Friday, October 4, 2024
Fletcher Initiative on Religion, Law, and Diplomacy (RLD)

2017 Fall Conference

Schedule

Friday, November 3rd 2017 | ASEAN Auditorium 


9:30am – Registration & Coffee in Hall of Flags

10:30am – Welcome: James Stavridis, Dean of The Fletcher School & Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO

10:45am – Introduction to Religious Literacy: Dr. Diane L. Moore, Director of the Religious Literacy Project at Harvard University

11:15am – Panel 1: Religious Literacy in Security Operations, a case study of the Balkans

  • Moderator: Dr. Monica Toft, Professor of International Politics & Director of the Center for Strategic Studies
  • Fletcher Academic: Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou, Professor of Religion, Geopolitics, and Security
  • Sonja Licht, President and Founder of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence
  • Colonel Robert E. Hamilton, Professor of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College

12:30pm – Lunch & OCS Employer Fair

1:30pm – Panel 2: Religious Literacy in International Business, a case study of Global Business Operations

  • Moderator: Paul Lambert, Assistant Dean at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business
  • Fletcher Academic: Dr. Ibrahim Warde, Professor of International Finance
  • Brian Grim, President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation (RFBF)
  • Joyce S. Dubensky, CEO of Tanenbaum

2:45pm – Introduction and Presentation of the 2017 Dean’s Medal: James Stavridis, Dean of The Fletcher School & Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO

Keynote: Sean Callahan, CEO of Catholic Relief Services and Fletcher Class of 1988

4: 00pm – Coffee Break

4:15pm – Panel 3: Religious Literacy in Conflict Resolution, a case study of Yemen today

  • Moderator: Joyce S. Dubensky, CEO of Tanenbaum
  • Fletcher Academic: Dr. Eileen Babbitt, Professor of Practice of International Conflict Analysis and Resolution & Director of the Institute for Human Security
  • [Video Submission] Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Marwani, Founder of the Dar Al-Salaam Organisation in Yemen and Tanenbaum Peacekeeper in Action
  • Father Bryan Hehir, Catholic priest and the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at Harvard Kennedy School
  • Darko Mocibob, Deputy Director of the Middle East and West Asia Division of the United Nations HQ

5:30 pm – Reception

Speakers

Speaker Admiral StavridisJames Stavridis:

James Stavridis is the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is a retired 4-star officer in the U.S. Navy and served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander from 2009 to 2013, responsible for Afghanistan, Libya, the Balkans, Syria, piracy, and cyber security. Stavridis was also Commander of U.S. Southern Command, overseeing all military operations in Latin America from 2006-2009. Author of numerous books and hundreds of articles, Stavridis is a frequent commentator in the media and an established expert on security. Stavridis holds a BS from the U.S. Naval Academy and a MALD and PhD from The Fletcher School.

Speaker Diane L MooreDr. Diane L. Moore:

Dr. Diane L. Moore is the Director of the Religious Literacy Project and a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University. She is also Principal Investigator for the Religious Literacy and the Professions Symposium Series and the Religious Literacy and Humanitarian Action Research Project in partnership with Oxfam and funded by the Henry Luce Foundation. Moore is on the task force at the US State Department in the Office of Religion and Global Affairs and serves as co-chair of a religious literacy initiative by the American Academy of Religion. Moore holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, a Doctor of Ministry from Episcopal Divinity School, and a PhD from Union Theological Seminary.

Speaker Monica ToftDr. Monica Toft:

Dr. Monica Toft is a professor of international politics at The Fletcher School and a research associate at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford and at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. While at Harvard, she directed the Initiative on Religion in International Affairs and served as assistant director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies. Dr. Toft’s areas of research include international security, ethnic and religious violence, civil wars and demography. Her most recent books include: Securing the Peace (Princeton, 2011); Political Demography (Oxford, 2012); and God’s Century (Norton, 2012). Toft holds a MA and PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago.

Speaker Elizabeth ProdromouDr. Elizabeth Prodromou:

Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou is Visiting Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution at the Fletcher School. She is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress and a Non-Resident Fellow at The Hedayah International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism. Prodromou previously served as Vice Chair and Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2004-2012), and was a member of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Religion & Foreign Policy Working Group (2011-2015) under Secretaries Clinton and Kerry. Her research interests focus on the intersection of religion, democracy, and security, with particular expertise on religion and geopolitics in the Near East and Southeastern Europe. Prodromou holds a MALD from the Fletcher School and a PhD in Political Science from MIT.

Speaker Sonja LichtSonja Licht:

Sonja Licht is President of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence. She was a member of of the Yugoslav dissident movement from the late 1960s, and from 1991 to 2003 she was the CEO of the Fund for an Open Society in Yugoslavia (later Serbia). From 1999, she was the Head of the Task Force of the Bratislava Process and a member of the Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe. Licht is a member of the European Council of Foreign Relations, Richard von Weizsaecker Fellow of the Richard Bosch Academy, and laureate of awards including the Pro Merit Medal of the Council of Europe, the Star of Italian Solidarity, the French Legion of Honor, and more. Licht received her MA in socio-cultural anthropology from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade.

Colonel HamiltonColonel Robert E. Hamilton

Colonel Bob Hamilton is a professor at the U.S. Army War College and the author of numerous articles and monographs on conflict and security issues, focusing primarily on the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. He is a Eurasian foreign area officer who has served in Belarus, Afghanistan, the Republic of Georgia, and Pakistan, among other places. He has deployed in Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Resolute Support, and Inherent Resolve. Hamilton is a graduate of the German Armed Forces Staff College and the U.S. Army War College and holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy and a Master’s Degree in Contemporary Russian Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Virginia.

Photo Paul LambertPaul Lambert

Paul Lambert is Assistant Dean at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. He is a Senior Business Fellow at the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation a Research & Development Consultant at the Religious Freedom Center of the Newseum Institute. Lambert works with several organizations focused on religious freedom, such as the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs. He is an adjunct professor at the National Defense University in Washington DC where he teaches courses on religion in foreign policy and national security. Before joining Georgetown, Lambert served as professor and academic director of the American Studies Program at the National Defense University in Washington DC. Lambert is a graduate of The Fletcher School and Brigham Young University.

Speaker Ibrahim WardeDr. Ibrahim Warde:

Dr. Ibrahim Warde is an adjunct professor of international business at the Fletcher School and a Carnegie scholar working on informal and underground finance in the Islamic world. His books include The Price of Fear: The Truth Behind the Financial War on Terror, which Foreign Affairs selected as one of the best books of the year about economic, social, and environmental issues. He has previously taught at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT’s Sloan School of Management in addition to several other universities in the United States and abroad. He is also a consultant and writes for Le Monde diplomatique. Warde holds a B.A. from Université Saint Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon, an M.B.A. from France’s Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, and an M.A. and a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Speaker Brian Grim photoDr. Brian Grim

Dr. Brian Grim is President of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and a leading scholar on international religious demography and the socio-economic impact of religious freedom. His recent widely reported research finds that religion contributes $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy annually, more than the combined revenues of the top 10 technology companies. Grim holds a visiting professorship at St. Mary’s University in London and is an affiliated scholar at Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion & World Affairs. He recently chaired the World Economic Forum’s council on the role of faith and works closely with the United Nations “Business for Peace” platform. Grim holds a MA and PhD from Pennsylvania State University and is author of numerous books including The Price of Freedom Denied (Cambridge), and the World Religion Database (Brill).

Speaker Joyce DubenskyJoyce S. Dubensky:

Joyce S. Dubensky is the CEO of Tanenbaum, a globally recognized thought leader in combating religious violence and hatred by tackling religious bullying of students, harassment in workplaces, and disparate health treatment for people based on their beliefs as well as stopping conflicts with religious peacemakers in armed conflicts worldwide. Internationally in demand, she has presented and conducted trainings and workshops across the world including at the United Nations, USIP, the Alliance for Civilizations, Harvard Divinity School, and more. Dubensky holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she graduated with honors, and has a Master’s degree in American History from Adelphi University.

Sean Callahan SpeakerSean Callahan:

Sean Callahan is president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. A 28-year veteran of CRS, Sean, had held a wide variety of leadership roles overseas and at agency headquarters. For the past 5 years, Sean served as the chief operating officer for CRS, responsible for Overseas Operations, U.S. Operations and Human Resources. In this role, he ensured CRS’ commitment to its mission to cherish, preserve and uphold the sacredness and dignity of all human life, foster charity and justice, and embody Catholic social and moral teaching. He enhanced performance, stimulated innovation and positioned CRS for the future. Callahan holds a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School and a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University.

Speaker BabbittDr. Eileen Babbitt:

Dr. Eileen F. Babbitt is Professor of Practice of International Conflict Management, Director of the Institute for Human Security, and Co-Director of the Program on Human Rights and Conflict Resolution at The Fletcher School. She is also a Faculty Associate of the Program on Negotiation at the Harvard Law School. Her research interests include identity-based conflicts, coexistence and trust-building in the aftermath of civil war, and the interface between human rights concerns and peace building. Her practice as a facilitator and trainer has included work with the United Nations, U.S. government agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations, and NGOs. Babbitt holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government and a PhD from MIT.

Al-MarwaniSheikh Abdulrahman Al-Marwani:

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Marwani is Founder of the Dar Al-Salaam Organisation (DASO) in Yemen, an a-political peace activism and conflict intervention initiative, and a Tanenbaum Peacekeeper in Action. Sheikh Al-Marwani helps conduct negotiations and initiatives to counter violent extremism across Yemen, working directly with tribal and religious leaders as well as youth in the ongoing conflict. He has helped DASO resolve over 1,000 tribal, personal, and family conflicts and developed a network of grassroots Peace Committees throughout Yemen including over 4,000 religious, tribal, community, and youth leaders.

Speaker Father HehirFather Bryan Hehir:

Father Bryan Hehir is the Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Religion and Public Life at Harvard University. At the Kennedy School of Government, he serves as a faculty associate at the Carr Center for Human Rights and at the Safra Center for Ethics and the Professions. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.  He also serves on the Board of the Arms Control Association and the Roundtable for Church Management. Additionally, he is the Secretary of Health and Social Services on the staff of Cardinal Sean O’Malley in the Archdiocese of Boston. Hehir holds a PhD from Harvard Divinity School. His research focuses on ethics and foreign policy and the intersection of religion and politics.

Speaker Darko MocibobDarko Mocibob:

Darko Mocibob is Deputy Director of the Middle East and West Asia Division in the United Nations Department of Political Affairs. Previously he worked in the office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Baghdad from 1997 to 1999. Mocibob then joined the United Nations Office of the Iraq Programme in New York in 1999. He began working as Political Affairs Officer on the Iraq team with the UN Department of Political Affairs in 2004, becoming team leader in 2008. Mocibob then transferred to the office of the Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs in 2010, where he became Chief of Staff in 2012. Mocibob was trained as a doctor at the Medical School of the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina.