From July 28th to August 2nd the newest cohort of Fellows, the IRF ’17s, took an insider’s tour of the Washington foreign policy establishment. Chaperoning were IRF Director David Rezelman, Bernie McMahon, and Lisa Marie Priddy. On Monday the 29th, our first meeting was with former State Department Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development contractor, and U.S. Congressman Glenn Nye. The ’17s wide-ranging discussion with Nye set the stage for the week that was to follow.
Glenn Nye in a conference room at Palantir Technologies overlooking the U.S. Capitol.
That afternoon we visited the non-governmental organization (NGO) Project Hope. In their words, “Project HOPE delivers essential medicines and supplies, health expertise and medical training to respond to disaster, prevent disease, promote wellness and save lives around the globe.” The IR Fellows met with several senior officials of the organization, including President John Howe. Dinner that night was genuine Virginia Chinese “hot pot” cuisine at the Mala Tang restaurant.
’17s Alix Galumbeck, Jaden Baum, and Hallie Griffiths, at Mala Tang.
The following morning we took public tours of the Capitol and the U.S. Supreme Court.
The IRFs ’17s with Ms. Priddy in front of the U.S. Capitol.
The ’17s in front of the statue of John Marshall at the U.S. Supreme Court.
This was followed by an afternoon exploration of the Sackler and Freer National Museum of Asian Art. After a period for detailed examination, each Fellow presented to the rest of the group what they believed were the most important aspects of their section of the collection.
Some intellectual heavy-lifting at the Sackler Freer Gallery.
After that, we initiated the ’17 tradition of rising at least one carousel during each of our trips (in this case on the Washington Mall).
Luke Cromwell barely hanging on.
Tuesday evening concluded with a visit to the Netherlands Carillon and Arlington National Cemetery. The following morning we visited the main offices of the Washington Post to meet with one of its reporters: Greg Jaffe. In the afternoon we toured of the old headquarters of the American Red Cross, followed by a visit to their state-of-the-art Disaster Operations Center.
The group outside the American Red Cross’s Disaster Operations Center.
Thursday morning we visited with several employees and volunteers at the national Peace Corps headquarters. Our visit to the Peace Corps was one of the absolute highlights of the numerous meetings during our week in Washington. The students were blown away by the depth of immersion Peace Corps volunteers achieve in other cultures, and more than one afterwards expressed in interest in one day serving in the Peace Corps themselves! In the afternoon we met with several senior employees at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a little-known U.S. Government foreign aid agency. Dinner that evening was at the venerable Old Europe restaurant.
Chris Kazakis and Alix Galumbeck at Old Europe.
We spent the morning of our last day in Washington visiting Stacy Mitchell, a senior attorney at the Department of Justice. Our trip was capped off by a visit to the home of a former senior official in the Intelligence Community.
The best parts of the whole trip, however, were the evening conversations when we would reflect on the previous day and preview the next. We began the trip as three teachers and six students. By the end, we were a cohesive group.
The IRF ’17s (left to right): Chris Kazakis, Alix Galumbeck, Jaden Baum, Albert Einstein, Nico Moscoso, Hallie Griffiths, and Luke Cromwell.