“Global Ethics: Crossing Borders, Joining Hands”

KEYNOTE AND PLENARY SPEAKERS

Mr. Arun Gandhi
The keynote speaker is Mr. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. He grew up in South Africa, where he first became exposed to issues of racism and intolerance. His biography states that as a young boy in South Africa, “Arun was beaten up by black youths for not being black and by white youths because he was not white.” He later spent some time with and learned from his grandfather. After his education on comparative racism in the U.S., he settled in Tennessee. Arun Gandhi is a speaker of international acclaim, educating audiences on issues of peaceful change, non-violence, alternative dispute resolution, and conflict management.

Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im
The first plenary speaker is Dr. Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim. Originally from Sudan, An-Na’im is the director of the Fellowship Program in Islam and Human Rights, and Charles Howard Candler Professor of Islamic Law at Emory University Law School. With numerous books and articles in learned journals, Professor An-Na’im is an internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights. No one is better qualified to speak on the subject than he. His home country, Sudan, has been undergoing civil and genocidal warfare for at least four decades. There have been reports of a resurgence of slave trade, slavery and other forms of involuntary servitude in the country.

Dr. Anthony Cortese
The second plenary speaker is Anthony Cortese, president of Second Nature, a non-profit organization with a mission to catalyze a worldwide effort to make environmentally just and sustainable action. The Second Nature website provides extensive information about Dr. Cortese, a summary of which is provided here. Dr. Cortese was formerly the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. He was the first dean of environmental programs at Tufts University, where he spearheaded the award-winning Tufts Environmental Institute in 1989 and the internationally acclaimed Talloires Declaration of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future in 1990. He has served on numerous boards, and has also been a consultant to UNEP, a member of the EPA Science Advisory Board and a member of the President's Council on Sustainable Development’s Education Task Force. Among his many awards and recognition, he received the Christopher Columbus Celebrate Discovery Legacy Award in 2002.

Ms. Judith Green
The third plenary speaker is Judith Green, senior director for member relations and resources at NAFSA: Association of International Educators. She manages a department that provides services to 8,700 international education professionals worldwide. In addition, she oversees the development of practice resources and staff support for all NAFSA knowledge sections. Prior to her present position, Judith Green was director of international services and programs at The George Washington University. While there, she managed a department that served 2500 international students, scholars, staff, and researchers. Her experience has placed her in situations where ethical issues in education are ever-present. These have included international students applying for visas, U.S. students studying abroad, faculty conducting research abroad using human subjects, and so on. Judith Green will speak about these ethical issues at the conference.

Dr. Suzanne Morse
The fourth is Suzanne Morse, executive director of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, an initiative established by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 1992 to invest in community change and capacity building in the nation’s cities and rural areas. With headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Pew Partnership’s mission is to identify, validate, and disseminate solutions to America’s most challenging problems. Dr. Morse’s latest book is entitled Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking to Build a Brighter Future. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Charles Kettering Foundation, on the Board of Advisors of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and in the Hart Leadership Program of Duke University.

Mr. Brad Rourke
In addition to these keynote and plenary speakers, the conference also has invited certain scholars and community leaders to make presentations. One of these invited speakers is Brad Rourke, who works with public leaders, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and others concerned with civic life and public issues. As he stated on his website, his mission is to take action to improve public life—and how people live it. He has worked with federal and statewide elected officials to help design groundbreaking public opinion surveys, and has worked on behalf of political issue campaigns to improve political ethics.