NMH Wantman Family State of the World Speaker Series

Northfield Mount Hermon

Wantman Family State of the World Speaker Series A Ten-Year Retrospective

“I’d like to ask what your own boldness might look like.”

— Kurt Hoetling, environmentalist

Kurt Hoetling hiking with NMH students, 2010

Northfield Mount Hermon is grateful to Charles Wantman ’59 for his foresight and generous support in creating the

Wantman Family State of the World Speaker Series The impact of the series over the past decade is not to be underestimated. The breadth and depth of topics explored, experiences shared, and insights gleaned has made for powerful conversation and reflection in the classroom, across campus, and throughout the community.

Speakers have encouraged audience members—especially students—to pursue issues more intentionally, question more deeply, and seek to better understand the connections and responsibilities we share as global citizens.

“This series inspired me to see how people were engaging with global issues beyond our campus, and had a profound influence on my choice to pursue a career in international development.”

— Ismini Ethridge ’14 The Earth Institute, Columbia University

Following are brief descriptions of the 54 events presented over the past 10 years of the Wantman Family State of the World Speaker Series. Northfield Mount Hermon recognizes the impact of these speakers, their topics, and the ensuing discussions on the thousands of students, faculty and staff, parents, and members of the greater community who have attended.

2018–19

Jim McGovern U.S. Representative (D-MA) The Road Ahead for Human Rights: How America Can Continue to Lead in the 21st Century by Speaking Out Deborah Housen-Couriel ’77 International cybersecurity lawyer and policy expert Cybersecurity Today: The What, Why, How, and Who Nigel Brissett, PhD Assistant professor of international development and social change, Clark University Caribbean Responses to the Migration of Its Most Educated Citizens 2017–18

Teresa Savel Documentary filmmaker Screening of Palomita, a documentary about the Q’ewar Project—a social and economic initiative working to improve the lives of indigenous women in southern Peru.

Hugh Price Former president of the National Urban League, author, business leader From Valley Forge to Civil Rights: One Family’s Quest for the American Mainstream

Hugh Price, 2018

M.V. Lee Badgett, PhD Professor of economics and former director of the School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst The Economic Cost of Homophobia and Transphobia in the U.S. and the World Nicholas Reo, PhD Assistant professor of Native American and environmental studies, Dartmouth College Protection, Protest, and Indigenous Environmental Stewardship in the 21st Century

Dorothy Stoneman, 2017

2016–17

Dorothy Stoneman Founder and former CEO, YouthBuild USA Empowering Youth in Low-income Communities Darius Nabors National Parks explorer and blogger The Challenge of Balancing Tourism and Preservation in America’s National Parks 2015–16

Jessica Jackley Founder of pioneering microloan organization Kiva Using Social Media to Create Social Change: The Story of Kiva Matt Trevithick ’04 Imprisoned in Iran for 41 days From Iraq to Iran and Afghanistan Edwidge Dorelien Educator, founder of Haiti Sustainable Education Haiti: An Unknown “Maroon” Bill Arnold ’62 Professor in the Practice of Energy Management, Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University Your Energy Inheritance: What Will You Do with It?

Alison Wright, 2015

2014–15

Alison Wright Award-winning National Geographic photographer Face to Face: Portraits of the Human Spirit Anna Stevens ’09 Travel educator Natural Resources and Power: Ties Along the Mekong River Bonita Bigham New Zealand South Taranaki district councillor and chairperson of Te Maruata Te Ao Maori, Te Ao Hurihuri (translation: The Maori World, A Changing World) LiNK – Liberty in North Korea Non-profit activist organization The Arduous Journey: The Safe Resettlement of North Korean Defectors 2013–14

LiNK – Liberty in North Korea Non-profit activist organization Inside North Korea: The Human Condition in the Secret State Bill Spindle Middle East bureau chief, The Wall Street Journal Continuity and Change in Iranian Foreign Policy Under President Rohini Erik Chaput, PhD Historian, former NMH faculty 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation: Abraham Lincoln’s “Moral Evolution” and Declaration of His Support of Black Suffrage

Will Perez ’04, 2011

Lexi Wang ’14 and Washington Wang ’14 NMH student presentation Tibet: A Personal Investigation of the Chinese Perspective Versus the Western Worldview NMH Islamic Middle East class – panel discussion NMH student presentation One-state and Two-state Solutions: A Debate of Arab, Israeli, and Western Viewpoints of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Erik Chaput, PhD Historian, former NMH faculty 150th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address: Perspectives on Lincoln’s Greatest Speech Miko Peled and Jane Hilal Israeli peace activist and Palestinian development researcher The social, economic, and political influences of the Israeli-Palistinian conflict presented from two unique areas of expertise.

Bill Spindle Middle East bureau chief, The Wall Street Journal The long-term effects of colonization in the Middle East, and the modern influences of social media and Western culture.

“I’m always striving to find compassion in the face of chaos.”

—Alison Wright, National Geographic photographer

Anna Stevens ’09, 2014

Alex Fischer ’01 Research associate, Earth Institute, Columbia University Water, an Emerging Global Problem: Case Studies from Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Lebanon 2012–13

Chasing Ice Award-winning documentary film on climate change The Arctic’s rapidly changing glaciers as captured through the lens of environmental photographer James Balog.

Eric Foner Noted historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Abraham Lincoln, Reconstruction, and the Value of Understanding and Examining History Rev. Richard P. Unsworth ’45 Former NMH Head of School, author Peace: A Global Imperative Kelly Cohun ’96 U.S. State Department foreign service officer, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Addressing Critical Environmental, Science, and Technological Issues Through Diplomacy

“For every act of violence there has to be an act of kindness.”

—Don Goodrich Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation

William R. Rhodes ’53 Retired president and CEO of Citibank N.A., author, NMH Board of Trustees chair emeritus Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance Brot Coburn Best-selling author with 20 years experience living in the Himalayas Life with Aama: The Inspiring Wisdom of a Himalayan Woman Brooks Kraft ’82 Former White House photographer for Time magazine An illustrated talk showcasing Kraft’s photographs with a discussion of the civic responsibility in capturing his subject matter.

Froma Harrop Nationally syndicated columnist Analysis and Discussion of the 2012 Presidential Election Donald Glascoff ’63 Documentary film producer Screening of Uprising, a film centered on the Arab Spring in Egypt from the perspective of its leadership and key organizers.

Froma Harrop, 2012

Tim Jenkins Attorney and lobbyist Money in Politics: Examining the Transparency of Contributions to Political Campaigns In conjunction with the 2012 VOTES Project Grant Gonzalez NMH faculty, history and Arabic language Clash of the Fundamentalists: How Extremists Across the World Have Hijacked the Global Agenda 2011–12

Donald Glascoff ’63 Documentary film producer Screening of In My Lifetime, a documentary film about the history of nuclear weapons, followed by a discussion on international affairs, the spread of nuclear weapons, and nonproliferation efforts.

Dean Cycon Founder of Dean’s Beans Coffee Roasters The realities of “fair trade” practices in the coffee industry and utilizing business as a vehicle for social change.

Amitav Ghosh, 2009

Fritzie Fritzhall Holocaust survivor, president of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center The remarkable story of an Auschwitz–Birkenau extermination camp survivor and her mission to educate students, and encourage others to face adversity as a community.

Ted Thornton Retired NMH faculty, history The Arab Spring: A Year Later Daniel Greenberg Executive director, Living Routes Sustainable Development Through Ecovillages: Intentional Communities Built Around Environmental Ideals Amy Toensing Freelance photojournalist for national and international publications Aboriginal Australia: The Importance of Understanding Indigenous Cultures and Their Sustainability in the Modern Age Dr. Ted Widmer Historian, director and librarian of the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University The Impact of Time on the Stories of Major National Events: How individuals, states, and regions interpret history to serve the needs and interests in America today Lia Gladstone Artist and former professor, American University of Afghanistan The Changing Realities in Afghanistan as Seen Through the Arts.

Second in a two-part series on Afghanistan.

Don Goodrich Co-founder, Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation Building Schools in Afghanistan: A Mission to Eradicate Terrorism Through Access to Education. First in a two-part series on Afghanistan.

2010–11

Colonel Rick Van Arnam Senior military intelligence officer, recently returned from his second tour in Afghanistan How Controversy in the United States Impacts Soldiers in Afghanistan Will Perez ’04 Medical student Outreach in Haiti: A Personal Calling to Global Health Christine Cole Banking expert, managing director at JP Morgan Chase Examining the Global Financial Crisis of the Past Two Years Tom Wessels Environmentalist, professor, Antioch University New England The Myth of Progress: Toward a Sustainable Future Kurt Hoetling Environmentalist, author NMH Climate Change Awareness Day Keynote Address Anna Rosmus German political activist Holocaust Colloquium Keynote Address: The “Nasty Girl”—How a young girl exposed the hidden Nazi past of her hometown Passau, Germany 2009–10

Robert Meeropol Son of convicted U.S. spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg; founder, Rosenberg Fund for Children Execution in the Family: One Son’s Journey Amitav Ghosh Author, finalist for the International Booker Prize Inaugural Address for the Wantman Family State of the World Speaker Series

“You can find inspiration in places that scare the absolute hell out of you, in places you never thought.”

—Will Perez ’04

Charles Wantman ’59 with guest speaker Deborah Housen-Couriel ’77

The Wantman Family State of the World Speaker Series was established in 2008 by Charles Wantman ’59 in memory of his sister Joan Abarbanel ’56, a long-time resident of Israel, and brother Mayer E. Wantman ’57, a long-time resident of London. Additionally, this series honors the memory of their uncle Morrie Wantman, who was deeply involved in international education, having worked for the Carnegie Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Educational Testing Service.

This speaker series was created in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in an effort to generate thoughtful and broad-ranging dialogues about contemporary developments in world affairs. The series brings noted scholars, theologians, activists, and writers to speak to students, faculty, and staff about a variety of relevant topics.