have four grown children: Oliver, Laura, Rupert and Safieh.

This program is presented in partnership with:

Podcast:
Did you miss Mr. Counts’ presentation or would like to listen to it again? Check-out the podcast on Alaska Public Media by clicking here.

Bio:

Alex Counts founded Grameen Foundation and became its President and CEO in 1997, after having worked in microfinance and poverty reduction for 10 years. A Cornell University graduate, Counts’ commitment to poverty eradication deepened as a Fulbright scholar in Bangladesh, where he witnessed innovative poverty solutions being developed by Grameen Bank. He trained under Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank, and co-recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Since its modest beginnings, sparked by a $6,000 seed grant provided by Prof. Yunus (who was a founding board member and continues as director emeritus), Grameen Foundation has grown to a leading international humanitarian organization with an annual budget of approximately $25 million.

Counts has propelled Grameen Foundation’s philosophy through his writings, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance Are Changing the World. Counts has also been published in The Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Miami Herald, The Christian Science Monitor and elsewhere. In 2007 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Horace Mann School.

Counts is a board member, and the immediate past Chair, of Fonkoze USA and co-chairs the Fonkoze Family Coordinating Committee—two governance bodies related to the largest microfinance institution in Haiti. He is also immediate past Chair of Project Enterprise, a New York City microlender, and board member emeritus. He sits on the Advisory Council of the Center for Financial Inclusion, and the Truelift Steering Committee, and serves as Co-Chair of the Microfinance CEO Working Group.

Before leading Grameen Foundation, Counts served as the legislative director of RESULTS and as a regional project manager for CARE-Bangladesh. He speaks Bengali and lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Emily, and their cat, Seymour.

This program is presented in partnership with:

Alice Rogoff

Podcast:
Did you miss Ms. Rogoff’s presentation with special guest Fran Ulmer or want to hear it again? Check-out the podcast on Alaska Public Media by clicking here.
Bio:

Ms. Rogoff is Publisher and owner of AlaskaDispatch Publishing, which is acquiring the Anchorage Daily News. She is also a co-founder of the “Arctic Circle”, an open assembly designed to facilitate international dialogue and foster cooperation on Arctic issues. This organization is led by President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland. It grew out of the two “Arctic Imperative Summits” hosted by Alaska Dispatch in 2011 and 2012.

In 2002, she Co–founded and chaired the Alaska Native Arts Foundation, retiring from that Board in 2014. In 2008, Ms. Rogoff founded the Alaska House NY, a non-profit “virtual embassy” which undertook to promote understanding of the economic issues and opportunities facing the State.

From 1985 to 1997, Ms. Rogoff was Chief Financial Officer of U.S News and World Report. Prior to that she was managing director of G. William Miller and Co., a Washington D.C investment management firm. She also worked at The Washington Post Company as assistant to publisher Donald Graham. Ms. Rogoff was the creator of the “National Weekly Edition” of The Washington Post.

From 1978 to l980, Ms.Rogoff served in the Administration of President Jimmy Carter as Special Assistant to the Director of the US Office of Management and Budget.

Other business activities included: Chairman of the Board of Scene7, a digital imaging software company; founding of The Artist Impressions, a company which licenses original works of art for interior design uses. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Alice is married to David M. Rubenstein, and they have three grown children. She resides in Anchorage, Alaska.

As a pilot of her Cessna 206, Alice delights in exploring the vast state of Alaska with journalists and photographers.

Podcast:
Did you miss Ambassador Boucher’s presentation or want to listen to it again? Check-out the podcast on Alaska Public Media by clicking here.
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Bio:

A seasoned foreign policy professional, Richard Boucher served at the center of the action as Ambassador (Cyprus), Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan (2006-2009), Consul General during the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule (1996-1999) and the longest-serving spokesmen of the U.S. State Department (1989-1992 and 2000-2005). He achieved the highest rank, Career Ambassador, in the US Foreign Service.

Early in his career as an economic officer in China, he tracked reform on the ground. Over the next decades, he developed a unique perspective on emerging markets, especially China and India and the rebalancing of the global economy. As spokesman for six Secretaries of State, including four years under Colin Powell, he repeatedly managed communications in crises. During the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen, the first and second Gulf Wars, 9/11 and other momentous events, he helped create the history that has shaped our times. From 2009-2013, as Deputy Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), he promoted better standards and practices for economic recovery with a focus on developing and emerging countries.

Richard is now embarking on a new career teaching, speaking and writing about foreign policy, with a focus on the emerging powers. He is teaching Diplomacy and Economic Power at the Ford School of the University of Michigan in the winter semester of 2014 as the Towsley Policymaker in Residence. He has also joined the Board of the Mountain Institutean organization which works with mountain peoples to preserve ecology and culture in the mountains of West Virginia, Nepal and Peru.

This program is presented by the Alaska World Affairs Council thanks to a grant from:

Podcast:
Did you miss Minister McGinley’s presentation or would like to listen to it again? Click here for the podcast available on Alaska Public Media.

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Bio:
Dinny McGinley TD is Minister of State for the Gaeltacht. He represents the constituency of Donegal South West. He was first elected to the Dáil in 1982 and has held a range of Party Front Bench and Oireachtas positions, including Spokesperson for the Arts, Heritage and Defence. In October 2007, he was appointed Deputy Spokesperson on Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. Dinny was Chairperson of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security. He was Chairman of An Comhchoiste don Ghaeilge (Oireachtas Committee on the Irish Language) from 1995 to 1997. Dinny is a former member of the Joint Oireachtas Committees on Social Affairs and on Small Business. He is a member of the British Irish Parliamentary Body since 1993. Dinny is a former chairman of the Board of Management of Pobal Scoil Ghaoth Dobhair. Other facts about Dinny: Dinny was born and raised in Gweedore, Co. Donegal. He was a member of Comhairle Raidio na Gaeltachta between 1977 and 1980. He likes to read in his spare time, and follows all sports including Soccer, GAA, Rugby and Golf. Dinny has been a member of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation since 1965.

This program was presented in partnership with:

The Irish Club of Alaska

Moderated by Steve Lindbeck, CEO & General Manager, Alaska Public Media

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Yussef El Guindi Bio:
Born in Egypt, raised in London and now based in Seattle, el Guindi received a B.A. from American University in Cairo and a 1985 MFA in playwriting from Carnegie-Mellon University. He frequently examines the collision of ethnicities, cultures and politics that face Arab-Americans. He has had at least 16 plays produced since 2001 in regional Theaters from Durham to anchorage. at the same time, he has worked as resident playwright at Silk Road Theatre Project; literary manager for Golden Thread Productions in San Francisco; playwright in residence, Dramaturg and lecturer at Duke University; and Dramaturg for eureka Theatre and reader for the Magic Theatre, both in San Francisco.
Steve Lindbeck Bio:
Steve Lindbeck came to public broadcasting in July 2007 after a 30-year career in journalism and public affairs. He is President and General Manager of Alaska Public Telecommunications, Inc. (APTI), which includes KAKM-TV, KSKA-FM and the Alaska Public Radio Network. In that role he is responsible for leadership and oversight of a media organization capable of reaching audiences throughout Alaska.

He came to APTI from the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he served two years as Vice Chancellor for Advancement. He served previously as Associate Editor of the Anchorage Daily News, where he directed the opinion pages and development of editorial policy for the paper. From 1991 through 2000 he served as Executive Director of the Alaska Humanities Forum, an independent non-profit organization and state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

His journalism career included positions as news editor and editorial page editor at the Anchorage Daily News, sports editor at the Anchorage Times, editorial page editor at the Everett (Wash.) Herald, copy editor at the Boston Globe, and freelance writer for various publications. He won a John S. Knight Professional Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University in 1985-86, and was writer and editor of the report of the Alaska Oil Spill Commission in 1989-90. He served as issues and communications director for a gubernatorial campaign in 1990.

This program was presented in partnership with:

Moderated by Torrie Allen,Chief Officer of Marketing & Development, Alaska Public Media

Podcast:
Did you miss the conversation with Lunasa or want to hear it again? Check-out the program podcast on Alaska Public Media by clicking here.

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Lunasa Bio:
Lúnasa are internationally acknowledged as being the finest Irish instrumental band of recent times. They are renowned for their constant touring, having performed over 1,500 shows across the globe since the band formed in 1997. The band has appeared at internationally renowned venues such as The Hollywood Bowl, National Concert Hall, Dublin and the Sydney Opera House. In 2011 they were invited to appear at the White House.

Lúnasa’s inventive arrangements and bass driven grooves have steered Irish acoustic music into surprising new territory. The recordings have been hailed as some of the best and most important world music albums anywhere, while the blend of intelligence, innovation, virtuosity, and passion has brought them to the forefront of Celtic music.

Torrie Allen Bio:
Torrie serves as chief officer of marketing and development of Alaska Public Media. He assumed this role in March 2012, and is responsible for driving statewide marketing and development strategies for Alaska Public Media, with accountability for its various brands that reach 96% of the population of Alaska.

Prior to joining Alaska Public Media, Allen served as general and artistic director of Anchorage Opera where he gained notoriety for mounting Alaskan and Pacific Northwest premieres and new productions of operas. He introduced Alaskans to Zarzuela and was the first to produce fully- staged Russian grand opera. Under his leadership, Anchorage Opera was recognized by The Paul G. Allen Foundation as a creative and resourceful “Bright Spot” in the Pacific Northwest. In 2011, he was among 100 top executive arts leaders chosen by National Arts Strategies to participate in its Chief Executive Program, a two-year initiative designed to re-imagine what cultural institutions will be and how they can contribute to civil society.

This program is presented in partnership with:

Podcast:
Did you miss Pat’s discussion or would like to hear it again? Click here for the podcast thanks to Alaska Public Media!

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Bio:
Pat Pitney is vice chancellor for Administrative Services at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and vice president of Finance for the University of the Arctic (UArctic). The University of Alaska Fairbanks is America’s Arctic University and the UArctic is a network of universities and organizations across the eight Arctic Nations empowering people of the Circumpolar North by providing collaborative international educational and research opportunities. UArctic was started as an initiative of the Arctic Council.

Before moving to Alaska, Pitney from Billings, Montana, competed as a member of the U.S. Shooting Team winning an Olympic gold medal in women’s air rifle at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles (maiden name – Karen Pat Spurgin). Also while attending Murray State University in Kentucky 1983-1987 the team won two NCAA national championships and Pat was an All American and won two individual national titles.

Pitney moved to Fairbanks in 1987, earned an M.B.A. from UAF and has worked with the University of Alaska since 1991. She and her husband, Randy, have three adult children. This year, 2013, was a highlight as Pitney was inducted into the USA Shooting Hall of Fame and was selected to represent the United State for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games torch run to the North Pole. The North Pole torch run promoted the Olympic spirit, but also highlighted Arctic cooperation with all eight Arctic nations participating in the historic event.

Podcast:
Did you miss the panel discussion or would like to listen to it again? Click here!

Watch the film trailer by clicking here! (Tissues recommended.)

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Bios:

Shehla Anjum

Shehla Anjum, an editor and writer in Anchorage, Alaska has lived in the United States since 1968. Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, she began her life in the cold climes of South Dakota when she received a scholarship to study at Mount Marty College in Yankton. She ended up graduating with her B.S. in biology from the the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. And by 1977 was in Barrow, Alaska. She lived in Barrow for two and a half years, but her work as a liaison with oil companies, federal and state agencies for the North Slope Borough took her back there frequently. She has lived in Anchorage since 1979. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and most recently a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Brian Callahan

Brian Callahan is the Advocacy and Outreach Manager for the Global Campaign for Education-US Chapter, a coalition of more than 50 national and community-based organizations working to ensure access to quality education for all children around the world. Prior joining GCE-US in September 2010 Brian worked for the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second largest teachers’ union, where he coordinated the Education for All campaign. Brian’s advocacy experience also includes working with the Child Labor Coalition to eradicate child labor in the Uzbekistan cotton sector and in the cocoa fields of West Africa. Brian began his career as an intern for a Congresswoman from Northern California. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a degree in Political Science.

Zeynep Kilic

Zeynep Kilic grew up in Turkey and studied economics at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara. She arrived in the U.S. in her early 20s and completed her MA and PhD in sociology at the Arizona State University. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the UAA’s Sociology Department. She teaches sociology of globalization and sociology of race and ethnicity among other classes. Her dissertation and earlier research focused on immigration and cultural identity. Currently she is exploring food cultures and racialization of ethnic foods. Though her expertise is not in gender studies, she grew up in Turkey, a demographically Muslim country, and was raised in a middle class family that valued education.

Kimberly Pace

Kimberly Pace grew up in the thriving metropolis of Soldotna, Alaska. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Montana and graduate work at Miami University in Ohio, and has been teaching at UAA since 1998. Kimberly’s primary interests include Comparative Politics, International Relations and American Government. She is the Faculty Director of Model United Nations of Alaska and the Director of Women’s Studies here at UAA, and teach classes both face-to-face and online.

This program is co-sponsored by

In partnership with

Podcast:
If you missed the Dr. Butler’s presentation or would like to hear it again, check-out the podcast of the program on Alaska Public Media by clicking here.

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Bio:
Jay C. Butler, MD is Senior Director of the Division of Community Health Services at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in Anchorage. Prior to joining the Consortium in April 2010, he was Director of the H1N1 Vaccine Task Force at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, and he was Chief Medical Officer of Alaska from 2007 to 2009. Earlier assignments have included serving as Alaska State Epidemiologist, 2005-07, Director of CDC’s Arctic Investigations Program, 1998-2005, and medical epidemiologist in CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases, 1991-98.

He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Medical School, has completed clinical training at Vanderbilt and Emory Universities, and is board certified in infectious diseases, internal medical, and pediatrics. He has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific papers and medical textbook chapters on infectious diseases and emergency preparedness. His varied professional experiences include working as a physician for two months at a mission hospital in Kenya, leading the CDC field response to the initial Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome outbreak in the US in 1993, and serving as the CDC liaison to FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC during in the investigation of the anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001. He was a team co-leader during the CDC responses to the SARS outbreak of 2003, avian influenza in 2004, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. He was governor of the Alaska chapter of the American College of Physicians from 2005 to 2009 and chair of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Infectious Diseases Policy Committee 2008 to 2009.