Burkle Center International Career Panel
Join us to hear from experts, learn about careers and get inspired!
Wednesday, May 6, 20265:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Bunche Hall, Room 10383
315 Portola Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
ABOUT THE EVENT
Learn about a range of professions in the international arena and gain insight into how best to prepare for a career path in these fields, all while enjoying delicious pizza!
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Kristin Ghazarians is the Associate Director of the Human Rights Watch Student Task Force and has been with the team since 2012. She is a graduate from Syracuse University’s Public Diplomacy program and University of California, San Diego’s International Studies department. Her background is in international relations, conflict resolution and public relations. Prior to joining HRW, Kristin worked for Amnesty International as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office Administrator in Washington, DC, interned with the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and taught English in Cambodia and Los Angeles. She loves to travel and has spent a lot of time focusing on human rights while abroad. She has dedicated her academic and professional careers to human rights.
Dr. Richard Downie is a Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies at the Pacific Council on International Policy, an Adjunct professor in the University of Southern California’s Global Security Studies Program, and Missouri State University’s Defense and Strategic Studies Program. He serves on the Boards of the World Hwa Rang Do Association and Westport Construction Incorporated and is a member of the Faculty of the Thayer Leader Development Group at the United States Military Academy. Dr. Downie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
He has held several senior defense and academic leadership roles helping to shape security and defense cooperation across the Western Hemisphere. In his last position in the U.S. Army, he served as the first Commandant of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. Following retirement from the Army, he was Director of the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies in Washington, D.C. for nine years. He is also the former President & CEO of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council--and previously, the World Affairs Council of Orange County.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Dr. Downie earned his Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Southern California. He is a frequent commentator on international and hemispheric security affairs, appearing on CNN/Español, Univision, Telemundo, Bloomberg, NPR, NTN24, and other media outlets.
A native Californian, Jim Newton is a veteran journalist, author and teacher. In 25 years at the Los Angeles Times, Newton worked as a reporter, editor, bureau chief, columnist and, from 2007 through 2010, editor of the editorial pages. He joined UCLA in 2015 to teach in Communication Studies and Public Policy and to found Blueprint, a UCLA magazine (blueprint.ucla.edu) addressing the policy challenges facing California and Los Angeles in particular. The magazine has been recognized for editorial and design excellence, and he serves as its editor-in-chief.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Alexandra Lieben is the Deputy Director of the Ronald W. Burkle Center for International Relations and Lecturer in the Undergraduate Program in Public Affairs at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. A certified mediator, she teaches constructive communication, alternative dispute resolution, public dialogue, cultural competency, international conflict resolution, and community and economic development to undergraduate and graduate students at UCLA.
Sponsor(s): Burkle Center for International Relations