Nuclear Weapons Policy in a Hot World
2026-05-14 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information has been sent to eligible members on Friday, March 13.
After decades of relatively successful policies of nuclear restraint, the world is facing new challenges amidst the erosion of important arms control agreements in an increasingly volatile global environment. The war in Ukraine reminded folks why nuclear weapons are seen as powerful deterrents, but it also illustrated the risks of living in a world where those weapons shape decision-making. The war against Iran has demonstrated that military action, even when intended to prevent proliferation, can increase the incentives for a nation to produce nuclear weapons and reduce international visibility into nuclear weapons programs. These conflicts highlight the need for a broad, balanced approach that recognizes the reality of deterrence in today’s world, while still prioritizing diplomacy and reducing reliance on nuclear weapons.
CCFR is honored to host Emma Belcher, President of Ploughshares, to help us understand the nuances of nuclear weapons policy, the convergence of artificial intelligence and nuclear weapons, and the practical, tangible ways the world can reduce nuclear risk.
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here.

Young Professionals Spring Social
2026-05-21 17:30 - 20:00 UTC | Whistle Taproom, 818 Huron Road E., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
CCWA’s Carter E. Strang Young Professionals Advisory Committee (YPAC) invites you to join us for an evening of networking with other globally-minded young professionals! This is a fantastic opportunity to grow your network, have stimulating conversations, and learn more about the opportunities that CCWA has for young professionals. Complimentary appetizers will be served and a cash bar will be available.
YPAC is a body of young professionals who support the work of CCWA in its efforts to engage young professionals and students in our programming. YPAC members do this by providing program feedback and insight to the board and staff of CCWA, leading coordination of young professional events, and serving as community ambassadors for CCWA and its programs.
To learn more about YPAC and meet current members, click here.
Location: Whistle Taproom, 818 Huron Rd E, Cleveland, OH 44115

Patience, Power, and Purges: A Closer Look at China's Security Policy
2026-06-03 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Under 35, Diplomat, and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information will be sent to eligible members on Wednesday, May 20.
CCFR is honored to host Brian Hart, Deputy Director and Fellow of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to help us understand China’s security priorities, the dynamics at play among China’s leadership, and now, how China hopes to emerge as a beneficiary of the Iran war.
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here.

Celebrate the World Cup with CCWA!
2026-06-17 16:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Masthead Brewing Co., 1261 Superior Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44114, United States
This summer, 48 nations will compete for the most coveted trophy in sports, and CCWA is excited to bring you into the heart of the action. Join us at Masthead Brewing Co. on Wednesday, June 17 to watch high-stakes soccer, play World Cup bingo, and embrace the wonderful atmosphere and community of the World Cup! This event is free and open to all, so grab your friends and kick it with CCWA!
The Schedule: England vs. Croatia, 4:00 – 6:00pm; Ghana vs. Panama 7:00 – 9:00pm. (The opening matches for Group L.)
The Soccer: In a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal, European heavyweights England and Croatia face-off to start their tournaments. Both nations have their sights set on advancing deep into the knockout rounds, but their group mates Ghana and Panama might have something to say about that. At the World Cup for the fifth time, Ghana had an enormously impressive qualifying campaign. Many believe that this team could provide Ghana’s best-ever finish at a World Cup. However, they must be careful not to overlook Panama, as while not a traditional powerhouse, Panama was arguably Central America’s most impressive team over the last year. They will see this opening match against Ghana as the perfect opportunity to make some noise and prove their doubters wrong!
The event is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Global Ambassadors Debrief and Impact Session
2026-06-23 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Midtown Collaboration Center, 1974 E. 66th St., Cleveland, OH, 44103, United States
CCWA invites you to join the Global Ambassadors Debrief and Impact Session on June 23, 2026, from 5:30-7:00pm. As we wrap up this year’s program, the 2025-2026 Global Ambassadors look forward to sharing program impact on their work and their leadership development, lessons learned, best practices that can be applied in our community, and the energy and inspiration they have gained as a part of this program. We are eager to share the impact of the program with you!
The event is free of charge, but advance registration is required.

Navigating Trade Policy
2026-06-25 09:00 - 2026-06-26 12:30 (America/New_York) | Oswald Tower, 950 Main Avenue, Cleveland, 44113, United States
This program has been cancelled. Refunds will be issued to those who have registered for the program.
CCWA is partnering with world-renowned think tank and executive education provider, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), to provide a 1 ½ day in-person executive education opportunity in Cleveland on June 25-26, 2026. CSIS Executive Education provides innovative programming for problem-solvers and professionals, leveraging world-class experts and coaches to cultivate a one-of-a-kind learning environment.
Navigating Trade Policy is designed for mid-career and senior public and private sector professionals, and will focus on the fundamentals that any current or future leader needs to know about the international trade system, U.S. trade policy, and global supply chains—customized to focus on the topics most relevant to Northeast Ohio organizations.
This course is targeted at mid-career and senior business executives who are looking for a greater understanding of global economic issues, including:

Supply chain professionals
Government affairs representatives
Compliance specialists
International business development and export market promotion professionals
Market analysts and finance specialists

If you work in supply chain strategy and management, government affairs, compliance, international business development or export market identification, market analysis, or finance, this course is for you!
The course is conducted by CSIS and CCWA experts with decades of experience in global trade and economics, and roots in Ohio:

Scott Miller
Senior Mentor (Non-Resident), CSIS Executive Education
Former Director for Global Trade Policy, Procter & Gamble

Meredith Broadbent
Senior Advisor (Non-Resident), Economics Program, CSIS
Former Chair, U.S. International Trade Commission

Marti Flacks
Chief Executive Officer, CCWA
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Supply Chains, U.S. Department of Commerce

In partnership with:

Tipping the Scales: An Emergent India on the World Stage
2026-06-25 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
Registration for this event has closed. Please email jconnell@ccwa.org if you would like to attend.
The Cleveland Council on World Affairs is honored to host Akriti Vasudeva Kalyankar for the Dr. Raj and Karen Aggarwal Forum on India. Please note that this event will be held at the Union Club of Cleveland.
With the world’s largest population and an economy with enormous potential for growth, India is a global swing state, one whose outlook and actions will significantly influence the international order throughout the 21st century. While India maintains an independent approach to foreign policy, the United States had prioritized developing a strategic relationship with India over the past 25 years. There is a growing number of shared interests between the U.S. and India, including defense cooperation, trade and development goals, evolving supply chains, and concerns about the expansion of Chinese power.
CCWA is glad to be joined by The Stimson Center’s Akriti Vasudeva Kalyankar to share her analysis on India, its foreign policy, and its relationship with the United States. How will South Asia’s dominant power position itself on the world stage as it rises to prominence? What should we expect from U.S.-India relations moving forward, particularly as it relates to the great power competition with China?
Akriti Vasudeva Kalyankar is a Fellow with the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center, with over 10 years experience working across think-tanks and media in the United States and India. Her research focuses on U.S.-China-India strategic dynamics, geopolitics of Southern Asia and the Indo-Pacific, U.S.-India defense and strategic cooperation, and Indian foreign policy. She is Editor-in-Chief of South Asian Voices, an online magazine featuring strategic analysis and commentary on the security, politics, and economics of the subcontinent. She also serves as an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Professional and Area Studies at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute.

Dinner Hosting: Youth in the Political Process
2026-06-28 18:00 - 21:00 UTC
CCWA is looking for internationally minded individuals and families to host international exchange participants for dinner on Sunday, June 28th.
Participants from across the world will be in Cleveland on an exchange project called Youth in the Political Process
Dinner Hosting FAQ
No need for an elaborate multi-course meal. Dinner does not need to be expensive and can be done as easily as you’d like. A potluck or a catered meal are also possibilities. Schedule pending, a weekend brunch or lunch may also be arranged.
The more the merrier. You’re welcome to invite family members or friends to help welcome your international guests.
Who’s coming to dinner? Groups range from 2 – 5 visitors—an interpreter may be included, too. Background information will be provided typically one week in advance. This includes visitor name, profession, and dietary restrictions.
Sign me up! To host this group, please contact Trey Rainey at trainey@ccwa.org. We ask first time hosts to fill out a Citizen Diplomat profile form here. A CCWA staff member will also briefly meet you in person at your home prior to hosting.

Bridging the Gap: A Diplomacy Simulation
2026-07-23 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Ukrainian Museum and Archives, 1202 Kenilworth Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44113, United States
This event has been canceled. Please email jconnell@ccwa.org with any questions.
If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at representing a nation’s interests on the diplomatic stage, this event is for you! Created by CCWA’s Education Team and drawing upon real world issues, this diplomacy simulation gives participants the chance to act as ambassadors seeking to solve a water rights conflict underlaid by a tense border dispute. Not an easy task! You will have to work with your allies, and your enemies, if the conflict is to be resolved.
Participants will be split into groups and assigned a nation. This is a fun opportunity to test your negotiation and consensus building styles, as well as meet new folks from the CCWA community! Please note that there is a small amount of pre-reading that will be sent to participants in advance in order to maximize our time together.
The Ukrainian Museum and Archives has generously opened their space to us for this event. Founded in 1952, they have done excellent work preserving and sharing Ukrainian culture and their immigrant experience. Rather than a registration fee, we kindly suggest a donation of $15 to the UMA — click here to donate.

Dinner Hosting: Regional Collaboration to Combat Transnational Crime
2026-08-09 18:00 - 21:00 UTC
CCWA is looking for internationally minded individuals and families to host international exchange participants for dinner on Sunday, August 9th.
Participants from across the world will be in Cleveland on an exchange project called Regional Collaboration to Combat Transnational Crime
Dinner Hosting FAQ
No need for an elaborate multi-course meal. Dinner does not need to be expensive and can be done as easily as you’d like. A potluck or a catered meal are also possibilities. Schedule pending, a weekend brunch or lunch may also be arranged.
The more the merrier. You’re welcome to invite family members or friends to help welcome your international guests.
Who’s coming to dinner? Groups range from 2 – 5 visitors—an interpreter may be included, too. Background information will be provided typically one week in advance. This includes visitor name, profession, and dietary restrictions.
Sign me up! To host this group, please contact Trey Rainey at trainey@ccwa.org. We ask first time hosts to fill out a Citizen Diplomat profile form here. A CCWA staff member will also briefly meet you in person at your home prior to hosting.

Dinner Hosting: Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development
2026-08-23 18:00 - 21:00 UTC
CCWA is looking for internationally minded individuals and families to host international exchange participants for dinner on Sunday, August 23rd.
Participants from across the world will be in Cleveland on an exchange project called Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development
Dinner Hosting FAQ
No need for an elaborate multi-course meal. Dinner does not need to be expensive and can be done as easily as you’d like. A potluck or a catered meal are also possibilities. Schedule pending, a weekend brunch or lunch may also be arranged.
The more the merrier. You’re welcome to invite family members or friends to help welcome your international guests.
Who’s coming to dinner? Groups range from 2 – 5 visitors—an interpreter may be included, too. Background information will be provided typically one week in advance. This includes visitor name, profession, and dietary restrictions.
Sign me up! To host this group, please contact Trey Rainey at trainey@ccwa.org. We ask first time hosts to fill out a Citizen Diplomat profile form here. A CCWA staff member will also briefly meet you in person at your home prior to hosting.

West Asia: The Middle East 25 Years After 9/11
2026-09-16 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Under 35, Diplomat, and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information will be sent to eligible members prior to the event.
CCFR is glad to host Mohammed Soliman, author of West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East, for a timely discussion on how the U.S. may need to fundamentally alter its approach to the Middle East as the region undergoes structural change.
Our discussion will center around Mr. Soliman’s thesis that the traditional Middle East is disappearing, replaced by a “West Asia” that is increasingly defined by its ties to the East. Power is being reorganized around AI infrastructure, trade corridors, energy transition, and migration flows rather than the ideological rivalries and external interventions of the past. As the Gulf positions itself as a global hub for technology, capital, and connectivity, the region is becoming a central player in the shifting international order. What does this reorientation mean for global power dynamics, and what does it mean for America to pivot from “nation-building” to “order-building” in a space increasingly shaped by Asian powers and a tech-driven Gulf?
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here(opens in new tab).

Model United Nations Academy
2026-09-19 10:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Shaker Heights Public Library Main Branch, 16500 Van Aken Blvd, Cleveland, OH, 44120, United States
Come learn the ins and outs of Model United Nations! Join CCWA for our upcoming Model UN Academy on Saturday, September 19 from 10:00-3:30pm at the Shaker Heights Library Main Branch. This workshop is designed for middle and high school students, Model UN program advisors, and educators who are new to Model UN and CCWA’s Model United Nations conferences, and experienced participants interested in strengthening their Model UN knowledge.

Throughout the day, attendees will learn and actively take part in impactful and engaging workshops led by Model UN student leaders, advisors, and CCWA staff. Advisors will learn strategies to establish and improve their Model UN program. More details on workshop topics can be found below:

Student Workshop Topics:

Model UN 101 and Navigating Model UN as a New Delegate – Decorum, Relationship Building, and Making Your Mark in Committees

Know-It-All: Strengthening Your Research and Writing Skills, Parliamentary Procedure, and Motions

This Is A Crisis!: Preparing For and Succeeding In Crisis Committees

Talk It Like You Walk It: Mastering Public Speaking and Debate

Put It Into Practice: Mock Committee Simulation

Advisor Workshop Topics:

Advocating for and Building Your Model UN Program

Model UN 101: The Ins and Outs of The Model UN Experience

Building and Sustaining Student Curiosity – Expanding MUN Learning to the Classroom and Beyond

Registration is $15/person. Lunch and snacks will be available. Kindly note that registration costs are being partially subsidized through foundation support for all students participating in CCWA’s Model UN program. If the payment is a barrier for participation, please reach out to Lydia Johnson at lyjohnson@ccwa.org.
At this time, registration will be capped at 65 spots. Any changes to program capacity will be communicated as early as possible. Registration will close on Thursday, September 17.

Dinner Hosting: Professional Fellows from South Asia
2026-09-19 18:00 - 21:00 UTC
CCWA is looking for internationally minded individuals and families to host international exchange participants for dinner on Saturday, September 19th
Participants from India, Pakistan, and Nepal will be in Cleveland through the U.S. Department of State Professional Fellows Program for Governance & Society. Fellows will be in Cleveland for four-week fellowships with various government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Help provide these fellows a warm welcome to our community!
Dinner Hosting FAQ
No need for an elaborate multi-course meal. Dinner does not need to be expensive and can be done as easily as you’d like. A potluck or a catered meal are also possibilities. Schedule pending, a weekend brunch or lunch may also be arranged.
The more the merrier. You’re welcome to invite family members or friends to help welcome your international guests.
Who’s coming to dinner? Groups range from 2 – 5 visitors—an interpreter may be included, too. Background information will be provided typically one week in advance. This includes visitor name, profession, and dietary restrictions.
Sign me up! To host this group, please contact Andrew Kovach at akovach@ccwa.org. We ask first time hosts to fill out a Citizen Diplomat profile form here. A CCWA staff member will also briefly meet you in person at your home prior to hosting.

Dinner Hosting: U.S. Judicial System
2026-09-20 18:00 - 21:00 UTC
CCWA is looking for internationally minded individuals and families to host international exchange participants for dinner on Sunday, September 20th
Participants from across the world will be in Cleveland on an exchange project called The U.S. Judicial System
Dinner Hosting FAQ
No need for an elaborate multi-course meal. Dinner does not need to be expensive and can be done as easily as you’d like. A potluck or a catered meal are also possibilities. Schedule pending, a weekend brunch or lunch may also be arranged.
The more the merrier. You’re welcome to invite family members or friends to help welcome your international guests.
Who’s coming to dinner? Groups range from 2 – 5 visitors—an interpreter may be included, too. Background information will be provided typically one week in advance. This includes visitor name, profession, and dietary restrictions.
Sign me up! To host this group, please contact Trey Rainey at trainey@ccwa.org. We ask first time hosts to fill out a Citizen Diplomat profile form here. A CCWA staff member will also briefly meet you in person at your home prior to hosting.

Uyghur Human Rights and Global Supply Chains
2026-09-23 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Martin L. King Branch of Cleveland Public Library, 10601 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, United States
This Foreign Policy Forum is made possible by support from the Bickford Fund.
The mass internment of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region has been described by many nations as crimes against humanity, if not genocide. What began as a significant human rights concern has also become a trade and commercial one: Xinjiang is a major global source of raw materials and components that are used in products worldwide. With the passage of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021, U.S. importers now face a legal presumption that goods with ties to the region are made with forced labor. Supply chain due diligence now sits at the intersection of human rights, national security, and everyday business practice.
CCWA is honored to be joined by Nury Turkel, one of the world’s leading voices on Uyghur human rights, to discuss the crisis in Xinjiang and its implications for the global economy. How did a regional campaign of repression become embedded in international supply chains? What leverage do companies, consumers, and governments have to pressure China into reforms?
Nury Turkel is an attorney, author, and human rights advocate, and the first U.S.-educated Uyghur-American lawyer. Born in a re-education camp during China’s Cultural Revolution, he came to the United States in 1995 and was later granted asylum. He co-founded the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom from 2020 to 2024, including as Chair from 2022 to 2023. His recommendations were incorporated into both the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2021. His law practice focuses on export controls, economic sanctions, and supply chain due diligence. He is the author of No Escape: The True Story of China’s Genocide of the Uyghurs, winner of the 2023 Moore Prize for Human Rights Writing, and was named to the TIME 100 in 2020 and Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders in 2021.

Please note that this event will be held at the Martin L. King Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library. All are welcome!

NORAD at 70: The Future of North American Security
2026-10-21 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Under 35, Diplomat, and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information will be sent to eligible members prior to the event.
CCFR is honored to host General (Ret’d) Tom Lawson to share his insights into the future of North American security cooperation as the U.S.-Canada partnership enters a new chapter of increased tension.
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here(opens in new tab).

What Have We Learned? Key Takeaways from Brazil's Presidential Election
2026-11-05 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Under 35, Diplomat, and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information will be sent to eligible members prior to the event.
CCFR is glad to host Tatiana Cruz to share her analysis of Brazil’s presidential election that will take place the week prior to this event. The race between incumbent leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, is hotly contested and considered to be a true f-rok-in-the-road moment for one of the world’s largest democracies.
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here(opens in new tab).

AI, Automation, and the Reshoring Boom
2026-11-10 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
After three decades of offshoring, American manufacturing investment has turned sharply homeward. Tariffs, pandemic-era supply chain shocks, and a bipartisan turn toward industrial policy have pushed companies to build capacity in North America, while the buildout of artificial intelligence has created enormous new demand for data centers and the power to run them. The reshoring boom raises difficult questions about infrastructure, environmental concerns, and workforce development. For a region historically built on manufacturing, these issues will largely define the economic future of Northeast Ohio.
CCWA is glad to be joined by Eaton’s Chief Economist, Jordan Vickers, to share his analysis of where the global manufacturing economy is heading and what it means for Northeast Ohio. How durable is the reshoring trend, and how much of it survives a change in trade policy? Where is AI actually showing up in industrial productivity data, as opposed to corporate announcements? And how can Northeast Ohio’s workforce and infrastructure keep pace with the trends in global manufacturing?
Jordan Vickers is Vice President, Chief Economist at Eaton, where he leads the company’s team of economists and advises senior leadership on the global economic outlook, market forecasting, and capital allocation. He has spent his career at the intersection of macroeconomics and industrial demand, having served in various economic analyst roles in Eaton for nearly two decades. His analysis spans manufacturing and machinery markets, construction and infrastructure cycles, and regional economic conditions across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Please note that this event will be held at the Union Club of Cleveland. All are welcome!

The New Landscape of Global Aid and Health Security
2026-12-02 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The architecture of the past six decades of global aid and health security has been dismantled in a remarkably short span of time. USAID, for many years the primary vehicle for American development and humanitarian assistance, was dissolved in 2025. In January 2026, the United States formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Other donor governments have made cuts of their own, and the institutions that monitor outbreaks, move food and medicine, and coordinate emergency response are operating with far less money and far fewer people than they had two years ago. The consequences are already being tested in real time, from the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo to displacement crises in Sudan, Gaza, and beyond.
CCWA is glad to be joined by Jeremy Konydyk, President of Refugees International, who has led American disaster and pandemic response efforts under two administrations, to assess what has changed and what comes next. Who fills the aid gaps left by American withdrawal? What does health security look like when surveillance and response capacity have thinned? And what obligations, if any, does the United States retain in a system that it largely built?
Jeremy Konyndyk is President of Refugees International, an independent advocacy organization for displaced people that accepts no government or United Nations funding. He served in the Biden administration as USAID’s lead official for COVID-19, overseeing the agency’s multibillion-dollar pandemic assistance portfolio and the U.S. donation of hundreds of millions of vaccine doses, and later as the administration’s lead official on the global mpox response. From 2013 to 2017, he directed USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, where he led the American response to international disasters. Between his government appointments he was a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, focusing on humanitarian reform and pandemic preparedness.

Please note that this event will be held at the Union Club of Cleveland. All are welcome!

Rising to the Challenge: Moldova During Russia's War
2026-12-08 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Under 35, Diplomat, and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information will be sent to eligible members prior to the event.
CCFR is honored to host Ambassador Vladislav Kulminski to discuss how Moldova has emerged as a bright spot amidst an era of global insecurity and uncertainty. The country has made meaningful progress in strengthening the country’s democratic transition, establishing the foundations for economic growth, and charting a path toward European integration. Yet that progress remains fragile. Russian hybrid warfare, economic and political pressures, and the spillover effects of the war in neighboring Ukraine have tested Moldova’s resilience. Meeting these continued challenges will require sustained international support, including a strong partnership with the United States.
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here(opens in new tab).

The New Geopolitics of Central Asia
2027-02-25 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Under 35, Diplomat, and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information will be sent to eligible members prior to the event.
CCFR is honored to host Ambassador Daniel Rosenblum to share his insights into the geopolitical shifts that have taken place across Central Asia in recent years and how the U.S. might be able to forge new partnerships in the region.
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here(opens in new tab).

Partners or Adversaries: The Sahel After the Coups
2027-04-14 17:45 - 20:15 (America/New_York) | The Union Club, 1211 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115, United States
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations (CCFR) is exclusive to Under 35, Diplomat, and Ambassador members and their guests. An email with registration information will be sent to eligible members prior to the event.
CCFR is honored to host Alex Thurston to share his analysis on the state of the Sahel and West Africa. He will discuss the recent surges in attacks and expansion of territory controlled by jihadist groups, the response by regional governments, and why U.S. counter-terrorism security cooperation in the region may need to be reassessed.
The Cleveland Committee on Foreign Relations is a dinner and dialogue series that provides unparalleled access to top experts and diplomats for candid discussions of today’s most pressing international issues. Participation is exclusive to Diplomat and Ambassador members and their guests. To join, renew, or upgrade your membership, please click here(opens in new tab).

Destination Helsinki - Travel with CCWA
2027-05-30 - 2027-06-06
Travel with CCWA on an immersive, small group journey to Helsinki, Finland. From the UNESCO-listed Suomenlinna Sea Fortress to the modern Oodi Library, Helsinki is a place where history and the future come together.
This seven-day journey with CCWA is designed for the curious traveler who is interested in more than sightseeing. Explore the city by foot, tram, and bike. Share long dinner tables with fellow travelers and locals. Peek inside the halls of the Finnish Parliament and swap ideas with Finnish thinkers on world affairs and society. And swap your shoes for a sauna towel. Intimate by design, the small group format will promote connection, unique access to Finnish cultural and historic sites, and many memorable moments.
Jenni Carney, CCWA’s Chief Operating Officer and Finnish native, will lead travel with the group. The program is priced at $4,545 per person (single supplement: $225), and includes six nights accommodations, daily breakfast, two group dinners, local transportation, and all tours and entry fees. Airfare is not included.
Attend an information session to learn more about Destination Helsinki!
Join us for an information session on Wednesday, August 26 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM to learn about the travel itinerary, logistics, and registration. This will be an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about this exciting travel opportunity. Please register in advance for the information session on Zoom here – LINK.
Sign me up!
For itinerary details and to reserve your spot, LINK FOR ITINERARY .
For questions or inquiries, contact Andrew Kovach, Director of International Exchanges, at akovach@ccwa.org.
