Thursday, July 2 at 10 a.m.—ROCHESTER—Great Decisions foreign policy discussion series, an online program from the Rochester Library, starts Thursday, July 2 at 10 a.m. and runs for eight weeks. This year, three foreign policy experts will lead the discussions:
Mike Van Dusen worked on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1971 to 1999, as staff director of the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East and then as chief of staff for the committee, working closely with Congressman Lee H. Hamilton of Indiana. From 1999 to 2015 he was the chief operating officer for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He and his wife have had a home in Rochester since 1983.
Ann Van Dusen has had a long career in international development, holding senior positions at both the US Agency for International Development and Save the Children. She has taught at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities and is the founding director of Georgetown’s Masters in Global Human Development. She and her family have been regular visitors to Rochester since 1952.
Elizabeth Shackelford was a U.S. diplomat until December 2017 when she resigned in protest of the administration. She served in Somalia, South Sudan, Poland, and Washington, DC. Shackelford is a Fellow with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and author of “The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age,” published May 2020.
They anticipate this year’s program will be held online via Zoom with the possibility of some limited, on site options available. The video segments accompanying each week’s background materials are available free on YouTube.
Specifics on accessing the Zoom discussions, YouTube videos, and briefing books will be sent to individuals who register for the series. Participation is free.
Please contact the library at rochesterpubliclibraryVT@gmail.com or 802-767-3927 to register, order a briefing book, or get more information. You may register anytime, but if you would like the library to order a briefing book for you the deadline is
June 16.
