WHITE HOUSE WORKSHOP
ASSESSING THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND NATIONAL SECURITY CHALLENGES

March 8-10, 2011
September 20-22, 2011

In modern times, the presidency has become the focal point of American concerns and expectations. The Obama Administration has presided over one of the most extensive changes in the relationship between citizen and government in American history. The combination of a global recession and a strong majority in Congress has led to sweeping legislative and administrative changes unseen since the Great Depression

Yet despite the president's activism at home and abroad, unprecedented problems remain. The recession may have ended, but the budget deficit and national debt have grown - and unemployment continues to be high. Early legislative victories and controversial administration decisions have polarized American politics and have given rise to a variety of energized interest groups and political movements.

The White House Workshop will provide an overview of current national and international public policy issues. This three-day seminar will offer a faculty of high-level internationally recognized experts who will discuss, in an off-the-record setting, the global implications of administration policies and their impact to the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community in the near term.

SPEAKERS & TOPICS*

• The Role of Presidential Advisors in Critical Times
  Kenneth Duberstein, Former Chief of Staff, Reagan Administration; Chairman and CEO, The Duberstein Group
• President Obama’s Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan
  Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Former CIA Officer and National Security Council Staff Member; Former Special Advisor, NATO, Brussels, Belgium
• Themes and Dynamics of European Power Politics
  James Sofka Adjunct Faculty, Federal Executive Institute; Former Dean and Director, Echols Scholar Program, University of Virginia
• The President and Congress: The Changing Face of American Politics
  Alexis Simendinger Former National Correspondent, National Journal; Commentator, Washington Week in Review, CNN, National Public Radio
• Middle East Update: The Economic and Security Trends in the Region
  Hisham Melhem Washington Bureau Chief, Al-Arabiya News Channel; Senior Correspondent, Annahar (Lebanon’s leading daily)
• The Obama Presidency: Transforming America?
  Tom DeFrank White House Correspondent and Washington Bureau Chief, New York Daily News; Former Deputy Bureau Chief, Newsweek magazine
• Contemporary Iran: Politics, Culture, and the Nuclear Dilemma
  Afshin Molavi Fellow, New America Foundation; Author, Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran
• Reflections on the Modern Presidency
  Sid Davis, Former Vice-President and Washington Bureau Chief, NBC News; Former Program Director, Voice of America
• Afghanistan: Between the Push of Pakistan and the Pull of India
  Ashley Tellis Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Former Senior Advisor to the Ambassador, U.S. Embassy, New Delhi
• Latin America: Hemispheric Cooperation or Noncooperation – An American Interest in the Region
  Ambassador Roger Noriega Associate, Vision Americas; Former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS)
• Presidential Leadership: Contrasts in Style
  Edwin Meese, III Ronald Reagan Chair in Public Policy, Heritage Foundation; Former U.S. Attorney General
• The Fall of the Evil Empire and the Rise of 21st Century Socialism
  Yuri Maltsev Soviet Defector; Former Senior Economist, Academy of Sciences of the USSR; Professor, Carthage College, Wisconsin
• The Legislative Roles of the Office of Management and Budget
  Jeffrey Weinberg Legislative Attorney, Legislative Reference Division, Office of Management and Budget
• A Critique of U.S. African Policy
  Emira Woods Co-Director, Foreign Policy in Focus, Institute for Policy Studies; Board Member, Africa Action
• The Political Context of National Intelligence
  Ronald Marks Vice-President, Government Relations, Oxford-Analytica, Oxford, England; Former Intelligence Counsel to Senator Robert Dole
• Is China Rising or Falling – and What Does This Mean for Us?
  Gordon G. Chang Commentator; Former Legal Counsel in Shanghai and Hong Kong; Author, Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World and The Coming Collapse of China
• NOTE: The above roster, with abbreviated bios, highlights speakers who have participated in 2010 White House Workshops and is meant to offer interested participants an illustration of the type of presentations and subject matter they will be experiencing in upcoming seminars. A minimum of 12 presentations will be made in each White House Workshop.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

After participating in the White House Workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the key decision makers who are involved in the policy-making and policy implementation processes and the institutional perspectives from which they offer advice and make judgments;

2. Think strategically and tactically about how to affect policy-making and policy implementation, how to anticipate reactions to that policy in the United States and abroad, and how to avoid unintended consequences that flow from poor policy judgments;

3. Improve cultural and historic awareness of the political, legal, and institutional environment in which domestic and foreign policy-making and policy implementation occur;

4. Enhance critical synthetic and analytical skills necessary to advise senior officials in the making and evaluation of public policy;

5. Be sensitized to the changing situational conditions that affect past, current, and future policy judgments.

PROGRAM MODERATORS

A highly qualified Program Moderator will facilitate dialogue between the speakers and participants over the course of the three-day seminar. View moderator biographies.

FEE

$1,485 per person

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The seminars will be held in private meeting rooms at the Capitol Hill Club, located at 300 First Street, SE, in Washington, DC. The Club is directly across the street from the Capitol South Metro Station (Blue and Orange Lines).  Reporting information concerning registration time and workshop start and end times will be sent to all participants approximately 2 weeks prior to the start of each program.

Generally, registration will begin around 7:45 am and seminars will be conducted from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on the first two days and from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm on the last day (subject to agenda and scheduling).  Business attire for participants is required. Military uniform is optional.

No video, power point or audio-visual aids are utilized in the presentations. These programs are informal and strictly "off-the-record."

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