Dear SPIA Community,

I recently had the privilege of meeting dozens of our alumni at a reception and networking event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., last month. If you missed my Dean’s Dialogue episode with Christina Henderson MPA ’12, at-large member of the DC City Council, be sure to check it out!

Another of SPIA’s esteemed alumni based in our nation’s capital is Eric Schwartz MPA ’85, who serves as president of Refugees International. His organization advocates for lifesaving assistance, human rights, and protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement crises around the world.

Eric graciously joined the third episode of my podcast in honor of World Refugee Day, which is celebrated each year on June 20. With the focus of this year’s commemoration on the right to seek safety, we explored the challenges current refugees are facing. Millions of people around the world, from Syria to Afghanistan to Ukraine, have been forcibly displaced due to rising conflict and socioeconomic turmoil. In Ukraine alone, 7 million people have fled its borders, while 8 million remain displaced within the country.

I’m grateful to Eric for talking with me about how public policy can help address the global refugee crisis as well as its root causes. I hope you’ll give our episode a listen, perhaps on #WorldRefugeeDay itself.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever else you find podcasts. Just look for “In Service to Humanity,” and you’ll know you’ve found us.
 

Warm regards,

Amaney