About this Event
Los Angeles, CA
Thursday‚ August 13
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Kimpton Hotel Palomar Beverly Hills
10740 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles‚ CA 90024
The GW community in Los Angeles is invited to join us for a reception and discussion with Elliott School Dean Alyssa Ayres. Our alumni panelists will discuss their varied careers in international affairs.
Registration for the event is $15 for alumni‚ parents‚ and guests‚ and includes hors d’oeuvres‚ beer‚ wine‚ and soft drinks. Students are free.
Dr. Alexis Blanc‚ ESIA MA ’08‚ CCAS MA ’16‚ PhD ’19‚ is a Senior Political Scientist at RAND. Dr. Blanc specializes in a diverse set of national security issues: nuclear deterrence dynamics and strategic stability‚ nuclear force posture‚ long-range strike‚ and crisis stability and escalation management strategies. She also has expertise in the space domain‚ examining many of these same issues as well as mission assurance for nuclear command and control and supply chain security. Her recent work has focused on the use of non-dedicated systems for nuclear command and control‚ nuclear design certification‚ and force structure to confront adversary nuclear saber rattling. Prior to RAND‚ she was a senior federal program manager at the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration for nine years‚ managing construction projects for the Office of Advanced Simulation and Computing. She completed multiple special projects for the NNSA Administrator’s Policy Office‚ working on nuclear weapons policy‚ posture‚ and supply chain security.
Stephen Ryan‚ ESIA BA ’07‚ is Director‚ Air-Space Integration at Northrop Grumman Space Systems. He is a senior technical leader and manager bridging advanced missions‚ strategy‚ engineering‚ and technology to execute next-generation space system development and production programs focused on air-space integration and support to advanced joint warfighting concepts. Prior to joining Northrop Grumman‚ Ryan was a decorated intelligence analyst with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)‚ where he specialized in terrorism analysis focused on Afghanistan and Pakistan. At NGA‚ he deployed to Afghanistan multiple times in support of U.S. special operations forces. Ryan’s awards include the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award‚ the NATO Medal‚ the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation‚ and the National Intelligence Professionals Award for Intelligence Integration. Ryan is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy‚ a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics‚ and was a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Tracy Williams‚ ESIA BA ’83‚ is the founder of Olmstead Williams Communications‚ a Los Angeles based public relations agency specializing in reputation management and crisis communication for companies in tech‚ healthcare and financial services. The firm employs social and digital strategies‚ including AI‚ along with traditional public relations capabilities. The firm has earned more than 20 industry awards for its work with leading companies including Johnson & Johnson and nonprofit leaders including Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services. Williams was named a Top Woman in PR by PRNews‚ and the agency was a finalist for the Agency Elite Awards. With a career start at Hill and Knowlton‚ Inc. in Washington‚ D.C.‚ Williams guided U.S. and European defense manufacturers through the government acquisition process. She developed programs aimed at key decision-makers in the U.S. Congress‚ the Department of Defense‚ the Department of State‚ and other federal agencies. She served as co-chair on the Los Angeles World Affairs Council and is a board member and judge for the Women Founder’s Network.
Moderator: Appointed in February 2021‚ Alyssa Ayres is the first woman to serve as permanent dean at the Elliott School. She is a foreign policy practitioner and award-winning author with senior experience in the government‚ nonprofit‚ and private sectors. From 2013 to 2021‚ she was a senior fellow for India‚ Pakistan‚ and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations‚ where she remains an adjunct senior fellow‚ and from 2010 to 2013 served as deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. Ayres received an AB from Harvard College and an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations‚ the Trilateral Commission‚ the Halifax International Security Forum’s agenda group‚ and serves on the board of directors of the National Endowment for Democracy and the Women’s Foreign Policy Group. In 2021 and 2022‚ the Washingtonian included her as one of their “most influential people shaping policy.”
