Women in international leadership positions will discuss cross-cultural challenges during a forum Tuesday, Oct. 12, at the 麻豆原创.
Organized by the 麻豆原创 Global Perspectives Office in a partnership with Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jay Garner, the forum will take place in the Pegasus Ballroom of the Student Union from 3 to 5 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the office鈥檚 annual focus on 鈥淲omen and Leadership: A Global Perspective.鈥�
Presentations will be given by actress Sarah Culberson, the Kurdistan Regional Government鈥檚 Zhala Sabir and the U.S. Institute of Peace鈥檚 Jacqueline H. Wilson. The forum will be moderated by Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas, director of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Diplomacy Program.
Culberson appeared in television shows such as 鈥淪trong Medicine,鈥� 鈥淎ll of Us,鈥� 鈥淏oston Legal鈥� and 鈥淭he Secret Life of the American Teenager鈥� and in the film 鈥淎merican Dreamz.鈥� She learned later in life that she was from a royal family in Sierra Leone. After learning of the difficulties a brutal 11-year civil war inflicted on Sierra Leone鈥檚 people, she co-founded the Los Angeles-based Kposowa Foundation to help educate young people in Sierra Leone.
Sabir serves as the director of congressional and academic affairs for the Kurdistan Regional Government鈥檚 office in the United States. She oversees the office鈥檚 congressional and think tank outreach, following legislation, polices and reports relevant to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.聽 She is also the office鈥檚 point person on strengthening relations with U.S.-based research and academic institutions. Sabir previously worked for the Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government in its capital, Erbil. She also has served as a member of Iraq鈥檚 foreign service, with assignments in Baghdad and Ottawa, Canada.
Wilson is a senior program officer at the United States Institute of Peace鈥檚 Education and Training Center/International. Previously, she spent more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Reserves. Her military career included assignments in analysis, training and counterterrorism. She served overseas in the Middle East and Africa, and she was a Middle East foreign area officer. After Sept. 11, 2001, she was assigned to the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, serving in the defense attach茅 and Kenya-U.S. liaison offices. She hosted Sudanese peace talks and was an international observer for Kenya鈥檚 elections in 2002.
In addition to the Global Perspectives Office and Gen. Garner, sponsors of this forum include Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, the 麻豆原创 Diplomacy Program, the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship program, the 麻豆原创 Global Peace and Security Studies Program, 麻豆原创 LIFE, the 麻豆原创 Political Science Department, the 麻豆原创 Women’s Research Center, the 麻豆原创 Women’s Studies Program and the Global Connections Foundation.