Conflict Across Borders
This session focuses on international conflicts and the different forces that shape them, including political, social, and economic factors. Students will explore multiple perspectives and work to better understand the complexity behind global issues. They will hear from a former U.S. State Department official and the current CEO of Commonwealth Club World Affairs, who will share real-world insight and experiences. Students will also have the chance to ask questions and reflect on how they can stay informed and engaged with the world around them.
Moderator: Maddy Norton
Maddy has a deep passion for public speaking and civil discourse, sparked by her high school debate team. Her passion has evolved into teaching civil discourse to young women, planning the YAC, and working to elevate marginalized voices. This fall, she will be attending Sciences Po Menton and UC Berkeley through their dual degree program, studying Political Humanities and Environmental Economics and Policy.
Speaker: Gloria Duffy
Gloria Duffy has been president and CEO of The Commonwealth Club of California since 1996.
She oversees the organizational strategy, programming, publications, outreach, membership and fundraising for the nation’s largest and oldest public affairs forum.
Dr. Duffy has initiated several special projects at the Club, including Voices of Reform (now the independent organization California Forward). These efforts have convened experts and stakeholders in challenging fields to build consensus for solutions and action. Dr. Duffy led the Club to produce its first full-length film, Final Choice, for PBS in 1998, and oversaw the editing and publication of Each a Mighty Voice (Heyday Press, 2004), which placed important speeches at the Club in their historical context.
She led the building search and capital campaign that enabled the Club to purchase 110 The Embarcadero, which will serve as its permanent headquarters and the first time the organization has owned its own home.
Prior to becoming president and CEO of The Commonwealth Club, Dr. Duffy was U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense and special coordinator for cooperative threat reduction.
Dr. Duffy received her A.B. magna cum laude in 1975 from Occidental College and her M.A. (1977), M.Phil. (1980), and Ph.D. (1991), all in political science, from Columbia University in New York, where she studied at the Harriman Institute. She also holds a Doctor of Humane Letters (honoris causa), awarded by the University of San Francisco in 2006.
Speaker: Dr. Anthony Perry
Dr. Perry teaches Political Science at Henry Ford College and is the founder and director of the Democracy Institute Consortium at Henry Ford College. The Democracy Institute works to promote civic literacy, civic engagement and the knowledge of politics and policy from the local to the international. Perry has a PhD in Political Science from Wayne State University. His academic expertise included International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Democratic Participation and Civic Literacy Education. He was a Fellow with the United States Institute for Peace. Perry has worked on the Correlates of War Project and the co-authored works with J.David Singer; and he has taught International Relations, International Law, World Politics and Peace and Conflict among other courses at Wayne State University and at Henry Ford College.