Updated February 14, 2022
Special thanks to Zoë Vavřina, PeaceXchange Program Director, for assembling an outstanding set of events for students this semester. Check out the descriptions. To contact Zoë, email ZOE.VAVRINA@UCDENVER.EDU or access https://calendly.com/zoevavrina
February 1, 5pm - 6pm
“Resumes in International Affairs” hosted by Ambassador Catherine Ebert Gray
Zoom Link: https://ucdenver.zoom.us/u/abIueSbkpu
PeaceXchange is the student organization at CU Denver that prepares students for careers in International Affairs. This event is an interactive resume workshop. This workshop will cover general resume tips and information that is specific to careers in international relations. This workshop is hosted by Catherine Ebert Gray. Catherine is a former US Ambassador to Papua New Guinea. Catherine spent the majority of her career at the State Department and is currently working as the Director of Global Education at CU Denver.
March 1, 5 PM - 6 PM
“Careers in International Affairs Panel”
Location: NORTH Atrium A
-- Dip 'in Dots and tacos served at this event --
Come explore what a career in international affairs looks like. Panelists include:
Denise Chang
Denise is the director of the Colorado Housing Asylum Network where she supports Asylum seekers in establishing new lives in Colorado. Previously Denise worked as an advocate for immigrants in border detention centers.
Karen Sugar
Karen is the founder of the Women's Global Empowerment Fund. With the Women's Global Empowerment Fund, Karen works to provide resources, connect and inform women and stakeholders globally around the issues of equality and justice.
Catherine Ebert-Gray
Ambassador Catherine Ebert-Gray joined the University of Colorado Denver I Anschutz as our Director of Global Education in 2020 after three decades in the U.S. Foreign Service, most recently as Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. In addition to leading the Office of Global Education, Catherine assists in study abroad program development, marketing, outreach, and expansion of opportunities for students to prepare for the global workforce. Prior to service as Ambassador, Catherine served in a number of senior State Department positions including service at U.S. Missions in Egypt, Australia, Togo, Papua New Guinea, Germany, Mali, The Philippines, and Morocco. As Deputy Assistant Secretary in Washington, she closely supported global U.S.G. operations. As Director of Overseas Employment, she led the office responsible for U.S.G. overseas employment policies, hiring, and compensation. Catherine holds a B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.S. in National Resource Management from the National Defense University.
March 15, 5 PM - 6 PM
"Negotiating International Security"
Location: Emmanuel Art Gallery (Across from the Library)
Reckless arms trading devastates lives. Weapons and ammunition are produced and sold in shockingly large quantities. Twelve billion bullets are produced every year. That is almost enough to kill everyone in the world twice. Every day, thousands of people are killed, injured, and forced to flee their homes because of gun violence and armed conflict. A global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) imposing strict rules to regulate international arms transfers has been in force for over five years, yet global arms trading is still on the rise and continues to fuel human rights abuses. This is because some of the largest arms exporters like Russia and the USA have not ratified the treaty. And even countries that have ratified the treaty fail to comply with it, and transfer weapons and munitions to places where they risk being used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes. Civilians typically bear the brunt of modern conflict. Weapons such as artillery, mortars, guided bombs, and missiles destroy hospitals, homes, markets, and transport systems, pushing survivors into poverty. People’s lives are destroyed. This is the cost of an unregulated arms trade industry. Irresponsible arms trading affects those living inside and outside areas of armed conflict and political instability. Gun violence is a daily tragedy that impacts people around the world, the vast majority of whom are not living in conflict zones. Globally, more than 500 people die every day because of violence committed by firearms.
April 5, 11AM - 12PM
“Seeing through the Subterfuge: International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution”
Zoom Link: https://ucdenver.zoom.us/j/92000968387
What happens when a war ends? How do countries emerging from war grapple with pressing economic, political, and security dilemmas while trying to remain or become stable? The end of war can be described as the “dangerous hour” as a weak state needs to address the underlying causes of the conflict such as systemic economic inequities; highly fragmented political, social, and cultural networks; porous borders; and the presence of different types of criminal networks. Simultaneously, a state emerging from war has to respond to its obligations to international agreements and the pressing demands of new interest groups that emerge in the aftermath of war.
April 13, 5 PM - 6 PM
“Look. Think. Act. Redefining International Development”
Location: Tivoli Brewing Company
Jamie Van Leeuwen is the founder and CEO of the Global Livingston Institute. Van Leeuwen says if you really want to change a community, start by listening to the people who live there. He discovered this 10 years ago when he founded the Global Livingston Institute. His mission: to educate students and community leaders on innovative approaches to international development. How? By listening, by thinking, and then, acting.
‘Africa is filled with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that have showed up with matching T-shirts to build schools and medical clinics, without really understanding the needs of the community. If you really want to impact change in Africa, come in and think with the community before you act.'” – Jamie Van Leeuwen
If you live in Denver, you may have seen Van Leeuwen’s name before. In 2006, he was appointed by then Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to lead a homelessness initiative, and in 2014, he served as senior advisor for then-Governor Hickenlooper. Through his work in local and state politics, he has helped generate more than $300 million in new resources for the public good, which included leveraging more than $50 million in resources for the homeless and preventing more than 3,500 families from becoming homeless. During that period, Van Leeuwen was recruited to spearhead the street outreach program for Urban Peak, where he directed fundraising, legislative work, and research. He also enrolled in CU Denver’s School of Public Affairs. The structure of the master’s program “allows people to continue their professional work while enhancing their academic credentials, which is significant in terms of people’s abilities to grow in their communities,” Van Leeuwen said. While at CU Denver, Van Leeuwen was named the inaugural fellow for the Livingston Fellowship Program, created by the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation to provide learning opportunities to nonprofit leaders. His fellowship work focused on building a network in the community through Denver’s Road Home—then-Mayor Hickenlooper’s ten-year plan to end homelessness that Van Leeuwen was appointed to lead—and finishing his Ph.D. in public policy and social impact.