GNKD4 | Global Nashville with Karl Dean focuses on the elements of Nashville that make it a global place. Today's episode is a roundtable on current issues with former Mayor Karl Dean talking with TNWAC Board Chair Jim Shepherd, Ambassador Dick Bowers and co-host TNWAC President Pat Ryan.

The roundtable started with tales of the North Atlantic with Mayor Dean recounting his summer sailing vacation in the Svalbard archipelago in the far North Atlantic, and the story of his "abandoning ship" and subsequent helicopter rescue. He also talked about Svalbard, the Arctic and climate change.

The other topics tackled by today's roundtable were the new leadership in Nashville with the election of Mayor Cooper; international business in Nashville; the city as an international "destination" including the work of Sister Cities of Nashville; developments with New Americans including refugee resettlement and TIRRC, and cultural events in the city.

Karl Dean -- former Mayor of Nashville

Jim Shepherd -- Chairman, TNWAC Board; former President of Carlex Glass and chairman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce International Business Council

Amb Dick Bowers -- U.S. Foreign Service (Ret), career diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia

Pat Ryan -- LCDR, USN (Ret) President Tennessee World Affairs Council, Executive Producer Global Tennessee Podcast service

Resources:

Nashville Chamber International Business Council

https://www.nashvillechamber.com/economic-development/international-business/international-business-council

New Americans Advisory Council

https://www.nashville.gov/Mayors-Office/Diversity-and-Inclusion/New-Americans/New-Americans-Advisory-Council.aspx

World Population Review | Nashville

Tennessee Ranke #1 in Business Climate

https://businessfacilities.com/2019/07/business-facilities-15th-annual-rankings-state-rankings-report/

http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/nashville-population/

Sister Cities of Nashville

https://www.scnashville.org

Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition

https://www.tnimmigrant.org

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.

Learn more about the Council and find how you can join, donate and volunteer at: www.TNWAC.org —

Join / Donate / Volunteer

Ambassador Christopher R. Hill:

*Chief Advisor to the Chancellor for Global Engagement, University of Denver

*Dean, Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

*Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

*Ambassador to the Republic of Korea

*Head, U.S. Delegation to Six Party Talks on North Korean Nuclear Weapons

*U.S. Ambassador to Poland

*U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia

*Special Envoy to Kosovo

Ambassador Christopher Hill is one of America’s most distinguished ambassadors who—in his career of service to his country—was sent to some of the most dangerous outposts of American diplomacy. From the wars in the Balkans to the brutality of North Korea to the endless war in Iraq, he will offer insight about the real life of an American diplomat negotiating with difficult partners. Based on his experiences, Ambassador Hill lays out a vision for the role of diplomacy in addressing national crises, and America’s role in global politics.

Biography:

ABOUT AMBASSADOR HILL

Christopher R. Hill served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea among other significant diplomatic posts as a career member of the Foreign Service.

Ambassador Hill is currently the chief advisor to the chancellor for global engagement and professor of the practice in diplomacy at the University of Denver.

Prior to this position, he was the dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University, a position he held from September 2010 to December 2017.

On February 14, 2005, he was named as the head of the U.S. delegation to the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Previously he has served as U.S. ambassador to Poland (2000-04), ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia (1996-99) and special envoy to Kosovo (1998-99). He also served as special assistant to the president and senior director for southeast European affairs in the National Security Council.

Earlier in his Foreign Service career, Ambassador Hill served tours in Belgrade, Warsaw, Seoul, and Tirana, and on the Department of State’s Policy Planning staff and in the department’s Operation Center. While on a fellowship with the American Political Science Association he served as staff member for Congressman Stephen Solarz working on Eastern European issues. He also served as the Department of State’s senior country officer for Poland. Ambassador Hill received the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award for his contributions as a member of the U.S. negotiating team in the Bosnia peace settlement, and was a recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work on the Kosovo crisis. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Hill served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon.

Ambassador Hill graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, with a BA in economics. He received a master’s degree from the Naval War College in 1994. He speaks Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian.

Ambassador Hill is author of Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir, a monthly columnist for Project Syndicate, and a highly sought public speaker and voice in the media on international affairs.

Episode 28 of "Global Tennessee" opens our conversations with candidates for Federal office in 2020. We talked with Mr. James Mackler, candidate for U.S. Senate and the Democrat nomination.

Mr. Mackler's web site: https://www.jamesmackler.com

"Global Tennessee" host Patrick Ryan talked with Mr. Mackler about his background, education, military service and family. Then they discussed the role of the U.S. Senate in foreign policy -- war powers, advise and consent, military appropriations.

Then they discussed positions and perspectives on global issues and challenges including: relations with Russia, China and international institutions such as the United Nations, NATO, etc.; existential threats - global nuclear weapons proliferation, the new nuclear arms race, US nuclear modernization plans, the climate threat; regional issues across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South America and Europe; international commerce - trade, tariffs, trade wars; and international alliances.

The conversation ended with the question: Where do you see America in the world?

***The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonpartisan educational charity but strives to bring speakers with diverse views on global affairs to the community.

The World Affairs Council does not endorse any candidate or party and invites all serious candidates for Federal office to participate in our "Global Tennessee" Podcast.

Executive Producer: Patrick Ryan

Technical Director: Bill Ryan

Voice of Global Tennessee: Ben Olson

Tick Tock... The "Doomsday Clock" is set at two minutes to midnight, a "new abnormal" according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. You should understand the fundamentals of global nuclear proliferation and the expansion and modernization being undertaken by the major nuclear powers.

Dr. Susan Haynes talked with the "Tick Tock Project" of our "Global Tennessee" Podcast about nuclear weapons strategies and concepts as well as a review of Chinese and Russian nuclear forces. Haynes also discussed the United States nuclear forces and modernization and the impact of strategic missile defenses on proliferation.

Dr. Susan Haynes is a Professor of Political Science, Lipscomb University and author of "Chinese Nuclear Proliferation: How Global Politics is Transforming China's Weapons Buildup and Modernization."

Join us for this Podcast, the second Podcast episode in our "Tick Tock Project" -- a six month deep dive at the Tennessee World Affairs Council into the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons, made even more critical with the current proliferation, expansion and modernization. Check the TNWAC.org/calendar for other programs related to our examination of global nuclear issues. As always send feedback and suggestions to [email protected].

Thank you.

Joe Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund talked with TNWAC's President Patrick Ryan for an edition of "Know Now" presented by the World Affairs Councils of America.

There is a high risk that someone will use, by accident or design, one or more of the 17,000 nuclear weapons in the world today. Many thought such threats ended with the Cold War, but they remain an ongoing nightmare. Author of the books Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late, Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons and Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats, Joe Cirincione is one of the leading experts in the country on U.S. nuclear weapons. Join Cirincione as he discusses the major nuclear weapons threats the world faces today and the debate over the best policies to counter them with Tennessee WAC's Patrick Ryan.

Former Homeland Security Secretary and current University of California President Janet Napolitano talked with Patrick Ryan at "Global Tennessee" about her new book, "How Safe Are We: Homeland Security Since 9/11?" She talked about the mission of DHS, what DHS got right, where DHS needs to improve and homeland security in the current era. Napolitano described some of the challenges she faced as Homeland Security Secretary: aviation security; natural disasters; environmental catastrophes like the Deepwater Horizon; pandemics like the H1N1 threat; terrorism like the Boston Marathon bombing and much more. After the break they talked about the southern border security challenge and the current immigration, refugees and asylum seekers issues; the cyber threat to U.S. infrastructure systems and elections; and existential threats from nuclear weapons and climate change. Napolitano concluded with a conversation about "Black Swans" -- low probability, high risk phenomena and policy through risk analysis.

About the Book:

"How Safe Are We: Homeland Security Since 9/11"

by Janet Napolitano (Author), Karen Breslau (Contributor)

240 pages; Publisher: Public Affairs (March 26, 2019)

Biography of President Napolitano

Janet Napolitano is the 20th president of the University of California, and the first woman to serve in this role.

She leads a university system of 10 campuses, five medical centers, three affiliated national laboratories, and a statewide agriculture and natural resources program. The UC system has more than 273,000 students, 223,000 faculty and staff, an operating budget of $36.5 billion, and two million living alumni.

A distinguished public servant, Napolitano served as the U.S. secretary of homeland security from 2009 to 2013, as governor of Arizona from 2003 to 2009, as attorney general of Arizona from 1998 to 2003, and as U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona from 1993 to 1997.

More.. https://www.ucop.edu/president/about/index.html

Global Tennessee is the Podcast series of the Tennessee World Affairs Council. For more information about becoming a member visit TNWAC.org/join or TNWAC.org/donate.

Mission

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.

Vision

A well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.

Recorded: June 13, 2019

Iranian scholar Dr. Neda Khodaverdi is completing a year as a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at Vanderbilt University. Global Tennessee spoke with her about her year in Nashville as a fellow. The purpose of the fellowship, how she got involved, what was her experience with the fellows from around the world and what she has seen and done in Nashville and the United States.

Dr. Khodaverdi was joined in the Podcast with her husband Saed Sahebjamee, who runs the SAED Cultural and Educational Institute in Tehran and Terry Rustan, a TNWAC volunteer and a Humphrey Fellowship "Friendship Family."

Dr. Khodaverdi thanked Nancy Dickson, Humphrey Fellowship Coordinator at Vanderbilt University and Dr. Eric Carter, Professor of Special Education at Vanderbilt University.

We also talked with Dr. Khodaverdi about her work in Iran teaching English as a second language to children on the autism spectrum.

About Dr. Neda Khodaverdi

Neda Khodaverdi, from Iran, is an adjunct university lecturer at Islamic Azad University and an Educational Supervisor and English teacher at SAED Educational and Cultural Institute in Tehran. Her professional focus includes training new teachers of English language, and teaching English as a foreign language to Persian-speakers, including children with special needs. She has developed her own teaching methodology for students with high-functioning autism, and is currently in the process of developing professional development resources to train more instructors to work with special-needs populations. Her previous appointments include English teacher and supervisor at schools and private language centers, and lecturer at Allameh Tabataba’I University.

Ms. Khodaverdi holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in TEFL from the Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature, Tehran, Iran, a Master’s in TEFL from Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran, and a Bachelor’s in English Language Translation from Islamic Azad University, North Branch, Tehran, Iran. She also holds honors certificates in IELTS Teacher Preparation and Knowledge of English Language Teaching Test from TESOL Arabia Testing, Assessment, and Evaluation.

About Saed Sahebjamee

Saed Sahebjamee is a Petrochemical engineer who was born in Tehran, Iran in 1983. He got his BS from Islamic Azad University in 2006. Since then he has worked in his field study. Besides, he established his own language institute in Tehran in 2011 under the title of SAED Cultural and Educational Institute. His mission is teaching English to Persian speaking students and more importantly, help the Iranian students to get familiar with other countries and their cultures by registering students in summer camps of international schools around the world. He is so passionate about his job.

About Terry Rustan

Terry is a Humphrey Fellowship "Friendship Family" and a volunteer with the Tennessee World Affairs Council staff in addition to many other service activities in the community. She has worked in China at the Zhejiang Ocean University and at the University of Washington Program on the Environment. Terry holds a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington.

About the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship

The program brings accomplished educational leaders from developing nations and emerging democracies to the United States for an academic year to study, gain related professional experience, build their leadership capacity and foster mutual understanding. The program provides a basis for lasting ties between US citizens and the Fellows while strengthening the global exchange of knowledge and expertise. Humphrey Fellows are selected based on their potential for leadership and their commitment to public service in either the public or the private sector.

Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean hosts a conversation with Rear Admiral Brian Pecha of the U.S. Navy along with TNWAC President Patrick Ryan. They discussed Navy Week in Nashville, Admiral Pecha's career in the Navy and the Navy's operations in support of national security around the world.

“Global Nashville with Karl Dean” Podcasts present leaders from Nashville and other specialists who are connected with global issues or an aspect of the city and region that contributes to the international flavor.

The conversations, with former Mayor Karl Dean, touch on their roles, experiences, and accomplishments in the city and region and their insights and perspectives on all of the things that make Nashville a “global city.”

In this episode Karl talks with Rear Admiral Brian Pecha, U.S. Navy. Admiral Pecha, a Memphis native, was in Nashville for Navy Week in early June 2019. TNWAC President Patrick Ryan, a retired Navy man, joined the conversation.

Run time: 36.41

Including his deployment to Anbar Province in 2006 at the height of the insurgency in Iraq.

01:43 Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean Welcoming

02:02 “Tell us about what Navy is bringing to Nashville.”

03:44 “What is the impact on Navy public affairs of having sailors walking around Nashville?”

06:11 Talking to organizations around the community – Rotary, Vanderbilt, businesses, local leaders, people in service to the community.

08:03 “How did you get from where you were to where you are?”

10:56 Talking about service with the U.S. Marines, the “green side” of the Navy.

11:45 “Tell us about your deployment to Iraq in 2006.”

15:23 Talking about service at U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

16:48 Break

17:33 “What’s going on in the world and how the Navy fits in?”

19:30 We live in a global neighborhood and not all the neighbors are friendly.

19:52 Talking about the Navy’s international humanitarian missions.

20:25 How much impact does the humanitarian mission have on Navy “optempo”?

21:37 “How has the rise of China and the Chinese Navy impacted the U.S. Navy?

23:11 Talking about Chinese expansion in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean.

24:15 “A large part of what we do is ensuring freedom of the seas.”

26:03 “Can you talk about Navy presence in the Middle East, Persian Gulf?”

27:40 Talking about Russian military modernization and their return to the world stage.

29:20 The new competition over Arctic access and resources.

30:35 “What would you say to a young Tennessean who dreams about seeing something different; what are the opportunities in the Navy?”

32:40 “Loved ones are always anxious to tell the story of their family member.”

33:29 “Army-Navy. What the heck is going on?”

34:15 Thanks to the World Affairs Council. Tennesseans can benefit from broadening their view of the world.

Bio - Rear Admiral Brian S. Pecha, MC, USN, Reserve Fleet Surgeon, U.S. Fleet Forces Command

https://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/bio.asp?bioID=712

Global Tennessee talked with Nashville native Sam Denney and the road he took from Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt University to the fast-paced environment of the Brookings Institution, a world-renowned public policy think tank in Washington, DC. We discussed his work in Germany at the Budestag (Parliament) and scholarship at the Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service. Learn about the path from Music City to Massachusetts Avenue and the inside workings of one of the premier think tanks that shapes important policy in the nation's capital. Also hear Sam's take on hot topics around the world, especially European Union politics, and life in Washington.

“Global Nashville with Karl Dean” Podcasts present leaders from Nashville and other specialists who are connected with global issues or an aspect of the city and region that contributes to the international flavor.

The conversations, with former Mayor Karl Dean, touch on their roles, experiences, and accomplishments in the city and region and their insights and perspectives on all of the things that make Nashville a “global city.”

Global Nashville with Karl Dean

Renata Soto

Director, Conexión Américas

00:30 Welcome / Global Nashville with Karl Dean Intro

01:05 Introduction of Renata Soto

02:57 Karl Dean Opening

03:30 “Tell us about your background.”

07:00 “What are your memories, what do you love about Costa Rica?”

11:20 “You eventually co-founded an organization, Conexión. Tell us what Conexión does and why you founded it.”

14:48 “You’re one of the most established organizations in the city, highly respected and doing great work. How small were you at the beginning?”

17:15 “What does [Casa] Azafran mean?”

19:35 “When you began this project in 2002, did you have a sense of what the non-native population of Nashville was at that point?”

21:30 Break

22:35 “I want to talk about Conexion Americas more. You mentioned that when the organization began in 2002 there were new census figures that Nashville was becoming the home to more and more people with a Latin American background. That only intensified in the years following. Is that fair?”

23:44 “People noticed that the community was changing … you faced challenges because of those reactions … one of those most important reactions was the effort to pass legislation through a referendum that would make Nashville an “English only” city. What was your reaction to that?”

25:58 “And that was in ‘09 and as you said the city, you can be proud, the city rejected that.”

27:02 “The city stood up and said this is not who we are … came out of that much stronger … your public profile increased dramatically … people in Nashville felt this is a cause we should be supportive of.”

28:46 “Immigrants are very entrepreneurial … talk about that.”

31:35 “We still saw resistance and concerns, particularly at the state level, being voiced about immigration. The issue of the Dreamers became an important issue … you reached the point where the President of the United States comes to see you. Tell us about that.”

36:53 “There’s been a change in the presidency … just looking at Nashville and Tennessee what are the biggest challenges that immigrants face? What’s number one on your list of things that need to happen?”

41:54 “Immigration issues in terms of the Federal Government, in immigration reform seem so difficult. Are you optimistic about the future?”

44:39 “This is Global Nashville … and Nashville has become so much more of a diverse city not only with the people’s background who live here, but with business, education … it seems to me that’s a trend that’s going to continue.”

46:13 “So what is next for you?”

48:35 RS comments on rise of the right.

50:03 End

About Conexión Américas from the Web site

Our Mission

At Conexión Américas, our mission is to build a welcoming community and create opportunities where Latino families can belong, contribute and succeed.

Our Approach

We believe successful efforts to promote the integration of immigrant families into their new community recognize that integration is a multi-dimensional process.