This special program will explore the decision-making process for US national security policy and the variety of influences on that process.   Ms. DeRosa will present current political, legal and ethical issues in national security affairs from the vantage point of her recent post as Legal Adviser to the National Security Council and Deputy Counsel to President Obama for National Security Affairs.

Ms. DeRosa served in the fall of 2011 as the US Representative to the 66^th Session of the General Assembly of the UN.  She worked on the Obama/Biden transition team.  Ms. DeRosa has also been Chief Counsel for National Security to the Senate Judiciary Committee and was a Senior Fellow at CSIS.  From 1994 to 2001, she served in the Clinton administration at the National Security Council and the Department of Defense.  Ms. DeRosa has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the George Washington School of Law.

This program is presented by ISH as part of a series of educational and cultural activities designed to build community and encourage dialogue among our residents, supporters and friends.

International Student House

and

 Protocol Partners, Inc.

 invite you to

an Author’s Evening Program

featuring a discussion with

Benedicte Valentiner

Former General Manager of Blair House 

on her book

Bedtime and Other Stories from

 The President’s Guest House

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

6:30 pm

Books will be available for sale and signing

International Student House

1825 R Street, NW

Washington, DC 20009

Benedicte Valentiner was Managing Director of Blair House from 1988 to 2001.  During this time, she served four Presidents (from Presidents Reagan to George W. Bush) and six Secretaries of State.

Bedtime and Other Stories from The President’s Guest House presents Mrs. Valentiner’s unique behind the scenes experiences managing one of the world’s most prestigious, historic and beautiful official government guest houses.  She will provide background on the fascinating  history of Blair House, discuss the  multi-million dollar restoration it underwent in the 1980’s, and share her recollections of welcoming heads of state and other official visitors to the US from around the world.

Over 13 years, Mrs. Valentiner hosted nearly 200 official visits of foreign Presidents, Prime Ministers, kings and queens.  Her personal anecdotes about the world’s most powerful leaders are dramatic, revealing and entertaining.

Born and raised in Denmark, Mrs. Valentiner moved to the US in 1963 and became an American citizen in 1969.   Before arriving at Blair House, she was in the international hotel business and then worked in the political worlds of New Mexico and the US Senate.

This program is presented as part of ISH’s series of educational and cultural activities designed to build community and encourage dialogue among our residents, supporters and friends.    We welcome Protocol Partners (www.theprotocolpartners.com ) as co-sponsors  of this event.

Join us for a special program to help sharpen your networking and business etiquette skills!

International Student House
is pleased to invite you to a

Special Briefing by
Her Excellency
Renée Jones-Bos

The Ambassador of the
Netherlands to the US
on international human rights
and US–Dutch Bilateral Relations

Monday,
February 13, 2012
at 7:00 pm
1825 R Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Ambassador Jones-Bos has served as the Dutch Ambassador to Washington since 2008. Prior to her appointment, she held several prominent positions with her country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Director-General for Regional Policy & Consular Affairs,and Ambassador-At-Large for Human Rights. This is Ambassador Jones-Bos’ second posting to Washington, having previously served as a First Secretary with the Embassy from 1987 to 1990. This program is presented as part of ISH’s ongoing effort to provide our residents and supporters with opportunities to participate in a wide variety of educational and cultural activities designed to foster a sense of community and stimulate substantive dialogue.

Thursday, January 26 at 7pm in Ella Burling Hall - ISH is pleased to feature a special briefing by Tom Garrett, from the International Republican Institute.  If you would like to attend this event, please RSVP to jsinger@ishdc.org.   

Topic of discussion: Is democracy possible in Egypt and what is the role of U.S. democracy promotion organizations in helping to bring that about?

Bio

Tom Garrett joined IRI in November 1994 and currently serves as Vice President for Programs.  Prior to being named Vice President, Garrett served as IRI’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Garrett first served as IRI’s Resident Program Director for Ukraine; he later oversaw political party programs in Belarus and Moldova as well.  He left the Ukraine program in January 2000, to serve as IRI’s Resident Advisor to the Ikh Hural, Mongolia’s parliament, based in Ulaanbaatar.   In addition to his Mongolia assignments, Garrett conducted training for IRI programs in Cambodia and in Thailand for the Burmese democratic opposition in exile.

In October 2000, Garrett moved to Jakarta as IRI’s Resident Program Director and oversaw a program of political party building, public opinion research and support to local government.  While posted to Indonesia, he conducted program assessment missions for IRI in Fiji, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and provided training on campaign finance reform in East Timor.

Over the past 15 years, Garrett has worked on election observation missions in Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, the Solomon Islands, Tunisia and Ukraine.

 Prior to joining IRI, Garrett served as a Legislative Assistant to Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and at the Department of the Interior as Director of Congressional and Legislative Affairs for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

He holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s degree in international relations from Norwich University.