SPEAKER SERIES

Marnie Gustavson, Executive Director of PARSA, will discuss her experience working to encourage leadership and positive change in civil society in Afghanistan, and the implications on women and girls' rights in Kabul as it enters its third year under Taliban control.

When Russia initially invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, few would have anticipated the war lasting nineteen months—with no end in sight. Ukraine is now engaged in a grinding counter offensive, and its development of long-range missiles and drones is bringing the war to Russia. What have been the biggest surprises of this brutal war? What are the likely outcomes? How long might it go on? What will Putin likely do and how does the military situation play out for Russia? And what are the key challenges for the US and NATO in supporting Ukraine in the coming year? To help us better understand the dynamics at play, we’re turning again to Dr. Tom Preston, a C. O. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Washington State University. Dr. Preston did such a great job last spring in explaining President Putin’s motivation in unleashing the war, we’ve invited him back to help us parse recent developments and likely outcomes. He teaches courses on international relations, American foreign policy, U.S. national security policy, and intelligence analysis. Join us for what promises to be a timely and compelling presentation.

A conversation with Seth Weinberger, Professor of Political Science at University of Puget Sound on the U.S. policy towards defending Taiwan from a Chinese invasion has been described as one of strategic ambiguity, meaning that the U.S. has left it unclear whether and in what situations it would in fact defend Taiwan. Why would the U.S. adopt such a position? Does strategic ambiguity make war more or less likely? And what do President Biden's recent statement that the U.S. will indeed defend Taiwan mean for the U.S.-China relationship? This program was sponsored by Tacoma Creates.

Dr. Etga Ugur, an associate professor at the University of Washington/Tacoma, presents a political and historical context to the most recent episode of war and humanitarian crisis in Israel-Palestine. He discusses the roots, evolution, and political dynamics of the conflict with a focus on the roles played by key regional forces and actors in the Middle East. With an introduction by Ken Brown, a teacher at Bellarmine Preparatory Academy in Tacoma who serves as faculty advisor for the school's Model UN program. This program was presented at Bellarmine on Feb. 8, 2024 in association with the World Affairs Council of Tacoma.

The WACT Speaker Series is proud to feature a group of industry experts and scholars discussing the impact of recent events that reshaped our thinking about global supply chains. Topics will focus on the challenges and opportunities for maintaining resilience and sustainability in our regional supply chains considering the COVID-19 pandemic, governmental policies, and new technologies. Panelists will also share their insights on implications of changing market forces and the political landscape on land use, harbor maintenance, and labor market for global supply chains. Moderator: Sam Kaplan, Director of the Center of Excellence Global Trade & Supply Chain, Highline College Panelists: Deanna Keller, Commissioner, Port of Tacoma Tong Zhu, Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, Northwest Seaport Alliance Rick Miltimore, Vice President, Logistics Operations, Providence St. Joseph Health Luna Zhang, Assistant Professor of Business Analytics, University of Washington Tacoma Thank you to Tacoma Creates and Milgard School of Business, UW Tacoma for their support of our program.

Hostage diplomacy, the taking of hostages under the guise of law for use as foreign policy leverage, is on the rise globally. Countries around the world—China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela—are repeat offenders, and Western hostages are often the targets. We’ll hear from Kimberly R. Furnish, Director of American Citizen Services at the U.S. Department of State, on this disturbing geopolitical trend, and what might be done to mitigate it. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Kim Furnish is a career Foreign Service Officer currently serving as the Department of State’s Director of American Citizen Services. Kim’s prior tour was as the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Attaché at the United States Consulate General in Karachi, Pakistan. Previously she also served as Chief of American Citizen Services at Embassy Seoul, which has a consular district of more than 200,000 U.S. citizens. In Seoul, Kim served as the lead on Noncombatant Evacuation Operation issues. In 2018, Kim had the responsibility of running the U.S. Embassy team which provided services to U.S. citizens who visited Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics. She also served as the head Embassy control officer to Vice President Mike Pence in his role as the chief official to the U.S. Government’s Official Delegation to the Opening Ceremonies. Kim’s other previous tours include Melbourne, Seoul, Bogota, Curacao and in the Department in the Bureau of Consular Affairs and the Bureau of African Affairs. Kim was a runner-up for the Barbara M. Watson Award for Consular Excellence in both 2018 and 2019. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Kim worked in corporate fundraising. Kim earned a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University in her hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana and she speaks Spanish, French, and Dutch.

Africa, home to 54 countries, with the youngest demographics of any continent, and full of economic potential, is also an arena for the competiton of competence between China and the United States. China is a larger trader and investor in Africa than the U.S., which has a larger military footprint on the continent than China. China's loans to African countries have sometimes been controversial. At the same time, thousands of Chinese business people are investing and building in Africa. How do African countries view China and the U.S.? What do they want and need from them? Learn about this complicated continent and its complex interactions with China and the U.S. from William A. Campbell Sr., an economic officer with vast experience in Africa and recently the Digital Economy Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: William A. Campbell, Sr. is an Economic Officer assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, covering regional economic and political issues in Southeast and Southern Africa (covering Kenya, Djibouti, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola). Will has been with the Department of State for over twelve years, and most recently served as the Digital Economy Officer at Embassy Beijing, where he reported on developments in the PRC technology sector. Prior to that he was a Duty Officer in the White House Situation Room, providing 24-hour support for the President of the United States and National Security Council staff. He has also served in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research Affairs; at the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu, China; and in the Economic Bureau’s Office of Monetary Affairs. Moderated by: Sam Kaplan, Center of Excellence for Global Trade and Supply Chain Managemen

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Putin has more than once hinted at the use of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. As Washington-Moscow relations continue to slide, the entire architecture of bilateral agreements on nuclear limitations is eroding. What can the US government, and US citizens, and the rest of the world, do to lessen the risk of nuclear conflict in Ukraine and globally? ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Tom Countryman has served as the Board Chairman of the Arms Control Association since 2017, after retiring that year from the Senior Foreign Service after 35 years of service. At that time, he served simultaneously as acting Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, and as Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation. He has held senior diplomatic positions in every corner of the globe, returning temporarily to the Department of State in 2021-22 as a Senior Advisor and as the deputy head of the US Delegation to the 2022 Review Conference of the Nonproliferation Treaty. Mr. Countryman was born and raised in Tacoma. He is a graduate of Bellarmine Preparatory School and Washington University in St. Louis. He speaks Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, German, Italian and Greek.