High School Teacher & Writer, Chicago Public Schools

Professional Website

Publishing Website

Paul is a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin, where he was fortunate to work with Jeremi as an assistant on his online courses and as an undergraduate thesis advisee. He currently lives in Chicago and teaches civics, AP US Government & Politics, and the History of Chicago. When not teaching, Paul writes comics and graphic novels, usually published independently.

Director, Energy Transition Consulting, S&P Global

Professional Website

Olivier is a Director in the Energy Transition consulting practice for S&P Global Commodity Insights. He focuses on hydrogen, power and renewables markets across North America and Latin America. He has worked for major energy companies, utilities, government agencies, and financial players on strategy engagements, transactions, public policy, and market studies. Prior to joining S&P Global, Olivier was a Managing Consultant with Wood Mackenzie Consulting practice. He also worked for Areva (now Orano), a leading nuclear energy company, in Corporate Strategy. Olivier graduated with a Masters in Global Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He also holds M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Ecole Superieure d'Electricite (CentraleSupelec) and in Energy Economics from the Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP School), both in Paris, France. He speaks fluent English, French, and Spanish.

Lecturer and Graduate Director of the Intelligence and National Security Studies Master of Science program​, University of Texas at El Paso

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Diana Bolsinger is Lecturer and Graduate Director of the Intelligence and National Security Studies Master of Science program. Dr. Bolsinger’s research focuses on clandestine intelligence collaboration among states and its impact on overall bilateral relations. Before coming to UTEP, Dr. Bolsinger served in a variety of analytical and policy support positions in the US Intelligence and foreign policy communities.

Director for Federal & State Relations

The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce

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Mr. Chen is currently the Director of Federal & State Relations at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and help oversees the Chamber’s federal and state advocacy programs. Mr. Chen previously was the Associate Program Manager for Education, Advocacy, and Talent at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and help oversees the Chamber’s Direct – To – College Program. Mr. Chen also previously served as the Advocacy Coordinator at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Chen is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin (Class of 2016), who double majored in International Relations and History. His studies in International Relations focused on American Foreign Policy, US Grand Strategy, and Great Power Rivalry - especially in U.S.-China relations.

Historian for the UW-Madison Missing in Action Project

Freelance Editor and Indexer

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Since graduating with a PhD in U.S. History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015, Vaneesa has taught a variety of courses at Queen's University in Ontario as well as UW-Whitewater and UW-Madison. She is currently the lead historian for the MIA Recovery & Identification Project at UW-Madison, where she also teaches a seminar on MIA Research Methods for the history department.

Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University

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She received her Ph.D. in History from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. Augusta's dissertation “Saving Apartheid: Transatlantic Whiteness in the U.S.-South African Relationship, 1980-1994,” analyzes the construction of a transnational network of white supremacist political, religious, and terroristic organizations seeking to stabilize white rule in South Africa while working against Congressional and Presidential sanctions policies from 1980 to 1994. Her work has been published in Cold War History and Diplomatic History. You can find her public facing work on Washington Post, Inkstick Media, AJ+, and CNN International. Her research is supported by the Social Science Research Council, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and the Clements Center for National Security, among others.Committed to bridging the gap between academia, policymakers, and the general public, Augusta works as an Associate Policy Researcher at the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University. Previously, Augusta produced two podcasts - Right Rising and 15 Minute History.

M.A. student in Security Studies at Georgetown University

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Peter Denham is an incoming M.A. student in Security Studies at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Plan II Honors, a certificate in Security Studies, and a minor in Business in 2022. At UT, Peter was a Brumley Next Generation Scholar with the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law and a Senior Undergraduate Fellow with the Clements Center for National Security. Peter’s professional interests lie in public service and in the nexus of national security policy and law. He has worked as an analyst for ACERTAS Analytics  a decision analytics firm specializing in predictive modeling of geopolitical and business risk – where he helped prepare strategic analytical reports and risk assessments for private and public sector clients.

Associate Director, Clements Center for National Security

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Paul Edgar is the Associate Director of the William P. Clements, Jr. Center for National Security at the University of Texas-Austin. He holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of Texas and studies the historical origins of diplomacy, war, and strategy in pre-classical antiquity. He is currently writing an international history of the Late Bronze Age. Before his career in academia, Paul served more than 22 years as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, spending most of that time in Airborne and Ranger units.

President/CEO, Texas Healthcare Trustees; EMPL Class of 2015-2016 Alumna

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Amy Eskew serves as the president/CEO of Texas Healthcare Trustees (THT) and senior director of strategic program management for the Texas Hospital Association (THA) Foundation. She is responsible for leading strategy and operations for THT as well as developing resources to help hospital board members navigate the complexity of health care and understand governance best practices. Additionally, Amy directs internal process and performance improvement efforts for THA.

Amy has worked with health care non-profits for more than 15 years and is an ASQ-certified Six Sigma Black Belt. She is a graduate of the Moody College of Communications at the University of Texas at Austin and received her Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT.

Lieutenant Colonel, US Army

GEN Andrew Goodpaster Scholar and PhD from the LBJ School of Public Affairs

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Max remains a career infantry officer in the U.S. Army since graduating West Point in 2005. He has led Soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and West Africa in both conventional and special operations units. He also served as a Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the US Army and as a White House Fellow in the Secretary of State's Iran Action Group. Max's research includes coercive diplomacy, civil-military relations, national security policy, and decision making.

Associate Director, Center for East Asian Studies

University of Wisconsin–Madison

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David earned his PhD in history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, specializing in US-Korean relations. He is the author of Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea and the editor of The Diary of Syngman Rhee, 1904–34, 1944, published by the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. Since 2015 he has been the book review editor of the Journal of American-East Asian Relations. He has been published in the Washington Post, North Korea Review, Journal of American-East Asian Relations, SinoNK.com, Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society-Korea Branch and in the Working Papers Series of the Cold War International History Project. His research and analysis has been featured on National Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, NKnew.org, C-SPAN and CNN.

Theory of Knowledge & WILD Outdoor Program Coordinator, Dwight School

Shauna Fitzmahan completed a BA in History with Honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jeremi Suri advised her thesis, Shestydesiatnyky: The Generation of the Sixties, based on original interviews of Ukrainian dissidents. Her work can be found in ARCHIVE, the University of Wisconsin Undergraduate Journal of History. Following her ungraduate work, she taught history in International Baccalaureate schools in Estonia, Japan, and New York City. In NYC, she completed her MA at Teachers College, Columbia University, and became the Head of the Social Studies department at Dwight School. Her focus now is on teaching critical thinking skills and developing Dwight School’s first ever outdoor program. Her love of history has never waned and she is currently working on a podcast using more original Ukrainian dissdent interviews to bring context and understanding to the current war in the region.

For Shauna Fitzmahan, Head of Upper School Social Studies, "Teaching TOK Is a Dream Come True"

From the Big City to the Great “Dwight Outdoors”

Assistant Professor, Department of Strategy, Air War College (US Air Force)

Carl Forsberg is an international historian whose research interests include US Foreign Policy, the global Cold War, and the 20th century Middle East. His current book project charts the transformation of the US-Middle East alliance system in the 1970s. Carl earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. He previously held postdoctoral fellowships with Yale’s International Security Studies program and Harvard’s Belfer Center. Prior to his graduate studies, Carl worked in Washington, D.C., and Kabul, writing on the contemporary conflict in Afghanistan.

Professional Website

Colonel Bryan Frizzle is a Special Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR). Bryan has over twenty years of active duty experience in command and staff positions throughout the United States, Iraq, and Europe. He holds a PhD from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin, and continues to work on a forthcoming book titled “Why NATO Adapts.”

Master of Public Affairs from UT Austin

Ruben Garzoria is the son of two educators from Brownsville, Texas. Because educational attainment was taught as an important goal in a person's life he graduated as a recipient of the Terry Foundation Scholarship from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, with a minor in Homeland Security Studies in 2021. He most recently earned his Master of Public Affairs degree from The LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in 2023. At LBJ and while taking Dr. Suri's courses, Ruben developed a passion for helping people, strategy, and decision-making and looking at international history to see where the events and the mistakes of the past can be prevented from happening again for a secure future. Now having graduated, Ruben hopes to continue building a career rooted in the uplift of the many communities he cares about, across Texas and beyond.

U.S. Army

Professional Website

Rohit’s background is in strategy, foreign languages, and area studies specializing in the Middle East and South Asia. His focuses include asymmetric warfare, security and intelligence policy, modern and ancient histories, and immigration. He has worked for the Clements Center for National Security, the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and the Arab Institute for Security studies in Amman, Jordan. As of this writing, he is sworn into the U.S. Army and is in the pipeline to commission via Officer Candidate School. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science from UT’s Moody College of Communication in 2020 and a Master’s in Global Policy from the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2022.

Chief, Military History Division, History Department, United States Military Academy

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Ben looks at the relationship between policy makers, the broader population, and popular culture. His book, Reagan's War Stories, explores how Reagan used fiction like that of Tom Clancy, Louis L'Amour, and other to think about and communicate strategic ideas. Ben's next project will examine how and why veterans often choose to relate their wartime experiences through fiction.

Senior Policy Program Manager, Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center

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Todd Hill is senior policy program manager at the Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center in Washington, DC. Prior to his service at Urban, Hill spent three years as General Manager and Director of Operations with Noodle, a higher education technology firm. Professionally, Todd also served six years as senior director of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable’s Housing Policy Council (HPC), where he was recognized as an honorary admiral of the Texas Navy and an honorary colonel from the commonwealth of Kentucky for his distinguished service in government. In 2020, Hill graduated with a master’s degree in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and their Executive Master in Public Leadership program. Hill also graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he was selected as a Bill Archer Fellow, and received a BA in political science.

Director of University Engagement, Upper House

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Daniel G. Hummel is the Director for University Engagement at Upper House, a Christian study center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A historian by training, Dan is the author of Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019) and has written for outlets including the Washington Post, Christianity Today, and Religion News Service. His research has been published in Religion & American Culture and Church History. His forthcoming book is: The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End Times Shaped a Nation (Eerdmans Press, 2023). Prior to joining Upper House, Dan held fellowship appointments at UW-Madison and Harvard University. Dan earned his PhD at UW-Madison and has a MA and BA from Colorado State University.

Assistant Professor of Strategy, U.S. Air War College

Professional Website

Jonathan R. Hunt is a historian of international security, economics, and law whose work examines how the United States, Russia, and China have competed to shape global order since 1900. He is the co-editor with Simon Miles of The Reagan Moment: America and the World in the 1980s, and the author of The Nuclear Club: How America and the World Policed the Atom from Hiroshima to Vietnam.

President/CEO of Better Business Bureau serving the Heart of Texas

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As president and chief executive officer of Better Business Bureau serving the Heart of Texas (BBB HOT), Carrie A. Hurt is a visionary leader focused on connecting consumers with ethical businesses to create a more trustworthy marketplace. Named a best CEO by the Austin Business Journal and Austin Chamber of Commerce, Carrie is skilled at change management and has served as the interim leader in several organizations, successfully completing six acquisitions. BBB HOT is one of the fastest growing BBBs internationally in both revenue and members. Under her leadership, BBB HOT has been named a top workplace by the Austin American-Statesman, as well as a top 50 Best Non-Profits to work for by The Non-Profit Times. BBB HOT has also been featured in Texas Monthly magazine as one of 100 Best Places to Work For in Texas. She was honored with the “Yellow Rose of Texas” award from Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2009, which recognizes outstanding Texas women for their significant contributions to the state of Texas. In 2020, Carrie was recognized as an Inspiring Leader by the Austin Business Journal for her leadership accomplishments during the pandemic to assist small businesses with grant administration.

History PhD student at Yale

Professional Website

Susannah Jacob is a PhD candidate in the History Department. Her interests lie in 20th century United States, labor and political history. From 2014 to 2017 she worked as a speechwriter to President Barack Obama, and earned her B.A. in History at The University of Texas at Austin.

Former Student at the University of Texas at Austin

I recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with Liberal Arts Honors and Special Honors in History. With the guidance of Dr. Suri, I completed a senior thesis on Rosemary and Eunice Kennedy’s profound effect on the disability community. I am currently taking a gap year, serving as a legal assistant at Loftin & LeBlanc, LLC in Lake Charles, Louisiana, before I apply to law school to study human rights law.

Director, Regional Head of Correspondent Banking and Affiliates HSBC

Professional Website

Sarah is a financial crime risk professional and geopolitical specialist with experience in counter terrorist finance, transaction monitoring strategy, and cross border correspondent banking risk. Responsible for articulating key financial crime risks to senior banking executives, Sarah brings a nuanced understanding to the nexus between security threats and financial markets. Sarah has lived and worked in five countries around the Middle East over seven years with regional language proficiency, though now calls Miami home. Sarah holds two master's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, in Middle Eastern Studies and Global Policy.

United States Army

Jeremy Kasper has served in the United States Army for over 20 years, and is currently stationed in North Carolina, where he serves as a strategic planner. He completed a doctorate in public policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in 2021; his research focused on institutional adaptation during post-combat operations. He is a prior graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (B.S. in Political Science) and graduated with distinction from the College of Naval Command and Staff (M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies).

Deputy Director of Concepts, Army Futures and Concepts Center

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Ryan Kendall is an active duty Army officer with more than 20 years of operational experience serving in leadership and advisory roles in numerous locations around the globe. He recently earned his PhD as an Army Goodpaster Scholar at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs. Ryan's dissertation, titled Playing War: US Military Experimentation and Innovation During Peacetime examined military experimentation as a social process where leaders garner support for ideas through advocacy networks. His research interests include national security policy, military experimentation and innovation, and emerging technologies. Ryan is currently serving in the Army's Futures and Concepts Center in Austin, Texas where he lives with his wife and three children.

Master's from The University of Texas at Austin

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Michael Kiel works as a Business Process Specialist at Austin's Transportation and Public Works Department on the Vision Zero team, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries in the city. This year, he was honored to receive a City Manager's Award. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a Master of Global Policy Studies from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and a Master of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from the College of Liberal Arts. In graduate school, he interned at the Balkan Civil Society Development Network, the U.S. Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the City of Austin’s Public Works Department. His master's thesis evaluated Russian assistance and media influence in Serbia from 2014 to 2020. Last summer, Michael worked as a trail-building volunteer in the Republic of Georgia on the Transcaucasian Trail. He graduated from Vassar College, where he majored in Geography and German, and has worked in New York, Austria, and Kyrgyzstan.

Associate Professor of History and Director of the International Relations Program, College of William & Mary

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Hiroshi Kitamura is the author of Screening Enlightenment: Hollywood and the Cultural Reconstruction of Defeated Japan (Cornell, 2010), the Japanese-language version of which was published by Nagoya University Press in 2014. He is currently completing a book on the film critic Yodogawa Nagaharu and his role in the making of modern Japan. Other projects include a study on Hollywood and East Asia during the Cold War and a book project on Japanese cinema and high growth.

Director of History, Federal Judicial Center

Professional Website

Christine Lamberson a public historian and scholar of U.S. history. Her research interests focus on the intersection of the legal, cultural, and political history of the United States, particularly during the twentieth century. She is currently the director of history at the Federal Judicial Center. She was formerly an associate professor of history and co-director of War Stories, a public history project, at Angelo State University.

Assistant Professor, U.S. Air Force Academy

Profesional Website

Dr. Cameron McCoy is a native of Washington, D.C. and teaches courses in American history. Dr. McCoy has taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Brigham Young University, and currently in residence at the U.S. Air Force Academy. His upcoming manuscript, tentatively titled, Contested Valor: African American Marines in the Age of Power, Protest, and Tokenism (University Press of Kansas, projected publication 2023), chronicles the lives and experiences of many of the first African American Marines during their military service in the American South and abroad from 1945 to 1975. He earned his doctorate in U.S. history at the University of Texas at Austin after receiving a master’s in military history at Texas A&M University, and his bachelor’s in International & Area Studies at BYU.

Senior Research Associate at the Strauss Center for International Security and Law

Master’s from the LBJ School for Public Affairs at UT-Austin

Connor McMann is a graduate of the University of Michigan and current Master’s student at the LBJ School for Public Affairs at UT-Austin. He is broadly interested in applying history, psychology, and philosophy to evaluate and inform policymaking decisions. Together with Dr. Suri, Connor is researching shifts in German international policy and the evolving U.S.-Germany relationship, and will be completing a semester at the Hertie School in Berlin in Fall 2022.

Learning Technology Consultant, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Professional Website

James has a PhD in US History, though he is currently aligned with Academic Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. James is a utility player, plugged into and leading various campus projects and initiatives related to learning technologies and learning analytics. James also consults on issues related to digital pedagogy, is a chapter editor for the Open Educational Resource (OER) US History textbook American Yawp, and is one of the founding editors of the OER US History multimedia reader Voices and Visions.

Executive Director, Texas Black Caucus Foundation

Professional Website

The son of Haitian immigrants, Councilman Rudy Metayer is of the first generation in his family to complete higher education, graduating from not only the University of Texas College of Liberal Arts with a B.A., but also a Master in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law. Before joining Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody, a premiere litigation law firm in Central Texas, Rudy served as Special Counsel to the Health and Human Services Commission. Rudy also currently serves as the Executive Director of the Texas Black Caucus Foundation.

Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Duke University

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Simon Miles is assistant professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. He is the author of Engaging the Evil Empire: Washington, Moscow, and the Beginning of the End of the Cold War; of articles in Diplomacy and Statecraft, Diplomatic History, the Journal of Cold War Studies, and Slavic Review; and commentary in Foreign Policy, the Globe and Mail, War on the Rocks, and the Washington Post. Simon’s current project, On Guard for Peace and Socialism, is an international history of the Warsaw Pact.

Associate Professor of History, Dartmouth College

Professional Website

Jennifer M. Miller is a scholar of U.S. foreign relations since 1945, focusing on interactions between the United States and Northeast Asia. She received her Ph.D. in the history of U.S. foreign relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2012. Miller’s research examines the intersections between foreign policy and domestic ideas, ideologies, and political narratives; her work explores how new interactions between America and East Asia after World War II transformed both sides’ thinking about security, democratic order, education, and economic growth. She is the author of Cold War Democracy: The United States and Japan (Harvard UP, 2019) and her research has appeared in journals such as Diplomatic History, Modern Intellectual History, The Journal of American-East Asian Relations, and the Journal of Contemporary History. She is currently working on a project that examines how understandings of Japanese and East Asian education shaped American educational, familial, and economic life from the 1970s to the present.

Associate Professor (U.S. equivalent of Assistant Professor)

Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University

Professional Website

Kazushi Minami is a historian of contemporary U.S.-East Asian relations. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019. Drawing on English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sources, Kazushi's research examines various aspects of international relations in East Asia to foster a deeper understanding of the region from both historical and policy perspectives. His first book, People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed U.S.-China Relations during the Cold War, is under contract with Cornell University Press.

Senior Lecturer in National Security and Civil-Military Relations

University of Wisconsin–Madison, Department of Political Science

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Scott Mobley explores the political, technological, and cultural influences that shape America’s past and present. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he currently teaches courses on national security and civil-military relations with the Political Science Department. Scott authored the award-winning book Progressives in Navy Blue: Maritime Strategy, American Empire, and the Transformation of U.S. Naval Identity, 1873-1898 (2018), and has published articles in various peer-reviewed journals and online forums. He also co-edits Voices & Visions, an online resource that illuminates the history of U.S. foreign relations with primary audio-visual sources.

A retired naval officer, Scott deployed to the Western Pacific, Middle East, Mediterranean, and Latin American theaters while serving in and commanding U.S. Navy warships. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds an M.A. in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. Before returning to UW–Madison, Scott taught at the Naval Academy as the Class of 1957 Post-doctoral Fellow in Naval Heritage.

Intelligence Analyst, Vaco on site at Google

Professional Website

Former Marine Cryptologic Korean Linguist, has worked 5 years in the intelligence community before moving on to work on events and eSports in East Asia. Translator, Coordinator, Graduate, he has taken on work overseas and a rigorous Master's program in Global Policy Studies at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Now working for Vaco, where he works to monitor and report on the activities of extremist groups around the world.

Founder of Millennial Action Project and Candidate for U.S. Senate (WI)

Professional Website

The son of Indian immigrants, Steven is a nationally recognized political reformer, nonprofit executive, and musician. He founded the Millennial Action Project (MAP), the nation's largest organization of young elected leaders at the Congressional and state levels. Under his leadership as CEO, MAP helped pass forward-looking legislation on issues ranging from gerrymandering reform to gun violence prevention. Steven's political commentary has appeared widely on national media, including CNN, MSNBC, NPR, USA Today, and the Washington Post, and he is the subject of the documentary film, The Reunited States (available on Amazon Prime). Named a Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017, Steven is a proud alum of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he graduated as a Truman Scholar.

Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity Texas

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With twenty years’ experience in construction, Texas government and nonprofit management, Amy Ledbetter Parham serves the 62 Habitat affiliates as Chief Executive Officer of Habitat Texas. Amy was a political campaign manager and a design professional for an architectural firm that specialized in public buildings and school districts. She has worked with a variety of more than 100 nonprofit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity affiliates. Amy holds an Executive Masters of Public Leadership degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and B.A. in Government from the University of Texas and a B.A. in Design from Texas State University – San Marcos.

Assistant Professor of History, The Ohio State University

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R. Joseph Parrott is assistant professor of U.S foreign relations and transnational history at the Ohio State University. Interested in the intersection of the Cold War, decolonization, international policy, and global race issues, he is currently revising a manuscript on the global solidarity movement supporting Portuguese African liberation movements in the 1960s and 1970s. He is the co-editor (with Mark Atwood Lawrence) of the The Tricontinental Revolution: Third World Radicalism and the Cold War (Cambridge, 2022) and his publications have appeared in Modern American History, Race & Class, and in such popular venues as the Washington Post.

PhD from LBJ School, University of Texas at Austin; Lieutenant Colonel, US Air Force

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Rachel Reynolds is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force and holds degrees in materials science, ecology and evolutionary biology, national intelligence, military strategy, and public policy. Their dissertation investigated the changing nature of professions by examining cases of officer-to-enlisted labor pool shifts in the US Air Force in response to automation of high-status tasks. Rachel now commands the 18th Communications Squadron at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan; they will later join the faculty at the Air Force’s School of Advanced Air and Space Studies.

Assistant Professor of History and International Studies

Rowan University

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Debbie Sharnak is an Assistant Professor at Rowan University. Dr. Sharnak earned her B.A. at Vassar College, and her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In her forthcoming book, “Of Light and Struggle”: The International Histories of Human Rights and Transitional Justice in Uruguay (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023), she explores the origins and evolution of human rights discourse in Uruguay, particularly during its transition back to democratic rule. She is also the co-editor with Pedro Cameselle of the forthcoming volume Transnational Uruguay (Routledge, 2024). She has been published in The Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies, Diplomacy & Statecraft, Taller, and several edited volumes. She has done work for various NGOs and non-profits including Freedom House, the International Center for Transitional Justice, and the New Media Advocacy Project and was a Fulbright Scholar in Uruguay.

Cali R. Slair is a historian of the Cold War and 20th-Century U.S. foreign policy. She earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. Her dissertation, The International Politics of Smallpox, 1945-2002, situates the Smallpox Eradication Program and subsequent debate on whether to destroy the last remaining smallpox live virus stocks in historical context to gain insight to U.S.-Soviet relations during the Cold War and international relations and security concerns after the Cold War. Dr. Slair volunteered at The Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc., interned at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, and worked at several other historical institutions and art exhibits. While at the University of Texas at Austin, she also completed a Portfolio in Museum Studies. In addition to speaking French and German, Dr. Slair is also proficient in translating Latin and Italian.

Director & Professor of Practice (Texas State University, Certified Public Manager Program Texas)

Adjunct Professor (The University of Texas at Austin)

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Business Website

Dr. Miha Vindis is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University. He also teaches at the McCombs School of Business and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. Over the past decade, he has consulted numerous public, private and non-profit organizations helping their leadership development and strategic planning initiatives. An avid entrepreneur and investor, he has supported multiple start-ups in Texas. He is currently the president of the board at Habitat for Humanity TX.

Gordon Levin Associate Professor of Diplomatic History, Amherst College

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Vanessa Walker is the Gordon Levin Associate Professor of Diplomatic History at Amherst College, where she teaches classes on U.S. politics, foreign relations, and human rights. She is the author of Principles in Power: Latin America and the Politics of U.S. Human Rights Diplomacy (Cornell University Press, 2020), which was awarded the 2020 William M. LeoGrande prize for best book on U.S.-Latin American Relations, and is the author of several articles on the Carter administration’s human rights policy. She is the recipient of several awards including a Graduate Fellowship at the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, the Gerald R. Ford Scholar in Honor of Robert Teeter at the Ford Presidential Library, a George Mosse Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Stanton Foundation Applied History Fellowship.

Senior Lean Specialist at JE Dunn Construction

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As a Senior Lean Specialist for one of the country's largest general contractors, Rachel coaches project teams on continuous improvement and building high performing teams. Based in Nashville, she spends her days on job sites ranging from airport communication towers, to hospitals, to hotels helping teams identify ways to eliminate waste and improve workflows. Past projects have included a natural gas plant in China, an oil platform in Louisiana, and healthcare facilities in San Francisco and Wisconsin.