From Ports to Policy: Local Leaders Driving Global Trade
Monday, April 13 | 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
Sam Cho (SIS BA ’13), Commissioner of the Port of Seattle, will join SIS professor Robert Koopman for a conversation on leadership and global trade. Cho’s journey—from immigrating through the Port of Seattle to leading it as its youngest and first person of color Commission President—includes roles in the Obama administration, State Department, Capitol Hill, as well as service in the Washington State Senate.
Together with Koopman, a former WTO Chief Economist, they will discuss resilience, innovation, and today’s key policy challenges, including trade governance, supply chains, climate, and infrastructure.
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Film Screening
Journey into Europe
Monday, April 13 | 5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
Join us for a special anniversary screening of SIS distinguished professor Akbar Ahmed’s Journey into Europe (2015), a powerful documentary that remains strikingly relevant today. It explores Islam in Europe and its role in history, culture, and contemporary politics. Filmed across multiple countries, the documentary features interviews with leaders, religious figures, and everyday Europeans, addressing issues such as immigration, nationalism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A. Refreshments will be offered.
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2026 Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment
Tuesday, April 14 | 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
Don’t miss the chance to hear from esteemed writer and teacher Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson, whose TED Talk has had over 2 million views, at the 9th annual Ignatius Lecture on the environment.
When maps come up short and the path ahead is uncertain, how do we find our way? In her new book, Climate Wayfinding, Dr. Wilkinson offers a compassionate and empowering guide to navigating from ache to action, doubt to possibility.
After the lecture, Katharine will speak with SIS professor and Chair of the Department of Environment, Development & Health (EDH), Lauren Carruth, followed by an audience Q&A.
The annual Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment was established by the Ignatius family in honor of the environmental work of the late Nancy Weiser Ignatius, a beloved alumna of the school.
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Between Washington, Tel Aviv, and Tehran: Kurdistan’s Precarious Position
Friday, April 17 | 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. | Zoom
The Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace (GKIP) invites you to a timely discussion on how escalating tensions between the US and Israel on one side, and Iran on the other, are affecting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), Iraq, and the broader Middle East. The Kurdistan Region has faced repeated attacks from Iran and Iran-aligned militias, resulting in civilian harm, economic disruption, and growing instability. Strikes on energy infrastructure have reduced oil production and revenues, deepened tensions between Erbil and Baghdad, and placed the region at the center of wider geopolitical rivalries. This webinar will examine the drivers behind these attacks, the challenges facing Baghdad, and the implications for Iraq’s stability, US-Iraq relations, and the future of the Kurdistan Region.
The conversation will feature SIS professor Yerevan Saeed, Dr. Dlawer Ala’Aldeen (Middle East Research Institute), and Dr. Kenneth M. Pollack (Middle East Institute).
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The Chinese Economy and Future of Sino-US Economic Relations
Monday, April 20 | 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
The economic relationship between the US and China is central to the future of the global economy and is highly contentious across multiple dimensions, including trade and tariffs, currency and exchange rates, and international investment. Professor Liqing Zhang (Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China) will discuss the current state of the Chinese economy and its implications for Sino-US relations, including prospects for economic growth, the balance of payments, and the yuan-dollar exchange rate, with SIS professor Randall Henning (SIS department of Politics, Governance, and Economics). Zhang will also offer Chinese perspectives on US international economic policies and proposals for stabilizing this critically important bilateral relationship. A Q&A will follow the discussion.
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Book Talk
The World in My Bones: The Diplomat Queens Made
Thursday, April 30 | 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. | Abramson Family Founders Room
Meet SIS alumna and former USAID diplomat Jennifer Erie (SIS/MA ’98), a first-generation Haitian American from Queens, NY, as she shares her memoir tracing her path from Queens to a 15-year USAID career that ended abruptly last year.
Joined by SIS professor Susanna Campbell, Erie will discuss writing the book in the wake of USAID’s dismantling, her frontline work advancing HIV/AIDS and public health across Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, and the resilience that shaped her journey in the Foreign Service and beyond. Together, they’ll explore her career highs and lows, the impact of her SIS education, and lessons for navigating unexpected transitions.
An audience Q&A will follow. Refreshments will be served, and books will be available for purchase and signing.
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Miss one of our past events? No worries! Watch all of our events from this year.
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