Announcing the 49th Annual Conference Plenary Speakers!
We are excited to present our plenary speakers for the upcoming Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Our plenary guests reflect a wealth of experience in educational exchange, peace-building, government service and diplomatic affairs. They bring perspectives both from within, and just outside, the Beltway in the heart of our nation’s capital. We look forward to hosting all of our conference attendees in community as we forge both new and familiar paths ahead.
–Karen McBride, Executive Director
Kathryn Insley is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation Programs at the U.S. Department of State. Ms. Insley oversees the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s four foreign assistance program offices: Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR), Export Control Cooperation (ECC), Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism (WMDT), and the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF). Together, these programs prevent the spread of WMD, delivery systems, and advanced conventional weapons capabilities and protect critical and advanced technologies from malicious use. Previously, Ms. Insley held key roles on the National Security Council and within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Ms. Insley is the recipient of numerous Superior Honor Awards, the 2022 Edward J. Perkins Memorial Award, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award. She earned a J.D and MPP from the University of Maryland Law School and School of Public Policy.
Katherine A. Brown, Ph.D. is the President and CEO of Global Ties U.S., the national leader in connecting people in the U.S. and their communities with the world through international exchange and citizen diplomacy programs. Katherine and her team support 80+ member organizations nationwide to advance U.S. strategic priorities abroad and boost prosperity at home by harnessing the diplomatic potential of our country’s greatest asset: our people.
Katherine’s professional and academic careers have focused on soft power and the intersection of foreign policy and the media. She previously served as a Public Diplomacy Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan; a Professional Staff Member at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; and as the Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. She received the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship and is a former Young Leader of the French-American Foundation. Katherine holds a B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University and a Ph.D. in Communications from Columbia University.
Dr. Michael Yaffe is vice president of civic engagement and scholarship at United States Institute of Peace. In this capacity, he manages programs connecting the American public to the Institute, special initiatives, exhibitions, peacebuilding awards and recognition, grants, fellowships, and scholarships. He previously served as the vice president for USIP’s Middle East and Africa programs and, after standing up the Africa Center in October 2020, as the vice president of the Institute’s Middle East and North Africa Center.
Before joining USIP, Dr. Yaffe served in a variety of positions in the U.S. government, most recently as a senior advisor to both the special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the special envoy for Middle East peace at the U.S. Department of State. He also spent time as an academic dean and distinguished professor of strategic studies at the National Defense University.
Previously, Dr. Yaffe was a career foreign affairs officer at the State Department concentrating on Middle East peace negotiations, regional security and nonproliferation and served on U.S. delegations to the “Madrid” Middle East arms control and regional security talks, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and NATO. Dr. Yaffe earned a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s from the London School of Economics and bachelor’s from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
The Capital Hilton is a historic hotel in the heart of the nation’s capital and offers comfortable, remodeled rooms and suites, two restaurants, and extensive event space. A uniquely centric location: less than a mile from McPherson Square metro station and The National Mall, Georgetown, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum are within two miles.