2010
Ingrid Betancourt, author
Topic: Every Silence Has an End
Jean-Louis Bruguière, High Representative of the European Union to the United States
Topic: Transatlantic Cooperation in the Fight against Terrorism
Hon. Emanuel Cleaver, U.S. Congressman from Missouri
Topic: Cuba Today: Reflections on My Visit
H.E. Gary Doer, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S.
George Friedman, CEO of STRATFOR
Topic: The Next 100 Years
David Gergen, former Presidential Advisor
Topic: Remarks on Issues Affecting the United States
Ambassador John Herbst
Dr. Dale A. Neuman, Director, Harry S Truman Center for Governmental Affairs at UMKC, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at UMKC
Dr. Christopher Preble, Director of Foreign Policy Studies at the CATO Institute
Topic: Giving Diplomacy a Chance: The Iranian & North Korean Nuclear Problems
Dr. Roland Quinault, Fulbright-Robertson Visiting Chair of British History at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri
Topic: Winston Churchill Speaks to the 21st Century
Condoleezza Rice, diplomat, political scientist, and concert pianist
Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
H.E. Han Duk-Soo, Ambassador to the U.S., Republic of Korea
Dr. John D. Sullivan, Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise
Topic: Governance and Emerging Markets in Fragile States
Daniel Wildcat, Native American scholar
Topic: Red Alert! Saving Our Planet with Indigenous Knowledge
Hon. Jason Yuan, Republic of China’s (Taiwan’s) Representative to the United States
2011
Hon. Fernando de la Rua, former President of Argentina
Eric Greitens, Senior Fellow at the University of Missouri Truman School of Public Affairs
Topic: The Heart and the Fist
Parag Khanna, author
Topic: How to Run the World
Hon. Junq-Tzer Lin, Governor of Taiwan province
Topic: Taiwan’s Challenges and Opportunities
John J. Mearsheimer, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, Co-Director of the Program on International Security at the University of Chicago
Gerald Seib, Washington Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal
Topic: Beyond Iraq & Afghanistan and How the 2012 Elections Will Shape It
Teng-Kee Tan, Dean of UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management
Laura Unger, Special Advisor at Promontory
Topic: After the Financial Crisis: The Four Corners of Risk in the Post Dodd-Frank World
H.E. Mauro Vieira, Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S.
Stephen Zack, President of the American Bar Association
2012
Ayad Akhtar, author
Topic: American Dervish
Dr. Gary Armstrong, Professor of Political Science at William Jewell College
Topic: Clash of Civilizations
Erin Ennis, Vice President of the U.S.-China Business Council
Julie Walton, Chief Representative of the U.S.-China Business Council’s Shanghai Office
Topic: Doing Business in China
Dr. Nader Hashemi, Assistant Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver
Topic: This Islamic World: The Crisis of Religion and Politics
Ambassador Allan Katz, U.S. Ambassador to Portugal
Charles A. Kupchan, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, author, and Professor at Georgetown University
Hon. Gary Locke, U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China
Topic: China Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections
Tibor Nagy, Vice Provost for International Affairs at Texas Tech University
Jacob Prado, Mexican Consul in Kansas City
Topic: Mexican Foreign Policy
H.E. Ebrahim Rasool, South African Ambassador to the U.S.
Topic: Development and Diplomacy
Anthony Shadid, author of House of Stone
Ike Skelton, Partner in Washington, D.C., office of Husch Blackwell, U.S. Representative for 34 years
H.E. Jorge Skinner-Klee, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States from Guatemala
Dr. Thimios Zaharopoulos, Special Assistant to the President at Park University
Topic: Greek Debt Crisis: What’s Happening and What Does It Mean?
2013
Ambassador Terence McCulley, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria
Diana Untermeyer, wife of U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, author of Qatar: Sand, Sea, and Sky
H.E. Darío Paya, Permanent Representative of Chile to the Organization of American States
Topic: Update on Chile
Graham Paul, Consul General of France in Chicago
Topic: U.S.-France Relations
Neal Conan, National Public Radio reporter, editor, and former senior host of Talk of the Nation
Frederick Jiang, Senior Vice President of Ivy Investment Management Company
Topic: The Myth and Fact about the Chinese Economy
Daniel Markey, senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations
Topic: No Exit from Pakistan
2014
Robert Jervis, Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics at Columbia University and past president of the American Political Science Association
Topic: Why Does the U.S. Spend So Much on Security and Feel So Insecure? Fear, Interests, and Opportunity in Contemporary American Foreign Policy
Alexander G. Tsiovkh, Ph.D., Director of Ukrainian Studies at the KU Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies
Lidiya Zubytska, doctoral student in political science at the University of Kansas and native of Ukraine
Gregory J. Cook, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel
Topic: Ukraine: A Nation in Transition, an Uncertain Future
Haroon Ullah, member of Secretary of State John Kerry’s policy planning staff
Topic: Political Violence and Extremism in Pakistan
Dr. Vandana Shiva, physicist, ecologist, activist, and author
Topic: Cultivating Diversity, Freedom, and Hope
Ioanna Efthymiadou, Consul General of Greece & EU Local Chair in Chicago
Christina Sevilla, Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President
Fred Baehner, Publisher, IBNewsMag
Gino Serra, Honorary Vice Consul of Italy & Partner, Bryan Cave LLP
Timothy Lynch, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Law, UMKC School of Law
Ambassador Allan Katz, former U.S. Ambassador to Portugal
Topic: European Union and the United States: An Important Relationship for the Midwest
Sigurd Pacher, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Austrian Embassy
Haroon Ullah, member of Secretary of State John Kerry’s policy planning staff
Topic: New Trends in Shadow States: How ISIS Could Reshape the Middle East
Hon. Roey Gilad, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest
Topic: Israel: Facing the New Challenges in the Middle East
Janet Napolitano, former Secretary of Homeland Security, Governor of Arizona, and Attorney General of Arizona
Topic: Of Borders and Bridges
Amanda Aikman, a consultant with the International Labour Organization (ILO)
Christopher Budke, former FBI special agent for more than 30 years
Katie Cronin, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law
Teresa Moore, Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
Topic: Human Trafficking: Global Crisis – Local Implications
Dr. David Sanders, founder, School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa
Topic: Global Health within the Context of Globalization: Challenges and Key Actions
Ambassador Robert Ford, former U.S. Ambassador to Syria and Algeria
Topic: Syria, Iraq, and U.S. policy in the Middle East