Careers in International Affairs: Discussion & Lunch

Join us for a conversation with experienced international professionals to learn from their experiences and gain insight on the range of skills and experiences that would enhance your ability to enter and succeed in your international careers.

Dawn Calabia is a consultant who works on issues of statelessness, aid to displaced populations, resettlement, and asylum. She now serves as honorary advisor to Refugees International. Earlier, she served ten years in the UN as deputy director for the United Nations Information Center Washington office and as senior external relations officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Calabia was also director of refugee policy and development at the US Catholic Conference and has worked on the Hill. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, treasurer of the WFPG Board, and a founder and commissioner of the Women's Refugee Commission. In 1996, she was honored at the White House for her work with refugee women and children.

Andi Gitow is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist who's the acting deputy director of the UN Information Center in DC. Gitow also served the UN in NY for more than 10 years in various capacities including: executive producer and acting chief of partnerships in the News and Media Division; and as head of film, global campaigns and special projects in the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. She's traveled to and reported from nearly 50 countries, covering genocide, human rights and humanitarian issues. Her work has garnered more than 30 prestigious awards. Prior to joining the UN, Gitow was a producer at NBC Network News. Her broadcast features and documentaries have also appeared on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and PBS, among others. She holds a BA and MS in Psychology from Columbia.

Ambassador Linda Jewell served 32 years in the US Foreign Service, with a final assignment as Ambassador to Ecuador (2005-2008). Her other positions at the Department of State include Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and director of the Office of Policy Planning and Coordination for the Bureau. She served in Indonesia, India, Mexico, Poland, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Ambassador Jewell joined the Foreign Service (US Information Agency) in 1976 after a stint in publishing at Prentice-Hall, Inc. After leaving the State Department in 2008 she was Executive Vice President of the International Student Exchange Programs until 2015. She has a BA from Yale and a Master's in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins SAIS.

Sandra Pepera is a career diplomat and international development professional. Before joining National Democratic Institute (NDI) as its director for gender, women and democracy, she spent thirteen years as a senior officer at the UK's Department for International Development, including leading programs in the Caribbean, Rwanda-Burundi and Sudan. Previously, she spent time in British domestic politics; lecturing in political science and international relations at the University of Ghana; and as a political analyst in the Political Affairs Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat. Her experience spans strategy development, political and risk analysis, diplomacy, general management and corporate governance.

Patricia Ellis (Moderator) is president and co-founder of the WFPG, a nonprofit which promotes women's leadership and voices in foreign affairs. Previously, she was a journalist covering foreign affairs for the MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She also taught news coverage of foreign affairs at American University's Washington Semester Program, worked at the US UN Mission, and MIT's Center for International Studies. Ellis was awarded a fellowship from Harvard's Shorenstein Center, received the Netherlands Universities' Foundation for International Cooperation Scholarship for graduate study in The Hague, participated in the European Community Visitor's Program, and was a founding member of the International Women's Media Foundation. She moderates WFPG programs.

Time: Thursday, August 11, 2016, 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Location: The Wilderness Society 1615 M Street, NW Washington, DC

This program is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Space is limited and preference will be given to WFPG members.

Click here to register

Please direct any questions to 202-429-2692 or programs@wfpg.org.