Our current and past speakers include the following:

1. Upcoming in 2010: Strobe Talbott, President of The Brookings Institution, topic and date TBA.

2. February 25, 2010: Ambassador Morton Abramowitz, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and Ambassador to Turkey, “Where does Turkey belong? Western perceptions of Turkish foreign policy and the American response”.

3. November 17, 2009: Julia Wallace, Editor, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution & ajc.com, “The Changing Role of News in the U.S. and the World”

4. November 12, 2009: John Hardman, President and CEO of the Carter Center, “Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, and Building Hope: Neighbor to Neighbor”

5. October 13, 2009: Barbara Brown Taylor, Acclaimed author, and professor of religion at Piedmont College, “Spiritual but not Religious?”

6. May 12, 2009: Ambassador Reda Mansour, Israeli Consul General for the Southeastern United States, and Prof. David Cuthell of the Institute for Turkish Studies as follow up to the appearance of Ambassador Imad Moustapha, Syrian Ambassador to the United States, that was held on December 16, 2008. This was a two-part series co-sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee’s Middle East Peace Education Program. http://www.pba.org/afn/event.php?forumEventId=2619

7. April 28, 2009: Peggy McCormick, President, Atlanta Development Authority, “Spurring Growth for the City of Atlanta: Your City’s New Initiatives and Plans in the Economic Crisis” http://www.pba.org/afn/event.php?forumEventId=2609

8. March 25, 2009: Jay Hakes, Director, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, “Energy Independence: The New Obama Administration & Changing World Trends”

9. February 2, 2009: Honarable Suat Kiniklioglu, Member of Turkish Parliament, “Turkey's Neighborhood Policy: Implications for Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East” (co-sponsored by the Department of International Relations at the University of Georgia)

10. February 2, 2009: Mustafa Akyol, Journalist and deputy editor of Turkish Daily News, “Is Islam Compatible with Liberal Democracy? What does the Turkish Experience Tell?” Co-sponsored by the Morehouse College.

11. February 2, 2009: Honarable Cuneyt Yuksel, Member of Turkish Parliament, “Turkey’s Accession into the European Union: What Turkey Brings to the Table?” (co-sponsored by the European Union Center of Excellence at Georgia Tech)

12. January 30, 2009: Ambassador Mark Parris, Former US Ambassador to Turkey (1997-2000), “Prospects for U.S.-Turkish Relations Under the Obama Administration (co-sponsored by Kennesaw State University) as part of the international conference “Alliance of Civilizations: Turkey at the Crossroads of Cultures” http://www.pba.org/afn/event.php?forumEventId=2571 http://www.istanbulcenter.org/content.aspx?id=203

13. December 16, 2008: Ambassador Imad Moustapha, Syrian Ambassador to the US, and Prof. David Cuthell of the Institute for Turkish Studies as part of a two-part series with the later appearance by Ambassador Reda Mansour, Israeli Consul General in Atlanta, on May 12, 2009. This was a two-part series co-sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee’s Middle East Peace Education Program.  http://www.pba.org/afn/event.php?forumEventId=2557

14. November 13, 2008: Ambassador Andrew Young, Civil Rights Leader, Former US Ambassador to the UN, “Alliance of Civilizations” http://www.pba.org/afn/event.php?forumEventId=2473

15. November 12, 2008: Hon. Nihat Ergun, Member of Turkish Parliament and Deputy Chairman of Justice and Development Party, “Turkey, Islam and International Politics” at University of Georgia. Co-sponsored by Department of International Relations at UGA.

16. October 28, 2008: Rick Maxwell, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the FBI Atlanta Field Office, “Counterterrorism & Partnership in America”

17. October 8, 2008: H.E. Kursat Tuzmen, State Minister of the Republic of Turkey, and Muhtar Kent, Chairman and the CEO of The Coca Cola Company (co-sponsored by the Southern Center for International Studies and The Coca Cola Company) http://www.istanbulcenter.org/content.aspx?id=178

18. September 8, 2008: Daniel Papp, President of Kennesaw State University, “The Russia-Georgia Conflict: A New Cold War?” http://www.pba.org/afn/event.php?forumEventId=2409

19. June 25, 2008: Dr. André Teissier-duCros, President of Alliance Française d'Atlanta, “Trilateral Relations: France, Turkey and the United States” http://www.pba.org/afn/event.php?forumEventId=2382

20. May 7, 2008: Ambassador Ahmet Oktay Aksoy, and Ambassador Osman Resat Arim, “Understanding Turkey’s Foreign Policy: The US-Turkish Relations” (co-sponsored by Georgia Council for International Visitors)