Nadia Murad (CAS/BA '24)
President and Chairwoman, Nadia's Initiative; Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Human rights activist and recipient of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, Nadia Murad is a leading advocate for survivors of genocide and sexual violence. Her New York Times bestselling memoir, The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State, is a harrowing account of the genocide against the Yazidi ethno-religious minority in Iraq and Nadia’s imprisonment by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).

Nadia’s peaceful life was brutally disrupted in 2014 when ISIS attacked her homeland in Sinjar with the goal of ethnically cleansing all Yazidis from Iraq. Like many minority groups, the Yazidis have carried the weight of historical persecution. Women, in particular, have suffered greatly as victims of sexual violence. After escaping captivity, Nadia began speaking out on behalf of her community and survivors of sexual violence worldwide.

Much of Nadia’s advocacy work is focused on meeting with global leaders to raise awareness of the genocide against the Yazidi people and the systemic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Nadia is the President and Chairwoman of Nadia’s Initiative, which actively works to persuade governments and international organizations to support the sustainable re-development of the Yazidi homeland, as well as survivors of sexual violence globally. In 2016, Nadia became the first UNODC Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. That year, she was also awarded the Council of Europe Václav Havel Award for Human Rights and Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. In 2018, she won the Nobel Peace Prize with Dr. Denis Mukwege. Together, they founded the Global Survivors Fund. In 2019, Nadia was appointed as a UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate.

In her capacity as a member of France’s Gender Advisory Council, Nadia advocated G7 member states to adopt legislation that protects and promotes women’s rights. Nadia worked with the German Mission to the United Nations to pass UN Security Council Resolution 2467, which expands the UN’s commitments to end sexual violence in conflict. Nadia was also a driving force behind the drafting and passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2379, which established the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD).

Instagram: @nadia_murad
Twitter: @NadiaMuradBasee

Seminar SeriesActivism and Accountability

Sexual violence in conflict zones is used as a weapon of war and terror against women, girls, and communities, but this crime is often seen as a side effect of conflict. I will talk about my activism and advocacy work to hold perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) accountable and the challenges I am facing to achieve justice and accountability for survivors of these crimes.

Dates & Times (EST)

Welcome Fellows and Introduction to the Cohort of 2025
February 4 | 1:00 - 2:30PM | Constitution Hall

My Story: The Power of Personal Stories and the Role of Activism
February 6 | 4:00PM | Location TBD

Who Can Influence the End of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) in the World?
March 19 | 4:00PM | Location TBD

How to Avoid Retraumatization of Survivors, Shame, and Stigma?
April 9 | 4:00PM | Location TBD

Using Your Voice to Advocate for the Issues and People You Care About!
Date & Time TBD

Tara Palmeri (SOC/BA '08)
Partner & Senior Political Correspondent, Puck; Former Lead Author, Politico Playbook; Former White House Correspondent, ABC News; Host, The Ringer's "Somebody's Gotta Win" Podcast

Tara Palmeri is the Senior Political Correspondent for Puck and host of the Ringer’s Somebody’s Gotta Win election podcast. Prior to joining Puck, she was the Chief National Correspondent for POLITICO and wrote the marquee newsletter Playbook.

Tara has no shortage of stories from covering the Trump administration as a White House Correspondent for ABC News and as a Political Analyst for CNN. She’s reported from far reaching places like Kim Jong Un’s guest house in North Korea to the Presidential Palace in Afghanistan. Prior to that, Tara moved to Brussels in 2014 to launch POLITICO Europe, where she covered major geopolitical issues like Brexit and the Greek financial crisis while also working as a CNBC contributor. As a young reporter for the New York Post, she wrote for the Page Six column where she fielded phone calls from Donald Trump, who was eager to talk about his political ambitions to his hometown paper. She went on to cover New York City Hall.

Tara started her career as a news assistant for CNN and then went on to author the Washington Examiner's Yeas & Nays column. She graduated summa cum laude from American University in December 2008.

Seminar SeriesA 2024 Election Postmortem: A Democratic reckoning, the podcast campaign, and the red-pilling of Silicon Valley

Seminar description TBD.

Dates & Times (EST)

Welcome Fellows and Introduction to the Cohort of 2025
February 4 | 1:00 - 2:30PM | Constitution Hall

Changing Media: How podcasters and influencers became the message.
Date & Time TBD

A Democratic Reckoning: How Democrats lost the Blue Wall
Date & Time TBD

The Red-pilling of Silicon Valley: How Tech Billionaires turned on Democrats and helped deliver Trump a victory
Date & Time TBD

Career Conversations with the Fellows
Date & Time TBD

Hon. Sylvia Burwell
Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Former President, American University; Former Director, Office of Management and Budget

Sylvia M. Burwell is American University's 15th president and the first woman to serve as president.

President Burwell is a broad-ranging, effective leader who has served at the highest levels of government, philanthropy, and academia. Since her inauguration as AU’s president in 2018, President Burwell created AU’s comprehensive strategy, Changemakers for a Changing World, launched a $500 million Change Can’t Wait campaign to fund new efforts in student thriving, and successfully led the university through a historic pandemic.

Under her leadership, AU became the first university to achieve carbon neutrality; launched an inclusive excellence plan as a roadmap toward a more equitable future; opened the Sine Institute for Policy and Politics, the Khan Cyber and Economic Security Institute, and the LEED-Gold Hall of Science; helped to create an ethos of inquiry with an updated policy on freedom of expression and expressive conduct; supported faculty to more than double externally-funded research dollars; celebrated the growth of faculty achievements ranging from multi-million dollar grants to New York Times bestselling books; and grew AU’s endowment by more than 60 percent.

President Burwell also led the creation of the Change Can't Wait campaign to create transformative educational opportunities for students, advance research with impact, and build stronger communities locally, nationally, and globally. This campaign is on target to raise $500 million and make the largest investment in student thriving in the university's history.

President Burwell previously held two positions in the President’s Cabinet – serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for President Barack Obama. As HHS Secretary, she managed a trillion-dollar department with 12 operating divisions – including NIH, FDA, and the Medicaid and Medicare programs. As Director of OMB, she worked with Congress to negotiate a two-year budget deal following the 2013 government shutdown.

President Burwell also held leadership positions at two of the largest foundations in the world – she served as Chief Operating Officer and president of the Global Development Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and as president of the Walmart Foundation.

President Burwell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Government from Harvard University and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

She is a member of the Harvard University Board of Overseers, the Aspen Strategy Group, and the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. She also serves on the boards of the American Council on Education, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, GuideWell, and Kimberly-Clark.

A second-generation Greek American, Burwell is a native of Hinton, West Virginia. She and her husband Stephen are the parents of two teenagers.

Seminar SeriesFrom Dolly Parton to Shaboozey is the 9 to 5 still working?

Has there been a realignment in America? What does it mean for policy, culture, and politics? This seminar will examine previous realignments and question whether a realignment occurred in 2024. What does the assessment mean for policy and politics over the next four years?

Dates & Times (EST)

Welcome Fellows and Introduction to the Cohort of 2025
February 4 | 1:00 - 2:30PM | Constitution Hall

What is a realignment?
Date & Time TBD

The reality of November 2024: Is a realignment happening right now in the US?
Date & Time TBD

What comes Next?: The new look of Policy and politics over the next four years
Date & Time TBD

Career Conversations with the Fellows
Date & Time TBD

Distinguished Lecturer

Amb. Brooke AndersonPresident, Pivotal Ventures; Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Brooke is President of Pivotal Ventures, the organization founded by Melinda French Gates to advance social progress in the United States, and around the world. As President, Brooke leads a dynamic team working to bridge the worlds of philanthropy, venture capital, and advocacy and help remove the barriers that hold women—and all people—back.

An experienced leader and an accomplished diplomat, negotiator and strategist, Brooke has served as a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and as a senior advisor to U.S. Presidents, Cabinet Secretaries, Members of Congress, presidential candidates, philanthropists and business leaders. In her various roles, she has navigated high-stakes challenges, managed complex organizations, carried out sensitive diplomatic missions and achieved results on the most complex global and national issues