Agenda for On Line Meeting 2020
26 January 2021
6:30 PM PDT
- Welcome from President Barbara Gaughen-Muller
- Roll call and Introductions
- Inspirational/International Moment
- Current Announcements and News
- Program
- Comments and Questions
26 January 2021
Farland Chang, “Great Communicators and the Pursuit of Truth & Fairness”
*Emmy award winning journalist
*Former CNN Business News Anchor
*Rotary Scholar and Paul Harris Fellow
*Founder WorldBizWatch Media Productions
*Visiting Scholar Nanjing University
*Professor Shantou University
https://forkast.news/author/fchang/
https://www.n3con.com/2019/speaker/farland-chang/
Farland Chang is an Emmy award-winning storyteller who aims to bridge the East and the West. For nearly 30 years, he has been covering news stories across the United States and Asia for such media organizations as NBC and CNN International. Farland is now CEO and executive producer of WorldBizWatch, a global media company that produces documentaries, TV ads, branded entertainment and corporate films. Currently also a visiting scholar at Nanjing and Zhejiang universities, Farland was formerly a journalism professor at Shantou University and has lectured at UCLA, USC, Cornell University and Hong Kong University. Farland attended Cornell as an undergrad, earned his master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and received a post-graduate certificate in radio, film and TV from the University of Bristol, where he studied as a Rotary Scholar and Paul Harris Fellow. His latest work is a collaboration with National Geographic’s legendary photojournalist, Michael Yamashita, in a documentary series called “Stories behind the Stills.”
2 February 2021
Kiran Singh Sirah, President of The International Storytelling Center
“Storytelling: A Radical Gift of Hope”
KIRAN SINGH SIRAH is President of the International Storytelling Center (ISC), an educational and cultural institution dedicated to enriching the lives of people around the world through storytelling. ISC organizes the world’s premiere storytelling event, the National Storytelling Festival, and supports applied storytelling initiatives across a wide variety of creative industries. Prior to his appointment at ISC, Kiran developed a number of award-winning arts, cultural and human rights initiatives in cultural centers across the UK and Ireland. These programs have received recognition from UNESCO, Her Majesty the Queen’s Authority in Education, and the European Commission. He has spoken at the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center, led stories for peace-based discussions with the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led workshops for the US State Department, the US Department of Defense’s force directorate, and led trainings for US commanders at Fort Benning military base in Georgia. He is widely recognized for advancing storytelling as a tool for building social empathy and intercultural understanding. In 2015, he was invited to the White House in support of storytelling efforts for national grassroots peace building efforts. An advisory member to UNESCO Scotland and a Rotary Peace Fellow, he has developed articles, talks and conference papers about interdisciplinary approaches to relationship building in communities around the globe. Kiran emphasizes his interest in “the power of human creativity, arts, storytelling and social justice, and the notion of a truly global multicultural society.” In 2017, he was awarded the “Champion of Peace” recognition at the Rotary International ceremony at the United Nations Peace Week in Geneva. His Telling Stories that Matter toolkit aims to raise storytelling from a form of entertainment to an ethical art tool for social justice and empathy building, and as a global force for peace. Kiran firmly believes storytelling not only has the power to enrich lives, but it also holds the key to building a conflict free society.
9 February 2021
Susan Carroll, Director of Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center
Susan Carroll, Managing Director of the Duke-UNC Rotary Center, joined the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center as Coordinator in May 2005. She has more than 20 years of experience in the field of international humanitarian assistance, working for the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. For UNHCR, she worked on large-scale refugee operations in Sudan, Ethiopia, Malawi, Turkey, Hong Kong and Thailand. In 1991, Susan was the first UN Liaison Officer with allied forces in Incirlik, Turkey, working with military personnel on the protection and assistance of Kurdish refugees. She also coordinated two UNHCR training programs, one focusing on gender analysis of refugee populations, and the other on management of emergencies. She had a brief professional detour when she worked in residential real estate in Cambridge, Mass., and in 2002, was part of the team that sold Julia Child’s house. Susan received her bachelor’s degree in geology from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut and has done graduate studies at the Institut Universitaire des Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva.
16 February 2021
Melody St. John, PDG District 5280
Navajo Water Project
Melody St. John has been involved with Rotary throughout her entire life, from her days as the daughter of a Rotarian in South Dakota when women were not accepted as members. Today she utilizes her passion for youth programs and has been involved with Rotary youth exchange for over 20 years. Melody was Rotary District Governor in 2019-20 for Rotary District 5280.
A member and Past President of the Rotary Club of Hollywood, St. John is involved in a number of Rotary District 5280 initiatives. She and her husband have been on 9 International Humanitarian trips. Beyond the District, she is the Chair of the multi-district high school youth exchange program (SCANEX) and works with over 100 students each year, placing them in the best situations here in the U.S. and abroad. She and her husband, Rotarian Paul St. John (LA5), are co-founders of the Rotary USA Train Tour going in its 21th year, having taken over 900 students on a 30-day year-end journey around the USA. St. John is currently serving on the board of NAYEN (North American Youth Exchange Network).
In her professional life, St. John’s founded Video Tape Library, a stock footage image library, in 1984. The library has over a million images compiled from over 250 cameramen form around the world. Fun fact: Her library was used in beta testing for a fledgling website called “YouTube.”
Navajo Water Project – Dig Deep
23 February 2021
Rudy Westervelt – Rotary 101 on the 116th Anniversary of Rotary International
In his Rotary life, he is a member of the Rotary E-Club of World Peace, D5330. In District 5330, he was the District Governor in 2015-16. He was the convener of the Rotary World Peace Conference 2016, named as a Presidential Peace Conference, and Rotary World Peace Conference 2020.
Rudy is the Co-Chair for RLI and Chair of Strategic Planning in Rotary District 5330.
Rudy is a board member of Plan It Life, a non-profit organization, that manages group homes for foster children with advanced social problems. Rudy is a member of Mediators Beyond Borders International.
