Katherine (second from right) at the San Antonio Council for International Visitor’s Membership Luncheon on May 16. Credit: SACIV
Hello everyone!
I hope you all are enjoying the beginning of summer! At Global Ties U.S., we are not slowing down these next few months. Instead, we’re ramping up for our first Diplomacy Begins Here Regional Summit and Learning Lab of the year in Salt Lake City, and planning for the 2020 National Meeting, which will include celebrating the International Visitor Leadership Program’s 80th anniversary! We can’t wait to celebrate another tremendous milestone for this foundational international exchange program, and this extraordinary Network.
We’re also looking forward to celebrating the professional progress of our Emerging Leaders! You can read more about them here. We are so inspired by their accomplishments and commitment to the field that we’ve decided to expand our Emerging Leaders Program to include a mid-year summer session. From July 17-18, we’re welcoming our 2019 cohort back to Washington and connecting them with other young professionals working in and/or interested in the exchanges and public diplomacy fields. We’re calling it our Summer of Public Diplomacy and registration for all of these events is now open.
For those under the age of 35, we welcome you to our July 17 Leading the Way “Unconference” at NYU’s DC campus. Following the Unconference, anyone is welcome to attend our first happy hour fundraiser, Connecting the Next Generation Social, at Mindspace. If you’re in DC this summer, join us!
But first, we join our colleagues at the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy in Salt Lake City from July 11-12 for the Diplomacy Begins Here Regional Summit and Learning Lab on “The Power to Make a Social Impact.” I’m especially excited to see this program in action, as well as bringing everyone together to share IVLP programming best practices during the Learning Lab. Make sure to also save the dates for the other regional summits this year: September 19-20 in San Diego, CA and November 14-15 in Louisville, KY.
Another item in this edition I want to highlight is the three-year journey of our Police Professionalization Exchange Program (PPEP) with the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. Working with Mexican and American law enforcement professionals to support their careers and build trust across the border has been a privilege, and we’re grateful to everyone in this Network who has helped us make this program happen. We’re excited to highlight the program’s outcome and impact on national security and how exchanges played a role.
We’re also grateful to Susan Crystal, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges, for making the time to be featured in our interview. Susan, a career Foreign Service Officer, has been a powerhouse in ensuring that professional exchange programs thrive at the U.S. Department of State. We’re lucky to work with her and absolutely love that she began her career at GlobalPittsburgh, a Community-Based Member.
Lastly, thank you to Rochester Global Connections, International Institute of Buffalo; Presidential Precinct in Charlottesville, VA; San Antonio Council of International Visitors; Tulsa Global Alliance; and the World Affairs Council Dallas/Fort Worth for being such wonderful hosts to me during my visits throughout May and June! The best part of this job is getting to know all of you, your cities, and the remarkable communities you’ve built through the work of exchanges.
Sincerely,
Katherine Brown