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At The Washington Center, we define civil society as the arena in which people come together to pursue the interests they hold in common – not for profit or political power, but because they care enough about something to take collective action. This event, delivered once each semester, brings together outstanding speakers from the corporate, government and NGO sectors to explore top local, national and global strategic partnerships in-depth, and to give students’ insight and understanding of the principles, challenges and potential of civil society and each individual’s responsibility to strengthen it.

This event is comprised of two key segments:

• A keynote address, delivered by a recognized leader engaged in a national or international cross-sector partnership designed to facilitate social/economic/environmental change.
• Guided roundtable discussions, focused on specific social challenges and facilitated by leaders from all three sectors that explore the evolving range of partnerships, alliances and collaborations to impact local, national and international priorities. Students who participate in roundtable discussions are selected in advance by TWC’s Program Advisors, based on matching their professional and social-issue interests to the topic and facilitator.

Past speakers include:

• Suzanne Basalla, Executive Vice President, TOMODACHI Initiative
• Matthew Blakely, Director, Motorola Solutions Foundation
• Donna Woodall, Citizenship Director, Microsoft Corporation
• William McGinly, President of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy
• Scott Sapperstein, Executive Director of Public Affairs at AT&T
• Aaron Sherinian, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations at the United Nations Foundation (UNF)
• Kevin Webb, Director of Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation
• Katherine B. Bradley, President of the CityBridge Foundation
• Herb Tillery, Executive Director of the College to Success Foundation
• Alison Derbenwick Miller, Director of Corporate Citizenship of the Oracle Education Foundation
• Douglas Wood, Program Officer of the Ford Foundation
• Lori Smedley, Senior Vice President of The Washington Center
• Chris Park, President of the New York Life Foundation
• Anna A. Flores, Vice President, Consumer & Community Affairs of the American Express Company
• Ed Goldberg, Senior Vice President, External Affairs at Macy’s, Inc.
• John Marks, President of the Search for Common Ground Foundation
• Perry Yeatman, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, and President of the Kraft Foods Foundation

Read about these recent events

Additional Resources

• Public Policy Dialogues on Capitol Hill
• The Academic Course
• The Portfolio