William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program - Annual Report 2024-25

William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College

Report of Academic Year 2024–25

Table of Contents One Semester – Lifetime Impact..................................................................................1 With Gratitude................................................................................................................ 2 New Beginnings and Fond Farewells............................................................................ 3 Director’s Report: Year in Review.................................................................................. 5 Foreword from Director Cynthia Rothschild......................................................... 5 Looking Back........................................................................................................... 6 The Future............................................................................................................... 7 In Memoriam: Jacques Fomerand......................................................................... 8 Overview of the Group and Internships.............................................................. 10 Academics and Courses.......................................................................................14 Additional Highlights............................................................................................ 15 Events.................................................................................................................... 15 Summary Remarks from Laura Hebert..................................................................... 16

32 William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College

The William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College provides a comprehensively enriching and unique experience for Occidental’s students. The chance to engage in hands-on learning and witness the creation and implementation of international policies on a global stage gives our Kahane UN Program students access that is unmatched by any other undergraduate institution.

Participants observe international diplomacy at the highest levels; gain insights into foreign policy; enhance their understanding of global issues; gain cultural competency and a global mindset; and ultimately advance their careers through opportunities for networking with diplomats, thought leaders, and experts from around the world. Through these internships and the two academic courses that complement their internships, students learn the skills and insights to prepare them for any career they may choose to take on in the future.

One Semester — Lifetime Impact The impact of the Kahane UN Program goes far beyond students’ semester at the UN: • The Program is a major draw for students when choosing colleges. Participants like Shawn Cremer ’18 decided to apply to Occidental specifically for the chance to intern at the UN. • Students develop their expertise in research, writing, and communication. Hannah Galvan ’24 shared that she became more confident in her Spanish-speaking skills as a result of working at the Costa Rica Mission, with other alumni pointing to their time at the UN as a defining experience. As Cholpon Ramizova ’15 noted: “I can say without hesitation that the Kahane UN Program was the highlight of my undergraduate career.”

• Many Kahane UN Program alumni go on to pursue work in related career fields afterward. Malcolm Sowah ’20 became a senior policy advisor at the UK Mission to the UN, his internship site when he was a Kahane UN Program participant. Following graduation, Ama Peiris ’17 returned to the Sri Lankan Mission where she interned to work as a research officer for a few years before attending Harvard Kennedy School.

• Students’ UN internship experiences transform them into globally minded, service-oriented leaders, aligning with the values and goals of many national scholarship programs like the Fulbright Program.

Multiple Kahane UN Program participants have gone on to receive Fulbright Scholarships (over 20 in the last 25 years!) and other prestigious national awards. Olani Ewunnet ’17 received a Davis Projects for Peace grant; earned a master’s of design in urbanism, landscape, and ecology from Harvard; and has established herself as an interdisciplinary artist working across drawing, sound, video, and social practice.

• The impact of the Kahane UN Program extends beyond New York. For our annual UN Week at Oxy in March 2025, a wide range of students and community members on campus were able to participate in programming focused on “The Future of the UN? Tensions and Challenges,” inspiring dialogue and conversation, academic engagement, and critical inquiry.

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With Gratitude We are grateful for the steadfast support of William and Elizabeth Kahane for the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program Endowment and the William and Elizabeth Kahane Scholars at Occidental and the United Nations Endowment, which continue to make these unique opportunities for our students possible.

Since the establishment of the William and Elizabeth Kahane Scholars at Occidental and the United Nations Endowment, nearly 50 Kahane Scholars have been given scholarship funds to support their time at the UN. In the past 10 years alone, over 160 students have participated in the Kahane UN Program thanks to the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program Endowment.

Award Fellow with the Aspen Strategy Group and led subnational dialogues with India and China on climate and energy. Currently, she is a senior policy advisor to the founding director at the Center on Global Energy Policy at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Calli has also continued to stay engaged with Oxy and has served as a member of Occidental’s Board of Governors. Calli’s journey exemplifies both the ideals of a liberal arts education and the Kahane UN Program— intellectual curiosity, academic excellence, global citizenship, and commitment to service.

Nearly 50 Kahane Scholars have been given scholarship funds to support their time at the UN. In the past 10 years alone, over 160 students have participated in the Kahane UN Program.

One such alumna of the Kahane UN Program, Calli Obern ’16, who was also a Kahane Scholar, used her time at the UK Mission to hone skills that have since allowed her to successfully build a career around energy, climate, and national security priorities. After graduating from Occidental, Calli worked at the US Department of Energy’s Office of International Affairs, where she developed expertise in trade policy, industrial decarbonization, and critical minerals. Calli also led bilateral engagement with China on deploying carbon management technologies in the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management.

Additionally, she was selected as a Brent Scowcroft

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Such success stories from Kahane UN Program alumni are common. Your vision and generosity have opened doors to unparalleled experiences for our students to engage directly with global issues, experience international diplomacy firsthand, and contribute meaningfully to the work of the UN and other critical fields. Thank you for believing in the potential of our students and for empowering them to become the changemakers our world needs.

William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College

New Beginnings and Fond Farewells With great appreciation, we thank Kahane UN Program Director Cynthia Rothschild for her remarkable five years of leadership. Under her purview, the Kahane UN Program has continued to dynamically adapt in order to meet changing student needs, UN site expectations, and address global political developments. Cynthia has made many invaluable contributions, including transitioning the Kahane UN Program to a fully remote format during the pandemic and productively expanding internship placements to include non-governmental actors such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Outright International, and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict. Her impressive network of contacts at the UN and in the NGO world has also allowed us to invite a number of distinguished speakers to campus during our annual United Nations Week, spurring dialogue around topics such as how to build intersectional solidarity and promote rights relating to race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

As we say farewell to Cynthia, we welcome to the Kahane UN Program our new director, Dr. Azza Karam. We are excited by the expertise Dr. Karam brings with her, having worked as a practitioner of international development, human rights, and peace and security since 1990. She worked within the UN for two decades, including as a coordinator of the Arab Human Development Reports for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and founder and chair of the UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Sustainable Development. She is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism and formerly served as the secretary-general for Religions for Peace—the first woman, first Muslim, and first North African to hold this position. She is also the founding president and CEO of Lead Integrity, the first women-led global consultancy firm dedicated to serving the common good through the leadership, competence, and integrity of professionals inspired by their diverse faiths.

We also unexpectedly bid farewell this year to Kahane UN Program Assistant Director Jacques Fomerand, who

passed away in November after serving for more than 20 years in this position. We had a memorable opportunity to celebrate Jacques’ legacy and impact on generations of students at our Jacques Fomerand Memorial Kahane UN Program Alumni Panel, which was held on March 5, 2025 as part of our UN Week on campus. It was a moving and deeply felt celebration of a much-beloved member of our community.

While we mourn Jacques, we also prepare to welcome our new assistant director, Emily Krasnor. Emily has worked for more than 20 years at the UN, including with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) where she was team lead for gender-based violence in emergencies. Much of her work within the UN system focused on strategic planning, capacity-building activities, and setting protection policy relating to gender equality and gender-based violence in humanitarian emergencies.

Dr. Azza Karam

We are thrilled to welcome our new leadership team and look forward to the expansive vision, knowledge, and innovation they’ll bring to the Kahane UN Program.

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William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College

A Foreword From the Director This foreword is a difficult and emotional one to write for two primary reasons. First, this will be my last: after five wonderful years, I will be resigning as the director of this fantastic Kahane United Nations Program.

And next, because alongside that transition, in November we lost one of the spines of this Program—our beloved Assistant Director Jacques Fomerand, who guided us for over 20 years. I’ll share a bit more on each theme below.

CYNTHIA ROTHSCHILD Director, William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College

Despite a relatively “business as usual” start to the semester, our 2024 season took unanticipated and dramatic turns. Jacques passed away on the day before the 2024 US election, and then…the election transpired. We experienced two catastrophic lightning bolts within hours, and both changed our semester and the Kahane UN Program in significant ways. There’s more on Jacques in another section of this report; for now, suffice it to say that he knew most of the UN like the back of his hand, he absolutely loved his students, and I was profoundly lucky to have had him along as my co-pilot since I started in 2020. His passing was a devastating loss for me, for the students, and for many at Oxy and within the UN system.

With that said, our 17 students made it through our Program months with grace, care, and generally, good humor. They took care of one another through a very difficult period. Some tried to take care of me, which was very sweet and humane, and which also reflected on their maturity.

The fall of 2024 was a period of change, and given what we know of the world, a time of anxiety for many of us. And this is real life: there are cataclysmic events we can’t predict or fully understand the implications of when they first occur. In a best-case scenario, these present learning opportunities. Here’s one example: In the second half of the semester, in our Human Rights class, students explored the rights implications of Project 2025, the now-infamous Republican strategy document. Students did this work in groups—with focus areas on international law and immigration, security, academic freedom and education, and democracy, and they used the actual text of the 800-pluspage published document. This was daunting, especially after it became clear that our distant fears were no longer in the realm of “What if?” In addition to exploring rights implications of the impending dismantling of the administrative state, students also focused on resistance to various policies so they could see actual or future areas for mobilization.

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Looking Back My first Oxy season, in 2020, was remote and came during the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic. What a whirlwind that was: students did their internships remotely and professionally. I was so deeply impressed.

I have to this day not met all of them in person; I know them only as faces on a Zoom screen.

In 2021, Kahane UN Program students arrived in New York and we had an on-site semester with many adjustments to ensure everyone’s health. Despite our efforts, four students contracted COVID two days before their departure at the end of the semester, which led to an emergency round of isolation and quarantine! It was wonderful to be “live” and for all of us to see full humans (and not just heads in squares!). Other than the “active shooter” incident in front of the UN (which was a misnomer, really, but there truly was a man with a gun across the street), the semester was relatively normal.

Students working together in the Human Rights class.

Seasons 2022 and 2023 were also relatively calm. We had routine flooding in subways which made national news, the death of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II, raging military conflicts, humanitarian and climate crises, government denial of human rights obligations, and failures of multilateralism and democratic governance—all the usual and taken in stride.

Last year, of course, was the most volatile for the reasons noted above. But overall, I am so proud of the Kahane UN Program students, and the Kahane UN Program itself is extraordinary. I only tweaked what I inherited, but I’m particularly pleased with these areas of growth: • While not creating a major shift in how we all speak of and understand the Kahane UN Program, there’s now a narrative that looks at the UN, the placements, and part of the coursework through a social justice lens.

• The Kahane UN Program now has an NGO layer for placements so students can learn the value of UN work from being within “civil society.” They can see that the UN can be a site to advance agendas they care about to elicit change. Social justice work must include UN spaces and work alongside (and sometimes against, of course) governments or their policies. Those who want change must be in all spaces and must know how to maneuver and strategize for desired outcomes. I hope this Program under my tenure taught and affirmed that for Oxy’s wonderful students.

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William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College

• I also shifted some of our Kahane UN Program content to go more deeply into the human rights arena to complement our historic focus on peace/security and development. I’m hopeful that alumni of the Kahane UN Program have a deeper facility with using a human rights lens to think about current political and resource challenges. I also hope that they are better equipped to make demands of governments (and others) as a result.

• On a practical level, Jacques and I also built out the orientation that students participate in upon their arrival in New York to provide a deeper launch into a life-changing few months.

The Future As I depart, the Kahane UN Program is in excellent hands. Oxy’s Los Angeles team ensured a careful handoff to two people who will show great leadership. Dr. Azza Karam is the incoming director. She has an extraordinary depth of UN knowledge from her work at the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, and in related governmental and civil society efforts. Azza brings, among other areas, a focus on religion, culture, and geopolitics.

Emily Krasnor is the Kahane UN Program’s new assistant director. She, too, comes with decades of UN experience, including from working at UN Women, UNICEF, and UNFPA. Emily has a particular interest and background in gender, humanitarian concerns, and peace and security issues, including in relation to genderbased violence.

I’ve been working with them and the Oxy Los Angeles team in recent months to ensure a smooth transition for our incoming 2025 students. And speaking of the latter, we have a great incoming group of students, too.

The 2024 Kahane UN Program participants in front of the United Nations building.

I’m so indebted to the International Programs Office, along with the Diplomacy and World Affairs Department and the Kahane UN Program Committee. Robin Craggs, Marisa Mofford, Laura Hebert, Anthony Chase, Madeline Baer, and Derek Shearer have ensured the integrity of the Kahane UN Program for years to come.

Our Kahane UN Program students have been terrific, as has been watching them grow. And, of course, I have so much appreciation for Bill and Elizabeth Kahane, who have shown nothing but kindness, interest, and unyielding support.

Warmly, and with deep gratitude,

Cynthia

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In Memoriam

Jacques Fomerand, Assistant Director Jacques’ passing in the middle of our semester was a devastating event none of us anticipated or were prepared for. Jacques was 81 at the time of his death and taught with the Kahane UN Program for over 20 years.

Jacques began his work within the UN system in 1977. He held highlevel posts in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the United Nations University North American Office. After he retired from the UN system, Jacques continued teaching (and winning teaching awards!) as adjunct faculty at institutions including Columbia University, New York University, City University of New York, and Seton Hall University. During his time with Oxy, Jacques likely worked with over 300 Occidental students, many of whom were lucky to call him both “professor” and “friend.”

Jacques’ knowledge of the UN system was unequivocally vast. He took on exhaustive writing projects, including authoring two major tomes: Historical Dictionary of the United Nations and Historical Dictionary of Human Rights. These were enormous: the human rights volumes contained close to 850 pages. There are very few people who carry the expertise he did, so his passing leaves an absence in our “collective knowing” as well.

But mostly, we know Jacques for his humility and his big, gentle, supportive heart.

Always wanting to hear their new stories, Jacques was the Jacques Fomerand, Cynthia Rothschild, and Kahane UN Program students on campus at an event to talk about master of the “lunch their experiences during fall 2021. date” with former students. Soft-spoken as a professor until he burst forth in a passionate articulation of something he cared a lot about (Marxism and socioeconomic analysis, red wine or French cinema, for instance), he taught in blue Pumas and brought snacks for students to every class. He often had a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face. We were all so lucky to be in Jacques’ orbit, with his knowledge and care raining down on us for a generation.

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William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College

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Kahane UN Program Assistants Raja Bella Hicks ’25 and Peter Vartanian ’25

Overview of the Group and Internships A group of 17 exceptional students was accepted into the 2024 Kahane UN Program cohort.

We placed those students in 10 sites. Of these host sites, 2 were new (the UN Anti-Racism Office and the International Lesbian and Gay Association). The Anti-Racism Office is a new project within the UN system; we were lucky to be taken into the fold as they established the first year of their program.

Gender and demographics: 10 male, 7 female (based on application data). Note that this year saw a reversal in the trend of more female students in the Kahane UN Program.

PLACEMENTS

GOVERNMENT MISSIONS

UN AGENCIES

NGOS

7 STUDENTS

5 STUDENTS

5 STUDENTS

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PLACEMENTS GPPAC (Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict) GA and Security Council focus and work with the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) membership constituents in peacebuilding.

ILGA (International Lesbian and Gay Association – UN Office) GA and human rights focus, resolution tracking, event planning, media support.

IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation – UN Office) GA and human rights focus, resolution tracking, data analysis of anti-rights actors.

Dalilah Buffalo ’25

Noor GA and climate environment focus, mapping of global anti-fascism efforts.

Mission of United Kingdom GA focus, including human rights, security, UN budgeting, communications, and social media.

Charlie Carver ’25

Elham Nasratullah ’25

Renn Stearns ’25

Molly Sparrow ’25

Sofia Guerrero ’25

Raja Bella Hicks ’25

Bernadette Robinson ’25

Joy Mopeli ’25

Jacob Whitney ’25

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PLACEMENTS Mission of Costa Rica GA focus, including security and disarmament, UN budget, and human rights.

Nathaniel Lundstrum ’25

UN Anti-Racism Office Internal UN human resources focus, including institutional policies and practices combating racism.

UNDP (UN Development Programme)

Connor Climate and environment, discrimination McConnell ’25 against LGBTQIA+ people, analysis of criminalization and drug policy reform.

UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) GA and Security Council focus, tracking resolutions and positions related to refugees and migration, impact of UN institutional budget cuts.

UNFPA (UN Population Fund) Gender-based violence focus, support for team as UNFPA planned to move its headquarters to Nairobi.

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Peter Vartanian ’25

Matthew Vickers ’25

William Petersen ’25

Dennis Isak ’25

Lauren Chin ’25

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Academics and Courses Our two courses again focused on human rights and conflict prevention/peace/security. These themes remain central to the UN itself, and therefore the Kahane UN Program overall. Our classes function as the context setters—they provide the themes and the nuances that also help students situate and understand the professional work they’re doing in their internships. Whether that’s exploring the Russia/Ukraine conflict or the US’ role in the UN system, our topics and methods are always important and timely.

Jacques required written policy briefs for his course.

Students were required to present a problem, take the position of a particular actor (e.g. a policy specialist), and put forward possible solutions.

The Human Rights class retained its increasingly important focus on anti-rights efforts and addressed growth in authoritarianism, clampdowns on civic space, and antagonism toward people in marginalized groups (immigrants and LGBTQIA+ people, for instance). Alongside the Project 2025 focus noted above, the documentary Bad Faith served as a frightening but important part of our syllabus.

These classes go beyond theory, providing students with a practical, interdisciplinary education that allows them to analyze root causes of global issues, assess policy responses, and propose meaningful solutions.

Students learn critical skills: how to write more clearly, develop strategic communications, analyze policy, and translate complex research into accessible, actionable recommendations that can inform laws, shape programs, and influence advocacy. As a result, students leave the Kahane UN Program with a deeper understanding of human rights, equipped with the tools they need to engage in public service, nonprofit work, international advocacy, and policy development.

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GUESTS DURING THE SEMESTER Joyce Bukuru and Renzo Pomi from Amnesty International (Joyce had been a student supervisor for the Kahane UN Program when she worked for the UK Mission!). They spoke about threats to human rights around the world.

Leilah Farsakh, a Palestinian political economist and author, who addressed the history of Palestine.

Mariam Jalabi from the Syrian Opposition Party to the UN, who gave updates about the Assad regime.

Marina Kumskova from the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, who spoke about peacebuilding and advocacy.

Doris Mpoumou from Save the Children, who spoke about advocacy at the African Commission.

Additional Highlights School for International Training The Kahane UN Program continued its relationship with the School for International Training (SIT) for everything related to health and wellness. SIT administrator Karl Rivera returned for their third season with us and continued to serve as a parallel partner in the semester. Karl coordinated fun weekend excursions and semi-monthly discussions with the group. And, as seems to be inevitable in each semester, there was student illness. Karl helped students navigate everything from insurance and doctor’s visits to accessing mental health counseling.

Events During the semester, we welcomed President Tom Stritikus and Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Kathryn Leonard to a breakfast meeting with the Kahane UN Program students and then enjoyed an Oxy alumni evening event at the Museum of the City of New York. Many Kahane UN Program alumni joined in a tribute to Jacques. This was the first large alumni and friends gathering Oxy has hosted in New York since the COVID-19 pandemic took root in 2020.

We also had the pleasure of joining Bill Kahane at a lovely reception that he organized mid-semester.

Students were so glad to meet the man behind the Program name.

In addition, Stéphane Dujarric, the UN SecretaryGeneral’s spokesperson, hosted us once again at one of his fascinating UN morning press briefings. In these meetings, which he holds daily, Dujarric faces a barrage of journalists’ questions about topics as wide-ranging as the blocking of humanitarian aid in war zones, UN agency budget cuts, and the Secretary-General’s

travel schedule. Stéphane is very generous with his time; he talked with students and posed for photos in the press room after reporters left.

It is truly extraordinary—and exceptionally rare—for undergraduate students to have the opportunity to witness the daily workings of global diplomacy so closely, sitting in the same room as seasoned international journalists, senior diplomats, and UN officials. These briefings are where the world learns about the UN’s response to critical global issues—from humanitarian emergencies and peacekeeping efforts to geopolitical conflicts and human rights crises.

For students, being in the room is not just a learning experience; it’s an immersion in the fast-paced, highstakes world of international policy communication.

They gain firsthand insight into how global narratives are shaped, how international law and diplomacy are communicated to the public, and how transparency and accountability are maintained on the world stage. It’s one thing to study the United Nations in a classroom—it’s another to experience its work in real time.

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Summary Remarks by Laura Hebert

Kahane UN Program at Occidental College Committee Chair This has been a difficult year for the United Nations. Even as states convened for the 79th General Assembly under the theme of “Unity and Diversity for Advancing Peace, Sustainable Development and Human Dignity, Everywhere and For All,” Oxy’s 17 Kahane UN Program interns were given a front-row seat to UN politics in action during the fall of 2024, a time that exposed severe cracks in the global commitment to multilateralism and respect for human rights. It has also been a difficult year for the Kahane UN Program because of the loss of our beloved assistant director, Jacques Fomerand, during the fall semester. In spite of these challenges, the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program Endowment offered the entire Oxy community invaluable opportunities this spring to reflect on both the serious obstacles facing the UN today and the many legacies of Professor Fomerand’s dedication to decades of Oxy students.

As in years past, the “United Nations at Oxy” component of the Kahane UN Program centered on DWA’s annual “UN Week,” which this year was held during the first week of March and centered on the theme of “The Future of the UN? Tensions and Challenges.” Dozens of students once again mobilized to organize a series of events. This year, studentled events included “The Art of Protest,” a photo exhibition that showcased the role of visual media in protest of human rights abuses around the world; a UN Week Craft Fair that featured products relating to the UN Sustainable Development Goals; a UN Trivia Night; and a screening of the 2023 Oscar-winning documentary Navalny.

Our keynote speaker this year was Azza Karam.

Dr. Karam gave a timely and inspiring talk on “Reconstructing Multilateralism and Forging Solidarity in Troubling Times,” during which she emphasized the vital importance of fostering dialogue across differences and the joy that comes with working in concert with others toward the common good. This was a theme to which she returned during a lovely luncheon held the following day with fall 2024 Kahane UN Program participants and students who had helped to organize UN Week events.

It was especially poignant for Dr. Karam to be our keynote speaker this year, given that she was good

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friends with Professor Fomerand, and one of his last acts as assistant director was to invite her to participate in UN Week. Dr. Karam, along with Jacques’ wife Marianthi, was also able to join us for what was undoubtedly the most emotional event of the week: the Jacques Fomerand Memorial Kahane UN Program Alumni Panel and Reception. While highlighting the work of the 2024 cohort of students, the panel also included the participation of alumni from over the past 20 years who spoke movingly about the meaningful impact Jacques had on their lives and careers as a teacher and mentor.

It is difficult to capture the magnitude of the loss those of us affiliated with the Kahane UN Program feel following Jacques’ passing.

He profoundly enriched the Program with his decades of experience as a UN insider, a respected scholar of the history of the UN and human rights, a patient and passionate teacher, and a generous colleague. It is difficult to imagine the Kahane UN Program without Jacques. It is also difficult to imagine the Program without Cynthia Rothschild as its director. Among her many accomplishments, Cynthia was instrumental in successfully steering the Kahane UN Program through the challenges of the pandemic. Without her capable leadership during this fraught time, it is

entirely possible the Kahane UN Program would not exist in its current form today, given the difficulty of maintaining the relationships with internship hosts that make the Program possible. Building on her many years of human rights advocacy, she productively expanded internship placements to include non-governmental actors who engage with the UN to promote positive social change from the bottom up. She also transformed the model of Kahane UN Program leadership to one centered on partnership—not only with the assistant director, but also with DWA and Oxy more generally, recognizing that all aspects of the Kahane UN Program are made stronger when informed by the knowledge, skills, passions, and support of those most invested in its continued success.

It is daunting to imagine the Kahane UN Program without Cynthia and Jacques at the helm, but their legacies will live on, under Dr. Karam’s and Emily Krasnor’s leadership, and thanks to the resources the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program Endowment provides to ensure the Program continues to be the most distinctive experiential learning opportunity in the country for future global leaders committed to the public good.

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1600 Campus Road Los Angeles, CA 90041-3314 18 William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College