JCUNA: Remembering Susan Boyd

We are the Johnson County affiliate of the United Nations Association - USA, a national, non-partisan, non-governmental movement advocating for the life-changing and life-saving work of the United Nations.

Board of Directors: Jerry Anthony, President; Britta Loftus, Vice President; Amy Brewster, Secretary; Meredith Gall, Treasurer; Mercedes Bern-Klug, Stefanie Bowers, Jenna Eastman, Barbara Eckstein,

Farnaz Fatahi, John W. Fuller, Wangui Gathua, Sara Haroun, Donna Hirst, Bijou Maliabo, Lucie Mordecai,

Jean Paul Mugemuzi, Stefanie Munsterman, Blake Rupe, Sanaa Sebaaly, Claudia Suazo, and Sarah Terlouw

E-Newsletter Editor, Jim Olson

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Remembering Susan Boyd

JCUNA was saddened to learn of the passing of Susan Boyd on December 9.

Susan belonged to our chapter’s founding generation, and a UNA member since the late 1950’s. Working with her husband, Willard “Sandy” Boyd, Susan served JCUNA in many ways. She and others initiated the annual house tour, initially to support World Refugee Year, and subsequently a long-running fundraiser to enable 35 Iowa City-area high school students to visit UN Headquarters each spring.

Drawing on her training as a journalist, Susan coordinated publicity for the first house tour in 1960 and persuaded the Des Moines Register and other Iowa newspapers to cover the event. At the left is Susan's copy of the program for the 1960 house tour, now in her papers housed in the Iowa Women's Archives.

Later in 1960, Susan invited her former colleague, Minneapolis journalist Carl Rowan, to speak at Iowa City’s UN Day observance.

Susan and Sandy remained committed to our mission throughout their lives, even to the present day: the Boyd family has donated a Pueblo necklace and a Greek wall hanging to our Gifts of the Nations silent auction at Night of 1000 Dinners in March. May their example continue to inspire us.

To see a 2023 video of Susan reflecting on her work with our chapter, please click here. Scroll down to the first video.

What's On the UN's Calendar in 2026?

Secretary-General Election. The UN will elect a new Secretary General to succeed Antonio Guterres in late 2026. The UN Charter states that the General Assembly will elect the UN’s chief upon a recommendation from the Security Council. Customarily, the position rotates among regional groups. This year it is the turn of Latin America, although this rotation is not binding and candidates from other regions may be considered.

The only declared candidates (so far) are women: Michelle Bachelet (Chile) and Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica).

Also in 2026:

International Years: 2026 is the International Year of the Woman Farmer, the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, and the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development.

Climate: COP 31 (November) will be hosted by Turkey with Australia leading negotiations to forge consensus on further implementation of the 2015 Paris Climate Accords.

Global Health: A second High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response hosted by the UN General Assembly hopes to receive the draft of a pandemic agreement being negotiated by the World Health Organization.

Global Goals: With 2030 on the horizon, diplomats are beginning informal discussions about post-2030 goals to succeed or update the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. The official process will launch in 2027.

U.S.-UN Relations: The United States will prioritize UN reform for efficiency, budget cuts (aiming for 15%), and streamlining operations, while also pushing for focus on conflict resolution, economic growth, and humanitarian aid, implicitly excluding efforts to deal with sustainable development, climate, human rights and other issues.