Meet Our Speakers
The Rotary Club of Washington, DC is strategically located to gather the most prestigious group of speakers our nation’s Capital can generate. From Ambassadors, Business Executives, and Tribal Chiefs to an endless array of Champions of Change. Our Club Members, and visitors to our weekly meetings, receive an impressive amount of intellectually-stimulating, heart-warming presentations each week. Further, on this page, is a sample of speakers whom have recently spoken at our Club…
Upcoming Speakers
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Derrick Terry
Opening Doors to a Brighter Future
Derrick Terry is a two-time author, podcast host, educator, military veteran, information management professional, and community leader dedicated to education, leadership, mental health awareness, and amplifying unheard voices.
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Terry is an Army brat who moved to Maryland in 1981 with his military family. He is a graduate of Towson University, earning a B.A. in Mass Communications and an M.A. in Public Relations.
With more than 20 years of experience in education and information management, Terry was a Maryland and Virginia certified educator. Also, served as an adjunct professor at Trinity Washington University and is the owner of Edvocare, LLC, a special education advocacy company.
A 28-year military reservist and war veteran, Terry served in Guatemala, Qatar, and Afghanistan. He currently works for the federal government as a Records Officer and Litigation Hold Coordinator.
Terry is a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and currently serves as Interim Vice-President and Treasurer of Light The Way Foundation where he is helping expand youth enrichment programs, film camps, and scholarships.
Terry is married with two children. His wife and daughter are both graduates of Morgan State University, while his son is a sophomore at Towson University.
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Angela Jones
Advancing Economic Mobility through BAM-FI Program for Positive Youth Development
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Angela Jones is an accomplished director with over 15 years of proven success in driving strategic initiatives that enhance business operations and community development within the National Capital Area. Her expertise encompasses nonprofit leadership, organizational development and capacity building, fundraising and partnership initiatives, and social impact. As Youth Guidance DC Executive Director, she is amplifying a youth-center program that supports wellness and postsecondary success. Former Director of Development at Youth Guidance DC, she has increased community engagement, donor relationships, philanthropic funding, program visibility, and strategic relationships within the Greater Washington area. Currently, she serves on the DC Collaborative Executive board advancing arts & humanities as well as being a Leadership Greater Washington and Association for Fundraising Professionals member. She previously served as the Arts Director at Duke Ellington School of the Arts and as Director of Programs at Insight Initiative scaling program innovations towards positive youth development. Angela Jones holds a B.S. in Business Management from Oral Roberts University and a M.Div. from Howard University School of Divinity with a Cultural Anthropology focus.
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Eric Angel
Food is Medicine: Building a Healthier DC
Eric Angel
(he/him) is Executive Director of DC Greens. He came to DC Greens following his tenure as chief of staff at a civil rights agency within the U.S. Department of Labor. Before his tenure in the federal government, Angel served as senior policy advisor for Bruce Spiva during Spiva’s campaign for D.C. attorney general.
Angel’s commitment to anti-poverty and racial justice is reflected in his more than two decades at Legal Aid DC, where he served first as legal director and later as executive director. There, Angel helped make justice real in individual and systemic ways for persons living in poverty in D.C.
Before arriving at Legal Aid DC, Angel served as an associate counsel to former President Bill Clinton, worked as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, and clerked for the Honorable Raymond J. Dearie of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He attended Yale College (‘89) and Yale Law School (‘93) and has served as an Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University Law School since 2008.
Angel has been recognized nationally and locally for his work. He has been honored with the John Minor Wisdom Award from the American Bar Association’s Section on Litigation for his outstanding contributions toward attaining justice for underrepresented populations. Angel has also been awarded the Scoutt Prize from the DC Bar Foundation for his career-long compassionate advocacy on behalf of clients while exhibiting a high degree of skill in representing them.
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Mona Calhoun
Good Governance, Great Leadership: Why Parliamentary Procedure Matters More Than Ever
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Dr. Mona Calhoun joined the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP) in 2008. She has been a PRP since 2010. Her board experience in NAP includes serving as president, vice president, and secretary. She has also served on the Personnel, Budget, and Finance Committees, and has chaired the Pricing, Professional Development, and Policy and Procedure Committees. She is also an RPCE Exam Question Reviewer for the Commission on Credentialing. Additionally, she has served as the Credentials Chair and Budget and Finance Chair for NAP Conventions. At the association level, she served as treasurer. On the unit level, she has served as vice president, education chair, historian, and treasurer. She is a member of the DC Registered Unit of Parliamentarians and the DC Association of Parliamentarians. In the community and civic organizations, she has served in various capacities, including president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and parliamentarian, and has chaired numerous committees. Professionally, she is the chair of the Health Information Management bachelor's and master's programs at Coppin State University and a past President of the American Health Information Management Association.
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Anthony Knopps
"The Hidden Value of Service"
With more than three decades in the public arena, and nearly two decades teaching public policy and communications, Anthony Knopps offers that rare blend of both professional and academic experience that connects with diverse audiences.
His professional career began in journalism, writing for the Kansas City Star while in high school. Later, Knopps ran or helped to run television newsrooms in Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, and Ohio.
He later transitioned into higher education, teaching communications, public policy, and political management to both graduate and undergraduate students. He is currently chair of the Department of Political Science at Adrian College in Adrian, MI. He is also a senior instructor in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University in Washington DC and an affiliated faculty member at the Global Food Institute at GW.
A nine-time author and a TEDx speaker, he was recently inducted into the Lee’s Summit High School Hall of Fame where he graduated in 1982.
Additional content information: In this conversation, Author Anthony Knopps shares the lessons in Volume II of “The No-Fail Mission. He interviewed 13 men and women who served the Office of the President. How they got to the White House was a story within itself, but what they did when they arrived to serve the Office of the President was even more so. Their accomplishments, which enabled them to earn the Presidential Service Badge, highlight the humble nature of service, something that is often forgotten in the “have to have the next piece of information from our phone” time in which we live. Theirs is a different mission, of serving the Office of the President, not the man who had the title at the time. Volume II showcases some of the “older” Presidential Service Badge holders. Their stories, about Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and others, are a window into our past. They are a window into a time when the divisions were still present but were not fanned by the flames of a 24/7 news cycle. In talking with them, history came alive. It was the thrill of a lifetime to hear these stories, to learn what it was like to be “in the room” during that era’s most memorable moments. It was remarkable for me, even years later, to hear the emotion in their own words and see those moments rushing back to them as they shared those stories with me. And it is a privilege for me to share those stories with you.
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Eduardo Perdomo
Kick-off to Hispanic Heritage Month!
Eduardo Perdomo is the first self-identified Afro Latino to lead the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs in 50 years. He is originally from the Dominican Republic. He has been living in Washington DC for over 12 years. Eduardo has over 18 years of experience in project management working in community development and international development projects financially supported by the United Nations, Organization of American States, and the Government of the District of Columbia. He currently serves as the Director at the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs (MOLA) where he develops strategies to better serve the Latino community. He played a crucial role in the COVID-19 pandemic response by connecting DC Latinos to vital services in the area of housing, health and wellness and financial relief.
Eduardo has multiple skills, but one that sets him apart is his cross-cultural competence that enables him to interact with people of different backgrounds and approach social issues in the search for solutions through a multifaceted point of view. He feels privilege for being able to serve DC residents and to work under the Leadership of Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Mr. Perdomo has contributed to the visibility of the diversity among DC Latinos by creating cultural events such as the Afro Latino Festival and DC Latino Restaurant Week.
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Colin Grabow
The Jones Act
Colin Grabow is an Associate Director at the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies where his research focuses on domestic forms of trade protectionism such as the Jones Act and the U.S. sugar program.
His writings have been published in a number of outlets, including USA Today, The Hill, National Review, and the Wall Street Journal.
Prior to joining the Cato Institute, he performed political and economic analysis for a Japan-based trading and investment firm and published research and analysis for an international affairs consulting firm with a focus on U.S.-Asia relations.
Grabow holds a BA in international affairs from James Madison University and an MA in international trade and investment policy from George Washington University.
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Speaker: Mike Johnson
Community Service Grant: Growing Resilient Food Systems for DC's Food Insecure
Mike Johnson is the Founder and Executive Director of OurFarm DC, a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit building a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient local food system through hydroponic urban farming, food access programming, and community education. Since installing its first container farm at Covenant House Greater Washington in 2023, OurFarm has grown into a network of indoor and outdoor garden installations across schools, community organizations, and institutional partners throughout the DC/Maryland/Virginia region — harvesting thousands of pounds of fresh produce for food-insecure communities while creating hands-on educational and workforce training opportunities along the way.
Mike brings a background in design strategy, user research, and venture development to OurFarm's mission. Before founding OurFarm, he worked with a diversity of companies to design, test, and build new products and services, using human-centered research and design methodologies. His earlier career spanned international development and social enterprise work, including roles with the American India Foundation in Bangalore, India working with sustainability and workforce development ventures. He holds a degree from Brown University.
Mike has built OurFarm from the ground up - gradually accumulating partnerships and resources to develop scalable and impactful programs with organizations like Prince George’s Community College, Bread for the City, DC Central Kitchen, Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, and schools across PG County and DC.
Missed the meeting? Watch the speaker’s presentation.
YouTube
Speaker Series | RI President, Gordon McInally
Rasheem Rooke, Asst. VP, Prgm Mgt., United Negro College Fund | Finding Purpose in Service | 9/10/25
Anas "Andy" Shallal | CEO and Founder Busboys and Poets | November 5, 2025
Tiffany Ervin | The CART fund | The Power of One | October 22, 2025
Patty Medina | From Salsa to Strategy: Leading with Culture, Purpose, and Heart | October 15, 2025
Linda Ryden | Teaching Children to Resolve Conflicts | October 8, 2025
H.E. Georg Sparber | Ambassador of Liechtenstein to the US | October 1, 2025
Aviva Lund | The Neuroscience of Resilience and Empathy | September 24, 2025
Sampling of Our Past Speakers
The Rotary Club of Washington, DC would like to thank our past speakers for the engaging and motivational and informative presentations.
Bob Cusack
Editor in Chief, The Hill/TheHill.com
Reporting on politics and policy in the nation’s capital since 1995, Mr. Cusack joined The Hill as Business and Lobbying Editor in 2003 and is now the newspaper’s Managing Editor. Mr. Cusack regularly appears on ABC, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC as a political analyst.
Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana
Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States
Prior to her appointment, Ambassador Mathilde Mukantabana was a tenured Professor of History at Cosumnes River College (CRC) in Sacramento, California from 1994 to 2013. She is also Co-Founder and President of Friends of Rwanda Association (F.O.R.A).
Manny Mandel
Holocaust Survivor
Emanuel “Manny” Mandel was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1936, the year in which his parents returned to their native Hungary. Manny’s father had been selected to become one of the Chief Cantors…
Juan Williams
Fox Political Analyst and Author
Juan Williams is one of America’s leading political writers and thinkers. Mr. Williams is a top political analyst for Fox Television, co-host of the daily talk show ‘The Five’ and a regular panelist for Fox News Sunday and Special Report.
James Chen
Institute for Global Engagement
James Chen is the Vice President of Global Operations at the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE). James first joined IGE in 2011, serving as both a Program Officer and the Executive Director…
Anne Midgette
Classical Music Critic, The Washington Post
Anne Midgette is a graduate of Yale University. She lived in Munich, Germany, reviewing opera, music, and art throughout Europe for The Wall Street Journal, Opera News, and other publications. In 2008, she took over as the chief classical music critic for The Washington Post.