HONOREE – Julia Wilson

Julia Wilson, an educator with 25 years in the profession, currently serves as the IB Coordinator at Trinity High School, where she has worked for seven years. Prior to this role, she was an IB and AP teacher and the Social Studies Department Chair at Trinity.

Julia is the sponsor of the Trinity Junior World Affairs Council, the most active JWAC in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Her JWAC hosts a weeklong Trinity Culture Week with activities for students daily.

Her dedication to education has been recognized in multiple ways: in 2013, she was awarded the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD Elementary Teacher of the Year; in 2019 she was selected as a national delegate for the Street Law Supreme Court Teacher Institute; in 2023 she was awarded the HEBISD Educational Foundation Double Grant; and in 2025 she was awarded a spot on the Council’s UAE teacher study tour. Her principal describes her as “one of the heartbeats of our campus” and “one of the most selfless humans I have ever met.”

Julia holds an M.Ed in Educational Technology and Leadership with numerous teaching certifications, serves as part of the Council’s teacher advisory and as an AP reader for US Government and Politics, and is the proud mother of two sons and an avid fan of K-dramas.

KEYNOTE – Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan is Diplomat in Residence in the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies and International Affairs at Southern Methodist University. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2001-2003. During the critical period following the attacks of 9/11 he led American efforts to maintain relations with Saudi Arabia, enlist Saudi cooperation in combating terrorism, and advance U.S. values and interests. He was a partner in the international law firm Baker Botts L.L.P. for many years and headed the firm’s Middle East practice based in Dubai until his retirement in 2014. He is Vice Chair of the Tower Center Board of Directors and a member of the Board of Governors of the Middle East Institute and the Southwestern Medical Foundation. He is also a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a past president of the Dallas Bar Association. He has been a frequent commentator with international media including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, and the New York Times. He is a contributing columnist for the Dallas Morning News. His memoir, Desert Diplomat: Inside Saudi Arabia Following 9/11, was published by Potomac Books.

About the International Educator of the Year Award

In working directly with high schools, the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth has encountered numerous educators devoted to enriching their students’ knowledge of world affairs and expanding international learning opportunities for their students. These teachers and administrators demonstrate leadership by going above and beyond their normal responsibilities.

Just as these teachers feel it is important to help their students develop a better understanding of the world, we at the Council feel it is equally important to recognize the efforts of these dedicated individuals.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Join us for a conversation with Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) who will share his perspective on today’s timeliest international topics ranging from strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party to ongoing geopolitical events in the Middle East and beyond. Congressman Moulton will also discuss his work in promoting the next generation of bipartisan congressional leadership and the importance of public service in American life.

Congressman Moulton is in his sixth term representing Massachusetts’ 6th District. Moulton served four tours as a Marine in Iraq, including working for General David Petraeus as a liaison to senior Iraqi leadership. He earned joint graduate degrees on the G.I. Bill and worked in high-speed rail before elected office. He serves on the House Armed Services; Transportation and Infrastructure; and Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Congressman Seth Moulton is a veteran, a husband, and a father proudly serving Massachusetts’ Sixth District. Seth sits on the House Armed Services; Transportation and Infrastructure; and Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party. Back home, Seth works tirelessly to deliver for the people of the North Shore.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

This is part 3 of the AI Series.

As artificial intelligence reshapes the social, legal, and ethical landscape, its impact on human rights is becoming one of the most urgent questions of our time. We will explore the evolving efforts to build meaningful guardrails – from emerging international frameworks like the Council of Europe’s new AI treaty to U.S. state-level action, with California leading the way on privacy protections.

The program will also examine the rapidly developing frontier of neurorights: the protection of brain data, mental integrity, and mental privacy in an era where AI and neurotechnology are advancing quickly. What does it take to safeguard our freedoms when the most personal data of all – our thoughts and neural signals – may be at risk?

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Jared Genser has been an international human rights lawyer for more than two decades. He is Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, outside General Counsel to the Neurorights Foundation, and a member of the Advisory Board to the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at Harvard University, where he was previously a Senior Tech Fellow. He also served as Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect to the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (2020-2025).

Referred to by the New York Times as “The Extractor” for his work freeing political prisoners worldwide, he has served as pro bono counsel to five Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, including three Laureates who won their Prize while imprisoned — Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma, 2006-2010), Liu Xiaobo (China, 2010-2017), and Ales Bialiatski (Belarus, 2023-Present) — as well as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Elie Wiesel.

Giulia Neaher is a Research Analyst with the Strategic Foresight Hub at the Stimson Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank that works on issues of security, peace, and prosperity. She leads projects on AI policy and the sociopolitical impacts of emerging technologies. Her research spans responsible AI efforts in the Global South, ethical AI governance, open-source software security, and technical standards for AI and related technologies.

Prior to joining Stimson, Giulia served as Assistant Director at the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center, where she led programming and authored research on responsible AI, international standards, and the geopolitics of technology. She also worked as a Research Associate at the Center for AI & Digital Policy, tracking U.S. AI policy developments and advocating for responsible AI practices.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Join us for an evening that looks beyond breaking news and political narratives to the people whose lives illuminate global change. Pulitzer Prize–winning author and longtime New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright has spent his career uncovering the human stories at the center of world events – from communities transformed by terrorism and authoritarianism to individuals navigating the cultural and political shifts across the Middle East. His reporting has helped define how we understand not just what is happening, but who is affected and why it matters.

Wright will explore the themes that animate his work: the tension between power and truth, the fragility of democratic institutions, and the deeply personal experiences that reveal the stakes of global affairs. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground reporting and his acclaimed body of work, he will offer an intimate look at the forces shaping today’s world and the lives caught within them.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Lawrence Wright is a staff writer for The New Yorker, a playwright, a screenwriter, and the author of ten books of nonfiction, including The Looming Tower, Going Clear, and God Save Texas, and one previous novel, God’s Favorite. His books have received many honors, including a Pulitzer Prize for The Looming Tower. He and his wife are longtime residents of Austin, Texas.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Jess Koloini is the President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

When an American is taken hostage abroad, the crisis doesn’t end at the border – it ripples through families, institutions, and governments for months or years. Join us to explore how these cases unfold and how the U.S. government works to bring Americans home.

Ambassador Roger D. Carstens, former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, will draw on firsthand experience from some of the most high-profile hostage cases of recent years. He’ll shed light on how the U.S. government approaches hostage cases, what families experience behind the scenes, and what communities can learn from these crises.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ambassador Roger D. Carstens served as the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 2020 to 2025. During his tenure, he orchestrated and led negotiations with the Taliban, Syria’s Assad Regime, Venezuela’s Maduro government, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Belarus, and Foreign Terrorist Organizations such as Afghanistan’s Haqqani Network, Yemen’s Houthis, and Mali’s JNIM, returning over 65 American hostages and wrongful detainees during the Trump and Biden Administrations. He also prioritized supporting the families of those detained, partnering with them and keeping them informed of the work being done to bring their loved ones home.

José A. Freig is Vice President of International and Inflight Dining Operations for American Airlines. He oversees American’s Airport Operations in more than 120 international destinations as well as Business Partner Operations and the delivery and performance of Inflight Dining on more than 6,200 daily departures from more than 125 catering locations – together focused on providing an exceptional customer experience.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Part 1 of 4 in the 2026 International Perspectives Series.

Once overshadowed by U.S. strategic focus on Europe and Asia, Latin America is now center stage in debates over American influence, economic opportunity, and supply-chain resilience. Join us to examine how recent developments have brought renewed attention to Latin America’s political, economic, and security significance.

We’ll explore key issues shaping today’s policy landscape, including U.S. actions toward Venezuela, the strategic importance of critical minerals across the region, and how longstanding ideas about hemispheric security continue to influence U.S. decision-making.

This conversation will offer perspective on where U.S.–Latin America relations stand now, what challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and why the Western Hemisphere continues to matter for U.S. priorities and global stability.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Dr. Benjamin N. Gedan is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Stimson Center Latin America program. He is an Adjunct Lecturer and Foreign Policy Fellow at the Latin America Studies Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and the former Director of Latin America Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Previously, he served as the South America Director on the National Security Council staff at the White House, managed Honduras and Argentina at the U.S. Department of State and had responsibility for Central America and the Caribbean as an international economist at the U.S. Treasury Department.

Kevin O’Reilly assumed his duties as Chief of Mission at U.S. Embassy Managua on June 26, 2023. He previously served as the U.S. National Coordinator for the 2023 Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver, Colorado, and for the 2022 Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California. From 2018 to 2022 he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South America and Western Hemisphere Economic Policy.

A career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service, he has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Panama City, Panama, and as the embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires from June 2015 to February 2016; Director of the Office of Mexican Affairs in Washington, DC; and Senior Director for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq. Mr. O’Reilly also served as the Director for Latin American Affairs in the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of International Affairs and later as the White House’s National Security Council Director for North American Affairs. He was a Pearson Fellow in the Office of Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and served in the Pentagon in the Joint Staff’s Western European and NATO Affairs Division.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Marc Stanley most recently served as the United States Ambassador to Argentina from 2021 to 2025. He is an American trial lawyer, political activist, Jewish community leader, and philanthropist.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

Join us for breakfast and a timely and wide-ranging conversation with Glen Linder, Assistant Deputy Minister of Global Affairs Canada, as we explore the evolving relationship between the United States and its closest neighbor. Against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting global landscape, this discussion will address current issues shaping Canada’s role on the world stage, including trade dynamics, cross-border relations, and the broader economic and strategic ties that bind our two countries. From regional cooperation to global challenges, this program offers an opportunity to gain insight into the priorities, perspectives, and partnerships that continue to define the U.S.–Canada relationship.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

A lawyer by training, Glen Linder began his public service career as a Foreign Service officer. Over his career, he has worked at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Department of Justice, Public Safety Canada, and Employment and Social Development Canada. Early in his career, he completed a posting to the Canadian Embassy in Guatemala. Glen returned to Global Affairs Canada in 2023, where he served as Director General for North America and as Director General of the Sanctions Bureau. He was Assistant Deputy Minister for the Americas from July 2023 to September 2024, and again since August 2025.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

As the Vice President of Lockheed Martin International Government Affairs, Nancy Ziuzin Schlegel leads the corporation’s diplomatic and senior executive customer engagements for the company’s growing international business portfolio. Nancy has over 30 years of experience as an industry leader in the international trade, global defense, and aerospace sectors, with expertise in political advocacy, exports, and trade policy.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate

As artificial intelligence becomes embedded in global infrastructure, questions of data ownership, privacy, and control are emerging as defining issues of the 21st century. In this second program of our AI Series, we turn our focus to the new information order taking shape in a hyperconnected world.

How will governments balance national security with individual rights? What responsibilities do technology companies bear as the stewards of unprecedented amounts of personal data? And how can democracies safeguard transparency and trust in an era where information can be both weapon and commodity?

Join us for a conversation on how innovation, regulation, and ethical governance are reshaping the global contest over information – and the future of digital freedom.

Join us for an insightful conversation with Beth Sanner, former Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Mission Integration and longtime CIA analyst, as she reflects on the national security landscape one year into the second Trump administration.

Drawing on her decades of experience briefing presidents and shaping intelligence assessments, Sanner will offer a candid, nonpartisan look at how U.S. foreign policy, intelligence priorities, and global alliances have evolved over the past year – and what challenges lie ahead.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Beth Sanner is the former Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Presidential Daily Briefer, and CNN National Security Contributor. Currently, she is a trusted commentator, lecturer, and strategist for businesses

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Jess Koloini is the President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: www.dfwworld.org/donate

As Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv became a major target at the outset of the Russian invasion in 2022. As of April 2024, reports suggest that almost a quarter of the city has been damaged or destroyed. For the duration of the war, Mayor Ihor Terekhov has led his city through heavy fighting, shelling and missile strikes, and repeated attempts at advancement by Russian troops. For its people’s bravery in repelling Russian forces, the city was designated a Hero City of Ukraine by the Ukrainian government in 2022. The Council welcomes Mayor Terekhov to share his city’s story of resistance.

Members with questions should reach out to Jenny Villatoro at [email protected].

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Ihor Terekhov has served as the mayor of Kharkiv in Ukraine since November 2021. In 2007, he was appointed the Deputy Head Governor of Kharkiv Oblast by Arsen Avakov. He became deputy mayor of Kharkiv in 2010 and first deputy mayor in 2015. He was granted the title of Honored Economist of Ukraine. Terekhov graduated from the Kharkiv Engineering and Construction Institute in 1990 and worked as a research intern for the institute. He then worked in the private sector from 1994 to 1997 before joining the economic department of the Kharkiv City Council as a civil servant in 1999. He graduated in 2006 from the National Academy for Public Administration.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Krys Boyd is host and managing editor of Think from KERA in Dallas – a position she’s held since 2006. To date, the national program can be heard on more than 200 stations across the country. A graduate of Texas Christian University’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Krys began her career as a journalist along the U.S./Mexico border and returned to North Texas in 1999 to serve as News Director for Broadcast.com, and later Senior Producer of Broadcast News at Yahoo. Krys joined KERA in 2001, hosting the nightly radio talk show Conversations. Later, she wrote and produced documentary and educational television programs, including the critically-acclaimed, nationally broadcast JFK: Breaking the News in 2003, and served as producer and co-host of the Emmy Award-winning public affairs program On The Record. She also hosted a weekly television version of Think from 2007-2011. Think has been honored with numerous local, state, and national awards. Krys and her husband Matt live in Dallas and have four children.

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Do you believe in the importance of international education and connections? The nonprofit World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth is supported by gifts from people like you, who share our passion for engaging in dialogue on global affairs and building bridges of understanding. While the Council is not currently charging admission for virtual events, we ask you to please consider making a one-time or recurring gift to help us keep the conversation going through informative public programs and targeted events for students and teachers.

Donate: https://www.dfwworld.org/donate