Tara Kangarlou is an award-winning global affairs journalist who has previously worked with news outlets such as NBC, CNN, CNN International, and Al Jazeera America. She is a frequent on-air contributor for various international news outlets covering the MENA region and global affairs and writes regularly for TIME magazine as well as other news platforms. She has also spent much time covering the rise and fall of ISIS, the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, as well as other pressing humanitarian issues worldwide. Born out of her extensive reporting and firsthand knowledge of the global refugee crisis, in 2016, she founded Art of Hope, the first American nonprofit that strictly focuses on supporting the mental well-being of war-torn refugees and IDPs in vulnerable host communities. She is also the author of the award-winning book "The Heartbeat of Iran", which is the first book available to the western audience that provides an unprecedented insight into the many nuances, textures, and complexities of real life in today's Iran - as told through the stories of ordinary people living inside the country. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service teaching at the intersection of journalism and public diplomacy. Tara was born and raised in Tehran, Iran until she moved to the States in her late teens. At the moment, she splits her time between London and Washington. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from UCLA and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from USC. Copies of Ms. Kangarlou's book, The Art of Hope, will be available for purchase and signing after the program.
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
Robert Samuels
Boston College - Robsham Theater
Dr. Michael E. O’Hanlon
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
Dr. Karen Jacobsen
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
Ambassador Audra Plepyté Ambassador Kristjan Prikk Ambassador Maris Selga Ambassador Paula Dobriansky
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
Kimberly Flowers and Alex de Waal
Virtual
Natsu Taylor Saito
Boston College - Gasson 100
Jean Dolin, Jonathan L. Allen, Beth Chandler, Derrick Young Jr., Dr. Carl Streed Jr, and Mariangely Solis Cervera
Museum of Science
ANDREW LEONG is an Associate Professor in the Philosophy Dept. in the College of Liberal Arts at UMass Boston where he teaches legal studies, Latino and Asian American Studies. His specialty is on law, social justice, and equality pertaining to disenfranchised communities, with a focus on Asian Americans. He has been active in community and civil rights work, having served on the board of trustee of numerous Asian American and civil rights-related organizations. PENNY LEE is a documentary producer and film & video editor. She has over 25 years experience in editing documentaries, reality television series, promotional and educational video projects. Some of Lee’s clients include Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Travel Channel, as well as military and government agencies and corporate companies like Deloitte. Her first doc that she directed and edited was a short film called “Through Chinatown’s Eyes: April 1968”. Her passion projects are stories about the immigrant experience in the US with a primary focus on the Chinese American voices. LISA MAO is the director, writer and co-producer of A Tale of Three Chinatowns. As a development executive and producer of non-fiction television, Lisa is responsible for the creation and launch of more than 500 hours of programming for channels including History Channel, National Geographic Channel, HGTV, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, and Travel Channel. Her credits include Travel Channel’s “Man Vs. Food Nation,” ID’s “Extreme Forensics” and “Deadly Shootouts” on Reelz. In addition to her television work, she also wrote and produced the award-winning short documentary “Through Chinatown’s Eyes: April 1968.” Lisa is committed to helping people share their stories to reveal the complex fabric of the human condition. She resides in Washington, DC with her husband and son. Opening Remarks: CYNTHIA YEE is an educator, writer, artist and artistic collaborator. She writes creative, nonfiction essays from the viewpoint of an American-born Taishanese girl coming of age in Boston’s Chinatown and Combat Zone through the 1950s and ’60s. She continues exploring the themes of what makes for thriving community life and child development, how structural racism oppresses, how feminism can be nurtured, and how social justice can look in America. Her poem “My MaMa’s Back,” a tribute to Chinatown women garment workers, is now living outside Mayor Michelle Wu’s office.
Old South Meeting House
Dr. Evan Ellis is a research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, with a focus on the region’s relationships with China and other non-Western Hemisphere actors, as well as transnational organized crime and populism in the region. Dr. Ellis has published over 330 works, including five books: the 2009 book China in Latin America: The Whats and Wherefores, the 2013 book The Strategic Dimension of Chinese Engagement with Latin America, the 2014 book China on the Ground in Latin America, the 2018 book Transnational Organized Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the 2022 book China Engages Latin America: Distorting Development and Democracy? Dr. Ellis previously served on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff (S/P) with responsibility for Latin America and the Caribbean (WHA), as well as International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) issues. In his academic capacity, Dr. Ellis has presented his work in a broad range of business and government forums in 27 countries four continents. He has given testimony on Latin American security issues to US Congress on various occasions, has discussed his work regarding China and other external actors in Latin America on a broad range of radio and television programs, and is cited regularly in the print media in both the US and Latin America for his work in this area. Dr. Ellis has also been awarded the Order of Military Merit José María Córdova by the Colombian government for his scholarship on security issues in the region.
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
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