Spend the evening with us on August 20 from 6 - 8 pm PT for a seminar on the historical, cultural, and diplomatic significance of mahjong as a tool of soft power. Members will hear from Angie Lin, Founder of East Never Loses & Founding Member of Mahjong Mistress, and Jessie Kornberg, President and CEO of the Skirball Cultural Center. The conversation will be followed by small group lessons on mahjong gameplay. 

On August 6 at 9 am PT, dial in for a discussion on the proposed closure of U.S. embassies around the world as part of a broader effort by the government to reduce State Department spending. This conversation will address the potential effects on U.S. national security, foreign policy priorities, and the country’s ability to influence international affairs. Members will hear from Darrell Blocker, a Former American Intelligence Officer and Founder of DMB Consulting Services, Michelle D. Gavin, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Dr. Lisa Saum-Manning, Associate Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Program and a Senior Political Scientist at RAND, and a Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy.

Hear from Tyler Beckelman, Former Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Africa, USAID, Ebenezer Obadare, Douglas Dillon Senior Fellow for African Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and Ornella Nsoki, DRC Program Manager at PAEMA (Preventing and Ending Mass Atrocities), on July 25 at 8 am PT, for a dialogue addressing the longstanding tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The Pacific Council is excited to host an intimate roundtable discussion with Ryan Hass, one of the nation’s foremost experts on U.S.-China relations and Director of the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings in Washington, D.C., on June 12 at 5 pm PT.