Last week, WACA announced the appointment of Glenn M. Creamer as Chairman of the WACA Board of Directors. Creamer will serve with Ambassador Roman Popadiuk, who joined as WACA Board Chairman in 2015. To ensure a smooth transition during the extraordinary challenges of the pandemic, the two will co-chair the Board until November, at which time Creamer will become sole Chairman.

“It has been a great honor to chair the national Board of Directors of WACA,” said Popadiuk. “I am proud of our accomplishments over the past five years in raising the profile of our DC headquarters and the nationwide Council network. We celebrated the centennial of our founding organization in 2018, and WACA this year achieved the strongest financial position in its history. Glenn’s leadership is precisely what WACA needs to sustain the network and advance WACA’s educational mission at a critical time.”

Creamer brings a wealth of international business and philanthropic experience to WACA. As a co-founder and Senior Managing Director of Providence Equity Partners, Creamer helped build a global private equity firm with offices, investments, and investors around the world. After a 31-year career in international private equity, he became a Senior Advisor to Providence Equity in 2019.

Click here to read the full press release.

WACA will host a Zoom meeting for all Council executives, Academic WorldQuest administrators, and other programming staff members to discuss the upcoming AWQ 2020-2021 season. The conversation will take place Thursday, August 13, at 2:00 PM ET and will be driven by a few main topics:

WACA encourages all Councils to host a local Academic WorldQuest program for high school students in your area. Please read WACA's 2021 Operations Paper to learn more about launching an AWQ competition. Additionally, please use these materials to promote the AWQ program to teachers, students, and sponsors for the 2020-2021 AWQ season: Teacher's Guide and AWQ Flyer. There is no minimum or maximum number of teams that are required for local AWQ competitions, and WACA encourages Councils to engage as many regional high schools as possible.

AWQ is WACA's flagship youth education program, now in its 19th year. WACA has expanded the program to some 50 Councils that host local AWQ competitions annually that engage nearly 5,000 high school students nationwide. The program culminates in the Carlos and Malú Alvarez Academic WorldQuest National Competition each spring in Washington, DC (a virtual National Competition is being considered for 2021). Too many American students today fall behind their counterparts from other countries in their knowledge and understanding of world history, geography, and current international events. The mission of Academic WorldQuest is to close the gap. Learn more here.

CNN Chief Legal Analyst

Chancellor Professor

University of California, Berkeley

SK-Korea Foundation Chair, Brookings

Founder

Bio-Microbics

Save the Date! WACA's C-Suite Virtual Forum - September 29-October 1

WACA will host an all-virtual conference September 29-October 1, titled "Conversations with the C-SUITE: Powering Global Recovery and Change." Mark your calendars! Speakers TBA soon.

The World Affairs Council Upstate, also known as Upstate International in Greenville, South Carolina, has been busy transitioning its regular programs to online live events. Everything from its International Women's Group, International Book Group, Cultural Sensations Cooking series, Relocation Services, and Language School have transitioned, allowing the connections, friendships, and learning to continue. (Click here for the schedule of foreign language classes being offered this fall). In addition, the popular America and the World lunch & learn series continues on August 18 with the first in a series on supply chain issues and solutions with a discussion featuring Ambassador Robert Blake on the Dynamics of Today's Supply Chain with Southeast Asia. Register here.

Upstate International is looking forward to 2021 and resuming the unique events that set this Council apart, such as its Annual International Month of March with 100s of events and partnerships, the International Murder Mystery Night kickoff and fundraiser, the free 3-part Salsa at Sunset street dance series with its lesson and dancing under the stars with a live Latin band on a Main Street plaza, the 5-course French Beaujolais Nouveau dinner, the annual Gluhwein party, and more. With a staff of only 4, Upstate International is a small organization that has a big impact on the Upstate of South Carolina, bringing the whole world home. Click here to learn more.

WACA partner, the American Academy of Diplomacy (AAD) invites you to nominate qualified individuals (or groups of individuals) for consideration for the 2020 Arthur Ross Award for Distinguished Reporting and Analysis on Foreign Affairs.

The awards, endowed by and given in honor of the late Arthur Ross, seek to recognize individuals or groups of individuals (e.g., a news bureau) whose reporting and analysis on diplomacy and foreign affairs is making a singular contribution to public understanding of the critical role played by diplomacy in the furtherance of America’s foreign policy interests. AAD gives one award to a journalist/reporter and another to a commentator/columnist. Each of the two awards includes a cash prize of $5,000 and is customarily presented at AAD’s Annual Awards Luncheon ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the U.S. Department of State in the late fall/early winter.

For additional details about the award, prior recipients, eligibility criteria, and nomination instructions, please visit AAD's website and see the Nomination Form. Please contact AAD Program Director Maria Reissaus at [email protected] with any additional questions.

Travel Thursdays on Facebook Live

On Thursday, July 30, the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg and the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia launched a monthly series called Travel Thursdays during which, a travel topic or destination is featured

The series kicked off with Joyce Davis, President and CEO of WAC of Harrisburg; Bill Clifford, President and CEO of WACA; and Shoshana Altrichter, Vice President of Travel at WAC of Philadelphia, sharing their stories and adventures of World Affairs Council tours. Watch the recording!

Be sure to like the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg on Facebook so you don’t miss upcoming events!

World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh -- Development Officer

WAC Pittsburgh seeks a passionate and qualified individual to lead its development initiatives, seeking out meaningful partnerships from across sectors to support revenue generation and budget growth. Reporting directly to the President and CEO, the position’s primary responsibility is to support fundraising efforts, including individual giving, corporate sponsorships, foundation relations and grant writing, government funding, and special events. Apply here.

WACA's KNOW NOW conference call series features global thought leaders, as well as local authorities in government, business, academia, and cultural fields. We invite Councils to submit KNOW NOW speaker suggestions and moderate these calls!  If a Council leader moderates a KNOW NOW call in 2020, their Council will receive a $100 rebate back on Council Dues. *Please note that this rebate offer only applies to Councils who are current on their 2020 Dues.

View our KNOW NOW conference call podcast archives here!

World Affairs Council of Philadelphia hosts The Honorable William Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Tom Collina, Director of Policy at Ploughshares Fund, to discuss their book, The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump.

World Affairs Council of Connecticut hosts Steven Cook, Director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations, for “The Beirut Explosion and Lebanon’s Crisis.”

World Affairs Council of Albuquerque hosts Antonio Soave, President of Gulf Global Synergies, for “Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile and Its Impact Upon Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.”

World Affairs Council of Charleston hosts Pamela Aall, Senior Advisor at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and Professor Chester Crocker, Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, for “Is Peace and Conflict Diplomacy Broken?"

World Affairs Council of San Antonio hosts Jeannot Kekedjian for "From the Field: Lebanon."

World Affairs Council of South Texas hosts Larry McKinney, Senior Executive Director of the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University, for “A View from the Water: Coastal Bend Ecosystem and Its Future.”

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts a panel of experts for “Disruption, Transformation, and Innovation in Higher Education.”

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and World Affairs (Northern California) host Jeffrey Toobin, CNN Chief Legal Analyst, to discuss his book, True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump.

World Affairs Council of Connecticut hosts Monica Jacobsen, Attorney Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, for “Sanctioning Global Human Rights Abusers.”

World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Chancellor’s Professor Robert Reich, University of California, Berkeley, for “Fixing the Systems of American Politics and Power.”

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Victoria Tin-bor Hui, Faculty Fellow at the University of Notre Dame, for “Hong Kong and the Future of Promised Autonomy.”

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts lecturer Laura Herlihy, University of Kansas, for “Mískitu.”

World Affairs Council of New Orleans hosts a panel of experts for “Great Decisions: Disinformation During Pandemic.”

Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts Stephen Younger, former Director of the Sandia National Laboratories, for “The Story of the U.S.S. Nevada: Once Unsinkable, Now Found.”

World Affairs Council of Orange County and World Affairs Council of Inland Southern California host Jung Pak, SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies at the Brookings Institution, for “Becoming Kim Jong-un: Insights Into North Korea’s Dangerous and Enigmatic Dictator.”

Global Minnesota hosts Jackson George, Liberian Honorary Consul in Minnesota, for “Liberia-Minnesota Connections.”

Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts Professor Dan Schnur, University of Southern California, for “Politics in the Time of Coronavirus.”

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Kirk Doan, Attorney at Stinson, LLC, for “International Pharmaceutical Market.”

Vermont Council on World Affairs hosts a panel of experts for “Tensions in the Taiwan Strait.”

World Affairs (Northern California) hosts a panel of experts for “COVID-19 and Climate Change: Imagining a New Normal.”

International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Bob Rebori, Founder of Bio-Microbics, for “Global Water Solutions.”

World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts a panel of experts for “Third Rail: Is the Electoral College Relevant or a Relic.”

World Affairs Council of Austin, World Affairs Council of San Antonio, and World Affairs Council of South Texas host The Honorable William Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Tom Collina, Director of Policy at Ploughshares Fund, to discuss their book, The Button: The New Nuclear Arms Race and Presidential Power from Truman to Trump.

World Affairs Council of Monterey Bay hosts Assistant Professor Emily Meierding, Naval Postgraduate School, for “The Pandemic and the Price War: Oil During COVID-19.”

We have recently debuted WACA's Speaker Database 2.0. In this new iteration, we have expanded our list of speakers and made it easier than ever for you, as Council staff and board members, to engage with it. We want your speakers! Please submit your speakers through the "Submit Your Speakers" button on our website.

You need to have an account through our website in order to view and interact with the database and submit your speakers. To check if you have an account, please visit your Council Member page on the WACA website and see if you are listed as a staff or board member. If you are not, you will not be able to interact with the database yet.

If you do not have an account or are having issues accessing the website and/or the Speaker Database, please email Rachel Pastor.

The World Affairs Councils of America is an independent, nonpartisan organization dedicated to engaging the public and leading global voices to better understand the world, America’s international role, and the policy choices that impact our daily lives and our future.

Your generous contributions will strengthen our capacity to support the World Affairs Council Network through educational and civic initiatives - any amount helps.

WACA is busy preparing a number of additional resources for the Members-Only section! WACA strives to provide Councils with easy access to tools, guidelines, events, and more that add value to our Members both personally and professionally, to our Councils' overall operations, and to the Network as a whole. This is a top priority for the National Office, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. That is why we've added two resource sections dedicated to COVID-19 related information and digital programming available to the public by Councils.

The goal is to make the Members-Only section a one-stop shop for all Council needs. However, these sections are only as good as the information contained within, so we are calling on all Councils to please submit any documentation per the categories below, or any other information helpful to the Network.

The Members-Only section is a private benefit for our Council Members. Please contact Rachel Pastor at [email protected] for login details and account creation.

*To view Council Member Resources on the WACA website, you must be a Council leader, staff, or board member and have an account

Please contact Rachel Pastor at [email protected] if you don't have an account.