Highlights from Fulbright Association's 48th Annual Conference

The Fulbright Association's 48th annual conference, which took place at Florida International University, in Miami, between October 24th and 26th under the theme "United We Stand", offered its participants "three unforgettable days of connection, learning, and exchange", as per the hard-working team that put it together.

The Fulbrighter team was in attendance and would like to thank everyone who's made this event possible, both the organizers and the amazing participants who took the time to connect and share their stories.

For those who could not be there, you can see some of the conference's highlights below! 

• Dr. Fanta Aw (CEO, NAFSA) moderated a conversation between Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., CEO of SHRM, and Basil Khalil, FedEx VP for Latin America and the Caribbean and a Miami civic leader. Their discussions revolved around topics such as labor, mobility, and opportunity.
  
  
• Dr. Walter McCollum, President and Chair of the National Board, presented the Lifetime Achievement Award, to Dr. Mary Ellen Heian Schmider, recognizing her long-term commitment of education. Dr. Jagannath Pati, Dr. Wael Rashid Abdulmajeed, Dr. Gene Tsudik, and Dr. Philip O. Geier were also honored for their work.
  
  
  
  

• The plenary Advocacy in a Time of Global and Domestic Headwinds offered an insightful conversation between Angela Schaffer (Fund for Education Abroad), Adrienne Jacobs (Alliance for International Exchange) and Sarah Yager (Human Rights Watch).

• Sashar Zarif delivered the Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture, inviting the audience to reflect about presence, performance, arts and empathy.
  
  

• Dr. Hilary Landorf (FIU), Rodrick Miller (Miami-Dade Beacon Council), and Sarah Spreitzer (American Council on Education) led the session Global Academic Exchange in a Changing Higher Ed Policy Landscape.
  
  

• The Global Ideas, Local Impact plenary examined how to leverage international perspectives to solve challenges at home. Wen-Kuni Ceant  from the Fulbright Association was the moderator of the conversation between Khadija Ghazi (Draper University) and Matthew Hughes (World Affairs Councils of America).

• The fireside chat The Future of Work and the Skills to Thrive in It was moderated by Sarah Happel (Spectrum Leadership Solutions) and had Sam Vaghar (Millennium Campus Network) and Mark Grobmyer (Global Solutions Institute) as its panelists. They discussed the role of adaptable skills in the years to come.

• The Youth Summit’s Empowering Youth for Global Action session was moderated by Gioia Gentile (Miami-Dade College) and had Natalia Zea (The Children’s Trust) and Clinton White (Counselor Global Solutions) as the main guests.

• Zak Kidd (AskHumans) moderated a chat between Kat Duffy (Council on Foreign Relations) and Jesús Rosario (Coursera) on AI’s Impact on Academia, Business, and Global Governance.
  
  

• The Chapter Awards recognized the people working tirelessly to advance the Fulbright mission. Awards were presented to:

  • India Interest Group (Outstanding Leader, Mrinalini Watson)
  • Minnesota Chapter (Outstanding Former Leader, Dr. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt)
  • Massachusetts Chapter (Program of the Year: “Harmony and Reflections”)
  • Community Colleges Chapter (Virtual Programming of the Year)
  • North Dakota Chapter (Excellence in Community Building)
  • Colorado Chapter (Excellence in Advocacy)
  • Greater Los Angeles Chapter (Excellence in Service)

  For more pictures of the event, click here. A more in-depth overview of the conference can be accessed here, while the plenaries are available on Fulbright Association's Youtube channel.