World Affairs Council Houston – Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics

24th Annual Jesse H Jones Luncheon

Jessica Cuevas

On October 20^th the World Affairs Council (WAC) of Greater Houston held its 24^th annual Jesse H Jones Luncheon where the Council recognizes several individuals as being global leaders of influence, educators of the year, and one individual is recognized as the international citizen of the year at the Post Oak Hotel.

The Sam Houston High School JROTC program presented the flags, while a local youth choir sang our national anthem.

A global leader of influence is recognized by the WAC as an individual who has helped the City of Houston to increase its status as an international city. This year eighteen business leaders were recognized and awarded:

Brenda Boral (Boral Agency), Lisa Darling (Awty International School), Francisco Gonzalez (Lopez Dorada Foods), Alicia Heiskell (GPS International), Linda Lorelle (Lorelle Media), Arthur Lyons (Indust Labs Inc.), Eduardo Marquez (Sidley Austin LLP), Dr. Marie Moreno (Newcomer Success), Grace Olivares (Univision), Kris Pitta (Prudent Resources), Muhammad Saeed Sheikh (Community Organizer), Fernando Signorini (Dow Chemicals), Hilde Janne Skorpen (Consul General of Norway), Val Thompson (International Focus Magazine), Uwem Ukpong (Amazon Web Services), Caroline Verot Moore (Fifth Third Bank), Patty Williams-Downs (OneGoal), and Vanessa Wyche (Johnson Space Center).

. . . that’s seven more than were recognized in 2021!

Over the summer, the ambassadors nominated Professor Yawn for Educator of the Year and we were extremely pleased (but not at all surprised) to find out that he was selected!

Professor Yawn graciously accepted the award as the “International Professor of the Year.”

This was, in fact, the first-ever awarding of this recognition, and WAC Program Director, Ronan O’Malley, noted that “The council is truly fortunate to have Dr. Yawn so earnestly involved with the council; and we are delighted to have his bright and poised LEAP students take part in our events.”

Professor Yawn has taken students to more than 100 of the WAC events, ranging from tours of the Holocaust Museum, meeting Condi Rice, hearing from author David Brooks, learning from General Stanley McChrystal, to meeting heads of state.

Ms. Lori Lambropoulos, the principal of Energy Institute High School, was selected as K-12 Educator of the Year.

Lastly, Greg Hill, President and Chief Operating Officer of Hess Corporation, was awarded the 2022 International Citizen of the Year for helping Houston become the energy capital of the world.

It wouldn’t be a World Affairs Council event without one of their remarkable speaker sessions, so after Mr. Hill received his award and while we ate the delicious meals we were treated to a dialogue between Mr. Hill and current House Minority Leader U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy. Among other topics, they discussed our country on the international stage and how they each came to be where they are now.

Before we could finish our desserts (delicious mini cheesecakes with glazed berries on top) we found ourselves being ushered upstairs with the other students for something even more special: a small-group Q&A with Representative McCarthy and Mr. Hill. We all posed for a group photo before settling into our seats. The room was filled with students who had several questions for both speakers. Alas, time did not permit all questions to be asked. However, I thought that one of the best questions was what would be next on the agenda if Republicans took back the house and Rep. McCarthy was selected as Speaker of the House. His response: focus on our economy (property tax and inflation), a parent’s bill of rights, and much more.

Both Rep. McCarthy and Mr. Hill left us with some advice regarding our actions as aspiring leaders. The message from both men was to never give up—if we get knocked down eight times then we should get back up nine times. With the midterm elections right around the corner, they closed by impressing upon us the importance of young people like us getting out and voting.

As a nice extra, we also had a chance to meet Congressman Brady again. He was honored for his 20 years in Congress.

A big thank you and congratulations to the World Affairs Council staff for yet another successful Jesse H. Jones Luncheon! We look forward to attending many more of the Council’s events in the future. Lastly, thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Oyolu who sponsored our table, and to all other sponsors of student tables for allowing us the opportunity to attend this event! Finally, many congratulations to Professor Yawn for being the International Professor of the Year!

Covering the Globe with John Brennan, former CIA Director

11/09/2022, Jessica Cuevas

Approximately once a month, LEAP takes a group of students to Houston to attend a World Affairs Council event. For the month of November, this event happened to be a discussion about U.S. Intelligence and National Security with the Fifth Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan, and Stephen B. Slick, the Director of the Intelligence Studies Project at UT Austin and former CIA Agent. Introducing them was Ambassador David Satterfield, making the group on hand about as knowledgeable on foreign policy as any three people could be.

This combination proved to be as interesting as it sounds, and made even a bit more interesting with the inclusion of several freshmen LEAP participants, including Adisen Massie, Michelle Cardenas, and Andrew Jeon!

Former CIA Director John Brennan with Andrew Jeon, Jessica Cuevas, Adisen Massie, and Michelle Cardenas

Many children grow up wanting to be a federal agent of some sort, and the CIA certainly has an allure. This was the case for former Director Brennan, who applied to the CIA, and when told he would be given an interview, immediately told all of his family about the exciting turn of events! Of course, you can’t be a clandestine agent if everyone knows you are interviewing for the CIA, so he had to turn around and tell everyone that the interview hadn’t worked out. As it turned out, however, the interview went well, and Brennan embarked on an illustrious career.

Serving from 1980-2005, Brennan specialized in Middle Eastern Affairs and counterterrorism and would eventually create a National Counterterrorism Center. Due to his specialization, he had the unique opportunity to serve as an intelligence briefer to Presidents Clinton and Bush (43).

While moderator Steven Slick advertised Brennan’s book, Undaunted: My Fight Against America’s Enemies, at Home and Abroad, he also noted that a title such as “Reform” would have been apt. Not only did Brennan reform the agency, but he helped establish our nation’s policy and response to terrorism, disasters, and cyberattacks.

Brennan was a fitting director for the agency, believing that they should primarily focus on intelligence and not lethal action. He also occasionally angered members of Congress, because he did not seek their recommendations for the types of reforms needed. If he had, he said, he would still be waiting on decisions and consensus.

At almost every opportunity, Brennan spoke of what he and other agents and government figures did as “public service.” And he encouraged the young people in the audience–mostly us–to see public service as valuable and obligatory.

As we’ve come to expect, it was another top-notch speaker and experience put on by the World Affairs Council. Many thanks for the wonderful service provided by WAC.

Nikki Haley on Women as Leaders

Morgan Robertson

October 11, 2022

The “team of teams” concept of the LEAP Ambassadors was on full display Tuesday, as each Ambassador led a team to different events. Jessica Cuevas went to “State of the City,” Yvette Mendoza led “Beyond Bars,” and I coordinated a team to see Ambassador Nikki Haley at a World Affairs Council event. With us were: Ashley Kinyon, Riya Prasad, and Ingrid Cuero.

The event was tailored around her book titled If You Want Something Done, and the rest of the evening fit that theme.

CEO, Maryanne Maldonado, gave a brief introduction and thanked everyone for attending.

She then introduced the moderator for the evening, Co-Owner and Global CFO of Houston-based Worldwide Oilfield Machine (WOM), Rani Puranik.

Puranik began the evening by reading directly from Ambassador Haley’s book. In her book, Ambassador Haley describes feminism as “working hard and proving you deserve to be in the room.”

The book is about women throughout history, some names are widely known, others not so much. Ambassador Haley connected these women with one attribute: courage. Each woman in her book took a stand for what they believed in, even if it scared them. This is something that Ambassador Haley came to live her life by; she makes efforts to do something, even if it scares her.

The conversation then drifted over to her time as the 29^th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Slightly as a joke, but also very true, Ambassador Haley compared her time at the U.N. to high school with the cliques. She said everyone “hung out with” those from similar countries and didn’t mingle much outside of that. Ambassador Haley stated proudly that she made efforts to host a monthly dinner and invite Ambassadors from every country; she especially made efforts to invite those with opposing views.

She gave old, but sound advice, to keep your enemies close and learn about them as much as possible. Ambassador Haley said her goal quickly became to listen, and attempt to understand opposing points of view. Negotiations were made much easier when there was a rapport to work from.

After the event, Ambassador Haley was nice enough to take a photo with us, and, keeping with the theme of the event, she encouraged all of us (all women) in our endeavors.

On behalf of the LEAP center, thank you to WAC for being such gracious hosts, and allowing us fantastic opportunities. Thank you to Ambassador Haley for your service to the country, as a Governor and Ambassador.

Dinner at Bawarchi Biryanis

Ingrid Cuero

Indian food is quite different than what I am used to, but I was excited to try something new with the LEAP Center! At Bawarchi Biryanis, we started with veggie samosas, paneer samosas, garlic, and regular naan. The garlic naan was the group favorite, but Riya loved the samosas and said they were very similar to what her family makes.

I had a Veg Dum Biryani, which included a mixture of rice, vegetables, and a variety of seasonings. The rice was a bit too spicy for my liking, and Riya informed me that it might not be the best starter dish. However, I am grateful to have had the chance to try new food!

Morgan and Riya both had curry-based meals; Morgan had the Saag Panner, and Riya had a Chicken tika. They both loved their selections!

Stephanie had the Aloo Gobi Malala, which is potatoes and cauliflower cooked in Indian spices, and Ashley had the Chicken Lollipops.

Everyone loved their meals and enjoyed trying what everyone else selected.

A Walk Through Korean-US Relations

Morgan Robertson

For the LEAP Ambassadors, there is no better mid-week venture than to the Glades Art Foundation in the Woodlands for an always amazing World Affairs Council event. This time around, we were fortunate enough to be accompanied by two guests: Hongjin Jeon, (aka. Andrew) a student in Professor Yawn’s Texas Government class and Dr. Lei Duan, the professor for my Modern Asian History course.

We enjoyed pursuing the current exhibits on display, one of which we have seen before: a collection of drinks!

The Glade Gallery hosts an array of exhibits as well as acts as a meeting location for many local groups. The Woodlands Photography Club was also hosting a meeting and they were surrounded by many dynamic photographs.

The event began with an introduction from Ray Cunningham, the North Houston Coordinator, who thanked the Glade Gallery, and the guests for their continued interest in the Council.

Mr. Cunningham then introduced Professor Yawn…

…who proceeded to introduce General In-Bum Chun.

Professor Yawn highlighted General Chun’s career in both the military and governmental sectors…

…and a few of his acts of service, which later General Chun elaborated on.

General Chun began by recognizing and expressing his gratitude for one of the audience members, Charles, A Korean War Veteran! It was wonderful to see this man, who must have been nearing 90, hear about an expert on Korea, seven decades after he fought for South Korea’s right to remain independent and free.

General Chun then spoke on the importance of the United States involvement in the Korean War, (1950-1953) more specifically, American troops on the ground in Korea. Chun stated, that without help from America Korea would not be where they are economically, politically, and socially today.

He then gave 5 key features about Korea that have been made possible by the U.S.

Reforestation: after the war, the whole peninsula was a barren war zone. Now, Korea has some of the lushest forests in the world.
International travel: Korea has one of the most accepted passports in the world.
Healthcare: General Chun highlighted the benefits of universal health care, including regular preventive health checks.
Public Transportation: The public transportation system is almost on par with the one in Japan.
Public Restrooms: General Chun noted, slightly jokingly, that when you must go, you don’t have to look far! Everywhere in Korea there are accessible, clean restrooms.

Ronan O’Malley then stepped as the world-class moderator that he is, and he asked a series of questions of his own and from the audience. In response, General Chun described Korea’s relationship with its surrounding neighbors.

Most of the country’s trade is done with China, although it is extremely difficult to navigate. With their neighbor to the east, there is deeply rooted emotional history. Japan and Korea have made great strides to reconcile, but politicians from both countries capitalize on the bad blood for political gain.

For the other country that shares the peninsula, General Chun Described North Korea as “a perfect dictatorship based on a cult.” The whole country is run by one family and, socially, still operates based on a hierarchal system.

Often tying historical aspects of the country to modern topics, General Chun concluded the night with one piece of advice: communication. General Chun pointed out that historically there is a lack of communication coming from America. Often we do what is in our interests, without asking the opinions of our allies. General Chun’s advice to keep communication in mind applies to much more than international relations and is sound advice for everyone.

I strongly admire the way General Chun was able to identify an area that has potential for growth in the U.S, but also express his gratitude for what is arguably one of the best alliances in history.

As the event drew to a close, we were able to meet with General Chun in groups. The Lonestar Honors Organization was on hand, and we had a chance to talk with them, and also photograph them with the General.

We also had a chance to meet high-school students from Caney Creek, with their advisor Eric Tanner, and they, of course, had a chance to meet with the General.

And, of course, we had a chance to meet with the General as well…

…and this was probably the biggest treat for Andrew.

On behalf of the LEAP center, thank you to the World Affairs Council for always hosting informative and enjoyable events, and to General Chun for taking the time to share your expertise about your country.

Dinner at Saigon USA Pho Grill

Our goal is always to reinforce the formal knowledge we receive from the presentation with some cultural learning in the form of food. While we couldn’t find Korean food in The Woodlands, we were able to stay close to Korea in a geographical sense, and we had an amazing dinner at Saigon USA pho & grill!

We started with an assortment of appetizers: Cheese puffs, steamed dumplings, and fried wontons. My favorite was the steamed dumplings, but all of the appetizers where amazing.

For entrées, some half of us chose Pho, and the other half chose meat and rice dishes.

Everyone loved their meals, and we left almost no room for dessert! Because Tuesday was Yvette’s birthday, Professor Yawn, let Yvette pick the dessert, and she chose Strawberry and Mango mochi. The mochi was plated beautifully, and everyone enjoyed the sweet treat!

Former Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper

By Morgan Robertson

On Monday evening The LEAP Ambassadors headed south towards Houston to attend yet another amazing World Affairs Council event, this one featuring former Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper. From June 2019 to November 2020, Esper served as Secretary of Defense under the Trump administration–during what he concedes were highly unusual times. WAC Director Maryanne Maldonado led off the evening…

…and Dean Jim Granada from the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston introduced Director of Programs Ronan O’Malley, who would lead the discussion with Mark Esper.

Mr. O’Malley began by asking a question about Esper’s hero: George C. Marshall.

Esper was born in Marshall’s hometown, and during his time at West Point, Esper studied Marshall the man and military strategist. Marshall was known widely for his characteristics of honor and integrity, which Esper tries to live by.

Right off the bat, it was clear that Esper would not shy away from the harder topics. The first question was based on working with President Trump and the atmosphere in the Capitol.

Esper acknowledged the difficulties, noting that while some of the media reports were exaggerated, he and other Cabinet officials had to do a lot of “managing up”: that is, managing their supervisor, to ensure that actions detrimental to the United States weren’t turned into policy.

Ronan and Esper then explored different parts of American military experience in recent years, including turmoil in North Korea, the strategic prioritization of Afghanistan, and domestic protests surrounding the George Floyd protests.

Presidential focus for the past 20 years, irrespective of party, has been on Afghanistan. As Secretary of Defense, Esper identified bring some sort of conclusion to the Afghani war as a priority, but he identified numerous steps he would have taken to avoid the catastrophic pullout that the US undertook a year or so ago.

More recently, Esper was confronted with a (quite literally) trigger-happy Chief of State during the protests surrounding the George Floyd killing. Esper clearly doesn’t relish the government’s frequent turn to the military to solve things outside their wheelhouse: they weren’t, for example, the best choice to call on during COVID, and they weren’t designed to quell domestic unrest–and they definitely weren’t going to “shoot protestors,” as the President had purportedly inquired about.

While Esper was often critical of Trump, he also noted that some of the criticism was overblown. He noted that some of Trump’s unconventional tactics ended up effective, and he noted that some of Trump’s policies have been followed by Biden.

The evening was concluded with a few more thoughts from Esper, particularly his thanks to those who serve, and his hope that military service would be less frequently invoked–but, when invoked, more widely participated in by the general public.

The War on Terror: A Drama in Five Acts, with Elliot Ackerman

By Morgan Robertson

While the LEAP Ambassadors often attend World Affairs Council (WAC) events in The Woodlands, this one was a bit closer to home. It was actually at SHSU’s “The Woodlands Center.”

The speaker for the luncheon was Elliot Ackerman, a CIA Officer and Marine stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who, in more recent years, has been a best-selling author of both fiction and non-fiction. The discussion was moderated, as usual, by the excellent Ronan O’Malley, the Director of Programs for WAC.

Attending with us were several SHSU students (Ashlyn Parker, Kiara Williams, Cynthia Boyd), an advisor (Stephanie Fors), and SHSU/community leaders (Gene Roberts, Dean Hendrickson, and Ken Holland).

Ackerman’s book The Fifth Act: America’s End in Afghanistan was the hot topic, and the conversation began with how the title of the book came to be. While he was on vacation with his family, Ackerman was asked to write a 500-word piece about the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Ackerman joked that he was shocked and thought there was no way to detail and cover 20 years of war in 500 words. When he was asked to write about the operation in Afghanistan, it was referred to and described as a tragedy and he explained that his journalist’s mind made the connection of tragedy with Shakespeare’s plays. Because tragic drama often unfolds in five acts, and because there was a natural breakdown in five parts, Ackerman focused on these five topics: (1) President Bush,( 2) President Obama, (3) President Trump, (4) President Biden, and (5) the fall of the war.

Ackerman then harkened back to an earlier time in history and the construct of blood and treasure. In more detail, he explained that during the Civil War and WWII two main factors rose: the need for someone to fight and someone to pay. But, typically, everyone or almost everyone had to fight, pay, or otherwise sacrifice–and that, according to Ackerman, is no longer true.

Another difficulty is that, most wars can be marked as “victorious” following a positive and defined outcome–such as liberating Europe (WWII). With the War on Terror, a victory was preventing something (i.e., a terrorist attack) from happening. That poses some difficulty in terms of attributing credit or in achieving a defined conclusion.

The book and the non-fiction drama on which it is centered was interesting, so much so that almost all the LEAP guests, including the students, bought books. But the event was also satisfying for the company we were able to enjoy, the always-pleasant prospect of visiting with WAC staff (Ronan, Jahan, and Sandija)…

…and also meeting our advisor’s (Professor Mike Yawn) supervisor, Associate Provost Ken Hendrickson, who spoke following Ackerman, helping wrap up the event.

In short, it was another great World Affairs Council event, just made more great by the fact that it was held at an SHSU campus.

Pandemics, Politics, & Profits: Peter Hotez discusses COVID-19

It’s not every day you get to hear from a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, but LEAP students had just that chance yesterday.  Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor of Pediatrics and Founding Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine—and, most recently, developer of a vaccine against COVID—discussed the role of expertise and politics in addressing global pandemics in another interesting event hosted by the World Affairs Council. 

Hotez has been in the trenches fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, while also conducting perhaps 1,000 television, radio, and podcast interviews since the spread of COVID.  Remarkably, he’s also had time to work with his co-researcher, Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, Associate Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, in developing CORBEVEAX, a low-cost vaccine that protects against COVID.  Notably, Hotez and Bottazzi did not patent the vaccine—foregoing millions in income to assure lower pricing for the medicine.

Hotez’s discussion was wide-ranging, but he stressed three major points: the origin of COVID, the politicization of medicine, and the future of pandemics.

Hotez believes it’s important to uncover the origins of COVID, but he finds conspiracy theories to be misguided. While it is possible, he notes, that COVID escaped from a lab in China, there’s no evidence for that theory, and pursuing it with much vigor is likely to distract researchers from the most likely answer, which is that COVID either developed from—or was spread through—a wet market in China.

What most clearly distresses Hotez, however, is the politicization of COVID…

…a thread skillfully navigated by the World Affairs Council moderator, Ronan O’Malley. 

While prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaxxers could be found on the left and right, more or less equally, the right-wing of the Republican Party seemed to embrace conspiracy theories not only about the origin of COVID, but also about almost any US government efforts to combat COVID. 

Some believed that COVID itself was a hoax wrought by the US government, while others accepted the threat of COVID, but believed that any medicine promoted by the government was part of a deep state/big pharma conspiracy for profits, leading to the misguided use of Ivermectin and other nostrums.  Hotez noted that such beliefs led to more than a quarter of a million deaths of people who could have been vaccinated, but weren’t.

Hotez called this movement an aggressive, anti-science faction, and he considers this dangerous, not only as it relates to COVID, but also how it relates to the next pandemic.  “Nature”, Hotez noted, “is not coy. 

It’s sending us a clear message.”  That message, it seems, is humans need to get it together, which involves not only identifying the origins and spreads of viruses such as COVID-19, but also winning an informational war about science itself.  Fighting pandemics is difficult, but it’s infinitely more difficult when a significant portion of the population refuses to adopt common-sense approaches to fighting the pandemic.

Following the event, Dr. Hotez briefly met with us, asked us about our majors (History, Biology, and Political Science), and he suggested that it was about time he get to Sam Houston State University to speak, a point on which all of us agreed.

Meru’s Grill

Following the event, with much on our mind, we went to Meru’s Grill nearby, and we discussed much of what we learned.  None of us had been to Meru’s, but it was a great find: the staff were friendly and knowledgeable, the ambience was inviting, and the food was amazing.  The appetizers, which included the “Avocado Bomb” and the “Smoked Salmon,” were refreshing and innovative. 

The avocado bomb, for example, had raw Hawaiian Tuna, avocado (of course), a dressing, and possibly pineapple, a combination we weren’t expecting, but couldn’t get enough of.  Our appetizers included two shrimp dishes, a Thai salad, and a burger, all of which were truly excellent in both taste and presentation. 

Perhaps our favorite part of the meal, however, was the carrot cake dessert, recommended to us by our excellent server, and a truly delicious delicacy in the form of a square “slice” of cake, with icing unsurpassed in texture, flavor, and volume.

Meru’s Grill isn’t part of the medical field, but it definitely eased our worries and improved our spirits, topping off a wonderful night of education, good company, and great food.

An Evening South of the Border, with the World Affairs Council

By Ashlyn Parker

Our evening–and my first LEAP Center event–began with a trip to the Glade Gallery, which hosts not only beautiful art, but also many of the events held by the World Affairs Council.

At the Glade Gallery we viewed an array of paintings and sculptures. As we were roaming the gallery, we noticed some art pieces that also happened to be for sale- some were priced up to $31,000!

And we even saw a Marc Chagall!

Our main objective of the evening, however, was to hear from Julián Cárdenas, who was speaking on Venezuela’s political and energy situation–and how these are being affected by the Russian-Ukraine War.

Considering Mr. Cardenas served in the Venezuela State Department, is an energy expert, and a law professor at the University of Houston Law, he was a good person to hear from on this topic!

Mr. Cardenas and WAC’s able moderator Ronan O’Malley discussed the challenges faced by Venezuela since the Chavez and Maduro regimes, of which there many. With economic policies that aren’t working, the country facing sanctions imposed by other countries, and widespread corruption among government officials, Venezuela is also facing soaring inflation–in fact, inflation has climbed to thousands of percent, making the US’s inflation rate of 10 percent seem tame.

Cardenas discussed numerous topics we needed to learn about: realism v. idealism in foreign policy, the G-7, NAFTA, and programs such as “food for oil.” We also learned the term “brain drain,” of which Cardenas was a part–he left when conditions became intolerable there.

Following the main discussion, we were able to chat a bit with Mr. Cardenas, pose for a photo, thank the wonderful WAC staff, and head out for dinner.

We drove down to Casa Medina just in time to grab a couple of seats before they closed the kitchen. The service was excellent, and the food was solid! I ordered the shrimp enchiladas, and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of shrimp and cheese on top. I am a bit of a shrimp enchilada connoisseur, and this dish is a guaranteed 10/10 on the Ashlyn Parker scale!

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