TNWAC This Week
May 4, 2021
Dear Members and Friends:
We’re hoping you are well and that the ready availability of Covid-19 vaccinations has eased your worries some. Like many others we have always looked forward to the next travel adventures in the USA and abroad. Next week we’ll talk more about the joys of travel, the post-pandemic travel situation, and building international bridges through travel. For now, we’ll share with you that travel writer, impresario and entrepreneur Rick Steves will be with us on June 15 for our Global Dialogue conversation. You can find the link below to register now.
You should have seen some of the reporting on President Biden’s “First 100 Days.” Since FDR that window has been a barometer for expectations of incoming Administrations. We were interested in Council on Foreign Relations President, Richard Haass’ analysis of Biden’s First 100 Days. Speaking of Presidents and foreign policy we are looking forward to our June 1st conversation with Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall who was the Chief of Protocol of the United States with not only a front row seat in diplomacy at the highest level but a hand in its orchestration. Join us for that conversation. Details below.
This week we are also looking forward to the annual “Big Payback,” a 24-hour window organized by the Community Foundation of Tennessee to uplift the nonprofits, like TNWAC, who have always been challenged in raising funds for sustainment. This past year has been especially challenging. And as the CFMT says, “For so many of us the year 2020 signified a new decade to take on the world’s problems with full-force and a clear vision.” We invite you to pause on WEDNESDAY EVENING AND THURSDAY to contribute to TNWAC so we can continue to do what we do — bring the world to Tennessee. Better yet, we invite you to start your own TNWAC Fundraiser to encourage your friends and colleagues to give too. [Link]
Wishes for a safe and prosperous week ahead.
Sincerely,
Patrick W. Ryan
Founding President, TNWAC
MARK THE CALENDAR
- Global Dialogue | Russia and Iran with Prof. Mark Katz | May 4
- Embassy Row Live! with Ambassador of Armenia | May 5
- Great Decisions Seminar: Global Supply Chains and National Security | May 6
- Global Nashville with Karl Dean: Conversations with Community Leaders | May 11 | TBD
- Global Dialogue | Power of Diplomacy with former White House Chief of Protocol Amb Capricia Penavic Marshall and Kelly O’Connor
- Global Dialogue | On Travel with Rick Steves | Jun 15
- National Conference of the World Affairs Councils of America | Nov 17-19
GREAT POWER COMPETITION: RUSSIA AND IRAN WITH PROF MARK KATZ
The Middle East has been the most contentious region of the world for U.S. foreign policy makers for decades and the current level of political and military engagement shows no sign of easy solutions to the challenges America faces. Join TNWAC President in a conversation with Dr. Mark Katz, Professor of Political Science at the George Mason University Scar School. You’ll recall Professor Katz from his in-person and virtual programs with TNWAC helping us understand some of these thorny issues in the Gulf region. TUESDAY, MAY 4 AT 7PM CT. Details/Registration.
THE POWER OF DIPLOMACY WITH AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL
On JUNE 1 AT 7PM we’ll be talking about diplomacy. From 2009 to 2013, Capricia Penavic Marshall was Chief of Protocol of the United States, bearing the rank of Ambassador and setting the stage for diplomacy at the highest levels. In this capacity, she worked to leverage U.S. relationships with foreign governments developing strategies to transform global engagement. Ms. Marshall oversaw six State and Official Visits, countless Working Visits, the G20, Nuclear Security, APEC, G8, NATO and Sunnylands Summits, and the protocol arrangements during travel with the President and Secretaries of State to forty-two countries. Details/Registration.
SCRATCH YOUR TRAVEL ITCH WITH A CONVERSATION WITH RICK STEVES
Rick Steves turned backpacking across Europe as a young man into a travel industry. Books, tours, television programs, web specials, merchandise — if it has anything to do with travel to Europe, Rick Steves name comes to the top of the list. We’ll be talking with Rick on JUNE 15TH AT 7PM CT about his experiences in international travel, what we should expect in the post-pandemic era and the ability of travel to remove barriers and build bridges. Small fee for non-members. Free for new and existing paid members. Details/Registration.
THE BIG PAYBACK – WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 5TH AND THURSDAY, MAY 6TH
It is 24 hours to celebrate the spirit of giving and collaboration, and ultimately, the extraordinary work that nonprofits do in Middle Tennessee. Let’s come together online at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5 through 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 6 and give to help make Middle Tennessee a place we’re proud to call home. Because giving always matters. We invite you to pause on WEDNESDAY EVENING AND THURSDAY to contribute to TNWAC so we can continue to do what we do — bring the world to Tennessee. Better yet, we invite you to start your own TNWAC Fundraiser to encourage your friends and colleagues to give too. [Link]
DON’T MISS MAKING A GREAT DECISION
Every Friday for eight weeks. The Tennessee World Affairs Council has been invited to offer enrollment in the Great Decisions discussion seminar series organized by our friends in Delaware, Ohio at Ohio Wesleyan University and Mr. Skip Cornett. We thank them for sharing this opportunity to learn more about critical global issues in these seminars being led by numerous distinguished speakers. Great Decisions is an eight-part global issues conversation developed by the Foreign Policy Association in New York, a members of the World Affairs Councils of America network, a sister council to TNWAC. The seminars are supplemented by an excellent guide book offered by FPA.org Check our calendar for details/registration.
YOU SHOULD SPONSOR THESE PROGRAMS
We invite businesses, organizations and individuals to sponsor these events. It is through your support that we are able to bring quality global affairs programs to the community. Your sponsorship also highlights your commitment to education and global affairs awareness in the community. For information about sponsoring other programs and series of events contact Patrick Ryan, TNWAC President @ 931-261-2353, [email protected]
THIS WEEK AROUND THE NETWORK OF WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCILS


- WorldBoston hosts Catherine Mann, Global Chief Economist, Citibank, for “The End of Globalization.”
- World Affairs Council of Atlanta hosts Bea Perez, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Communications at Coca-Cola, for “Coca-Cola Invests in Female Entrepreneurs.”
- Tennessee World Affairs Council hosts professor Mark Katz, George Mason University, for “Global Dialogue | Russia & Iran.”
- World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts hosts Peter Abbott, British Consul General to New England, for “UK CG Peter Abbott on Global Britain and the UK-U.S. Special Relationship.”
- World Affairs Council of Maine hosts professor Charles Norchi, University of Maine, for “The Coldest War: Toward a Return to Great Power Competition in the Arctic?”
- Cleveland Council on World Affairs hosts Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, and Robert S. Ford, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, for “10 Years of War in Syria.”
- World Affairs Council of Western Michigan hosts Joseph Comartin, Consulate General of Canada to Detroit, and Maryscott Greenwood, CEO of the Canadian American Business Council, for “Canada, U.S., and Michigan: Mapping the Business Landscape.”
- Utah Council of Citizen Diplomacy hosts Charles Person, one of two living Freedom Riders, and author Richard Rooker to discuss his book Buses Are a Comin’: A Freedom Rider’s Journey.
- World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Susannah Jacob, former speechwriter to President Barack Obama, to discuss her book The Secret Life of the White House.
- Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs hosts Charles Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, for “Future U.S. Global Engagement, Where, When, and Why?”
- World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Andrea Kendall-Taylor, fmr. Deputy National Intelligence Officer at the NIC & CIA senior analyst, for “Russia & Putin’s Threat to the Global Order & How the West Can Push Back.”
- World Affairs Council of Connecticut hosts Roy Kamphausen, President of the National Bureau of Asian Research, for “China and the U.S. Across Strategic Domains.”
- Columbia World Affairs Council hosts Marvin Kalb, a non-resident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings, to discuss his book Assignment Russia: Becoming a Foreign Correspondent in the Crucible of the Cold War.
- World Affairs Council of Seattle hosts author Nicole Perlroth to discuss her book This is How They Tell Me the World Ends.
- Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts a panel of experts for “A Conversation with Robert Reffkin: A Special Mother’s Day Tribute to Mothers and Mentors.”
- World Affairs (Northern California) hosts a panel of experts for “Should the U.S. Vaccinate Mexico?”
- Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy hosts Judith Goldstein, Founder & CEO of Humanity in Action, for “Racism & the Rise of Nationalism.”
- International Relations Council (Kansas City) hosts Connie Belciug, Executive Director of Children’s Emergency Relief International (CERI), for “Global Child Protection.”
- Tennessee World Affairs Council hosts professor Ji Young Choi, Ohio Wesleyan University, for “Global Supply Chains and National Security.”
- Santa Fe Council on International Relations hosts Todd Greentree, fmr. U.S. Foreign Service Officer, and Vicki Huddleston, fmr. Ambassador to Mail and Madagascar, for “Afghanistan: Forever War?”
- Los Angeles World Affairs Council & Town Hall hosts Leo Wolinsky, Director of CalMatters, and Ron Brownstein, Senior Editor of The Atlantic, to discuss Brownstein’s new book Rock Me on the Water.
- World Affairs Council of Orange Country hosts Jack Devine, fmr. Deputy Director of the CIA’s operations outside the U.S., and Jonathan Ward, internationally recognized expert on Chinese global strategy, for “Russia and China: Preparing America for Our Greatest Strategic Challenge.”
- World Affairs Council of St. Louis hosts George Zsidisin, Director of the Supply Chain Risk and Resilience Research Institute, University of Missouri—St. Louis, for “Global Supply Chains and National Security.”
- World Affairs Council of Charlotte hosts Rodney Murray, Managing Principal at DHG, and Tom Tollerton, Managing Director at DHG, for “Protecting Your Company and Yourself Against Global Cyber Attacks.”
- World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth hosts Michael Pompeo, 70th U.S. Secretary of State, for “Members Only Livestream.”
- Alaska World Affairs Council hosts Alonzo Fulgham, Executive Vice President Defense/Homeland for VIATEQ Corporation of McLean, for “The Value of Water: Investing in Water Infrastructure for Climate Adaption.”
- World Affairs Council of Hilton Head hosts Mathew J. Burrows, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, for “Russia and China: Benign Friendship or Malignant Gamechanger?”
- World Affairs Council of Greater Houston hosts Bruce Fulin, Vice President of Crude Oil Business Development at Argus Media, for “Houston’s Vital Role in the Global Commodities World.”
- Global Minnesota hosts “Urban Expedition Virtual: Laos.”
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH
THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.
THE VISION of the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.