1995
Martin A. Kamarck, First Vice President, Vice Chairman of Board, COO, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Topic: National Export Strategy: America’s New Trade Diplomacy
H.E. S.R. Nathan, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the U.S.
Topic: Political and Economic Developments in the Asia-Pacific Region – Implications for the United States
Hoa Thi Bui, Refugee Coordinator, Don Bosco Center
Joy Foster Barker, Director of Refugee Assistance Center, Kansas City, MO
Topic: Refugees – Global Issue – Local Impact
Dr. Donald Wilson, President, Pittsburg State University
Chuck Battey, Marketing Manager, Sprint Corporation
Jack Davey, International Marketing Manager, Marley Cooling Tower Company
Andy Sjarif, Indonesian native, UMKC student body president
Topic: Destination: Indonesia
J. Brian Atwood, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
Topic: Foreign Aid: U.S. and Mid-America Benefits
Hon. James Laney, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
H.E. Park Kun Woo, Ambassador of Korea
Robert Rich, Jr., Vice President and Senior Director, Korea Economic Institute of America
George Cameron Hurst III, Director, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
Dr. Sang Lee, Distinguished Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
W. Robert Warne, President, Korea Economic Institute of America
Topic: Korea Caravan
Dr. Jeff Colyer, plastic surgeon and former White House Fellow
Linda Boyer, Executive Director, InterAid Network
Dr. Gary Morsch, founder and chairman of Heart to Heart International
Topic: Helping Hands to the World: Kansas City’s Contributions to International Aid
Dr. Claus-Detlev Kleber, Washington Correspondent, ARD German Television
Topic: Reassessing Germany: The Giant Learns to Walk
Admiral William Flanagan, Jr., Commander in Chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet
Topic: “U.S. Maritime Forces: Enduring National Need, International Imperative
Michael Gayoso, member, Cuban Association of Kansas and Missouri
Louis Desloge, III, President, L.F. Desloge Company, Inc.
Topic: U.S./Cuba Policy – On the Right Track?
Dorothy Lamm, Presidential Delegate to U.N. Commission on the Status of Women
Dr. Harriette Yeckel, former international president of Zonta
Lynn Hinkle, founder and President of Women of the World
Topic: Women at the Top: The View from Beijing
Henning Christophersen, Vice President, European Commission
Topic: The European Union: A Powerhouse Under Construction
Dr. Mark Falcoff, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Judith Evans, analyst and consultant of contemporary Latin America
Topic: Argentina & Chile: Rising Stars of Latin America
1996
H.E. Nuzhet Kandemir, Ambassador of Turkey to the U.S.
Topic: Turkey: The Critical Link
Robert Gelbard, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Topic: Transnational Organized Crime
Christopher N. Donnelly, Special Advisor, Central and East European Affairs, Office of the Secretary General, NATO
Topic: High Stakes: NATO’s Move Eastward
Yukio Matsuyama, Advisor, Asahi Shimbum newspaper and professor of International Relations, U.S. and Japanese Politics, Kyoitsu Women’s University
Topic: Reflections on Reform: Japan and the United States
Rob Helmer, Shawnee Mission NW junior
J. Christopher Schmitz, junior from Weisloch, Germany
Adriana Alemandi, junior at Ruskin High School, AFS student from Argentina
Topic: International Generation X: How America’s Policies Affect the World’s Youth
Scott Hibbard, Program Officer at U.S. Institute of Peace
Mona Yacoubian, International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Topic: Islamic Activism vs. Extremism, Lessons of Algeria – The Dilemma of U.S. Policy in the Muslim World
Dr. Robert Hudson, Professor, University of Kansas
Dr. Nancy Russell, internist
Dr. Richard Yennie, President, Acupuncture Society of America
Topic: American Medicine Draws from World Philosophy, Delivery, & Future Direction
Tatsuo Tanaka, Consul General of Japan in Kansas City
Topic: Trade relations
Dr. John Loiello, Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Information Agency
Ambassador George Moose, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, U.S. State Department,
John Holum, Director, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
Topic: Democracies in Transition: The Role of Policy and Exchange
Dr. John Sawhill, President and CEO, The Nature Conservancy
Topic: Rainforest Crunched? The International Conservation Imperative
Jack F. Matlock, Jr., Former U.S. Ambassador to USSR
Topic: Russia Reassesses Democracy
Karin Riis-Jorgensen, Member of European Parliament
Cynthia Sheppard Perry, Ambassador to Burundi and Sierra Leone
Topic: Women at the Top: Policymaking and Diplomacy Across Continents
Keith Philpott, photographer
Topic: Cross Cultural Adventures through the Lens
1997
Robert Watson, Senior Scientific Advisor, The World Bank
Topic: Development & Environment: The Now and Future Policy”
Richard W. Bulliet, Chairman and Trustee, Middle East Institute, Columbia University
Topic: After Iraq: Facing New Tensions in the Region
John K. Menzies, U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia
Topic: Justice for Bosnia? The U.S. Commitment to Peace, Stability, and Pursuit of War
Martha Gershun, Director, Operations Development, Keller Graduate School of Management
Rev. Kirk Perucca, President and CEO of Project Equality
Topic: Beyond Gender, Multiculturalism, and Affirmative Action
H.E. Nitya Pibulsonggram, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the U.S.
Topic: Asian Regionalism…What Role for the U.S.?
Jeremy Rosner, Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State for NATO Enlargement Ratification
Michael Hodge, British Consulate-General/Chicago
Topic: Britain: New Government, New Relationship
David Schoonover, Curator of Rare Books, University of Iowa
Topic: Food: Fusion & Fashion in Foreign Relations
Beth Rhyme, Director, Office of Microenterprise Development, U.S. Agency for International Development
Topic: The World’s New Entrepreneurs
Suraj Ahuja, M.D., Chief of Cardiology, University of Nigpur, India
A. Rauf Mir, M.D., Chief of Nephrology, University of Kashmir School of Medicine
Asya Papinako, M.S., President, Papinako & Associates, Moscow Polytechnical Institute
William Wu, M.D., Professor of Medicine, UMKC, University of Michigan
Topic: Life’s Last Chapter: What in the World Can We Do About It?
Georgie Anne Geyer, syndicated columnist
Topic: The Death of Citizenship
1998
Stephen Isaacs, Professor, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
Topic: Media: International Power Brokers
Tzipora Rimon, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest
Topic: Israel and the Midwest: Economic, Cultural, and Political Prospects
Dr. Chin Liu, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Kansas University Medical Center
Ralph Kauffman, M.D., Director of Medical Research, Children’s Mercy Hospital
Sharon Lee, M.D., Medical Director, Southwest Boulevard Family Health Clinic
Topic: Nuremberg Rules
Elizabeth Rindskopf, Senior Advisor to U.S. Intelligence Community
David MacMichael, former CIA officer, analyst, and independent consultant
Topic: The CIA: America’s $26 Billion Work Force – Who Needs Spies Anyway?
J. Christopher Poole, Consul General of Canada, Canadian Consulate General/Chicago
Topic: The Billion-Dollar-A-Day Relationship
Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr., U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Topic: The New Transatlantic Relationship
Michael Heflin, Deputy Director, Midwest Regional Office, Amnesty International
John Cleek, Director, Center for International Business, Henry W. Bloch School of Business, UMKC
Topic: Human Rights Declaration: An Unequal Treaty?
Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General
Peter Bass, U.S. Department of State
Topic: Foreign Policy Sanctions: A Treatment Worse Than the Disease?
Dr. Jerry Leach, Executive Director, World Affairs Councils of America
Topic: Americans and World Affairs
1999
Noel Lateef, President and CEO, Foreign Policy Association
Topic: Foreign Policy Meets the Information Age: Is Peaceful Coexistence Possible?
Dr. Stephen S.F. Chen, Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States
Topic: The Republic of China–U.S. Relationship: Retrospect and Prospect
Ainslee Embree, Professor Emeritus of History, Columbia University
Topic: India: The Nuclear Age and Beyond
Hon. Mario Fernando Ramos-Reyes, Consul General, Republic of Paraguay
Topic: Politics Not as Usual: Prospects for the U.S. in Latin America
Alan Kreczko, Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Ambassador Howard Jeter, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,
C. David Welch, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. U.S. Department of State
Topic: Peace and Politics: The U.S. in World Crises – Town Meeting
Hodding Carter III, President, CEO, and Trustee, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Topic: Getting to Yes: Foreign Policy and Public Opinion
Sir Christopher Meyer, British Ambassador to the United States
Topic: Britain and America: What’s New?
Hon. Toshiyuki Fujiwara, Consul General of Japan
Topic: U.S. and Japan: Beyond Economic Diplomacy