WHITE HOUSE WORKSHOP
Presidential Leadership and New International Challenges

January 16-17, 2013 (Presidential Transition)
May 14-16, 2013
September 17-19, 2013

During the Obama Administration, the combination of a global recession and a strong majority in Congress led to some of the most sweeping legislative changes the country has ever seen.  The cost and reach of those changes have dramatically increased the national debt and polarized American politics.

Despite the killing of Osama bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi, terrorism remains very much a global threat, but in a time of austerity in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, can the U.S. and its allies afford to meet the challenge? 

As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaign for the White House, President Obama has said he will be judged by how well he's performed at a critical time in the country's history.  White House Workshop will look at the political, economic and security concerns that factor into that judgment, providing an overview of current national and international public policy issues. The 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 on the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community.

TOPICS AND SPEAKERS*

• The Current Political Environment: The President and Congress
  Kenneth Duberstein, Former Chief of Staff, Reagan Administration; Chairman and CEO, The Duberstein Group
• Al-Qaeda and the Continuing War on Terror
  Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Former CIA Officer and National Security Council Staff Member; Author, Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America, and the Future of the Global Jihad
• The European Union: The Political and Historical Context of the ‘Euro-Zone” Crisis
  James Sofka Adjunct Faculty, Federal Executive Institute; Former Dean and Director, Echols Scholar Program, University of Virginia
• Washington's Latest Lessons in Policy, Politics and Polarization
  Alexis Simendinger, White House Correspondent, RealClearPolitics.com, 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 President and Public Opinion
  Karlyn Bowman Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Contributing Editor, The American Magazine
• The Evolution of Presidential Leadership
  Stephen Wayne Professor of Government, Georgetown University; Author of Presidential Leadership and The Road to the White House 2008
• The Obama Presidency: Transforming America?
  Tom DeFrank White House Correspondent and Washington Bureau Chief, New York Daily News; Former Deputy Bureau Chief, Newsweek magazine
• The Middle East: From Iranian Challenges to the Arab Spring
  Afshin Molavi Fellow, New America Foundation; Author, Persian Pilgrimages: Journeys Across Iran
• An Historical Overview of the Presidency and the Media
  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)
• 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
• China's Faltering Economy, Historic Political Transition, and New Strategic Arc
  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 list highlights speakers who have participated in previous Alan L. Freed Associates White House Workshops.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

After participating in the Capitol Hill 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

The fee for the workshop is $1,485 per person. The program will feature approximately 12-15 separate presentations. Also included are daily continental breakfast and working luncheon. The workshop will be held in a private meeting room at the Capitol Hill Club. An on-site staff person will assist participants as needed and coordinate daily activities. (Please check Registration Page for fees for two-day Capitol Hill Workshops in Aberdeen, MD and Dayton/Fairborn, OH).

REGISTRATION

The target audience for these workshops are civilians (GS-13 and above) and military O-4 and above). Others who have a special interest in the subject, need-to-know, or are in key positions may apply. Workshop space is limited to assure participants ample time for open discussion with presenters. Upon registration, attendees will receive confirmation via email. Cancellations will be accepted in writing up to two weeks prior to each program. After that time, substitutions will be accepted. The Agency will be billed if registration is cancelled after the deadline.

If you have any questions or need further information, please call Iris Fernandez or Patricia Patton at 703-684-8807.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The White House Workshops 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). Business attire for participants is required. Military uniform is optional.

Reporting information concerning registration time and meeting room assignment will be sent to all participants approximately 2 weeks prior to the start of each program. The meeting room will open at 7:45 am and seminars will be conducted from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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

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