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

March 20th 2024 at 12:30 pm
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting

Health Systems Strengthening


Sumani Dash, Director of Corporate Development, Project C.U.R.E.
Sumani Dash leads corporate partnerships at Project C.U.R.E. – in her role, she works with American companies and Multi-National and Global corporations to leverage private sector resources and expertise to help enable greater access to healthcare services and supplies in under-resourced communities across the world.  Sumani comes to project C.U.R.E. with extensive experience in strategic partnership development, public policy, fundraising, and communications. She has worked with businesses and non-profit organizations, delivering exceptional results built on extensive emerging markets knowledge and first-hand experience.

Previously, Sumani was the Managing Director for American Friends of HelpAge India (AFHI), a non-profit organization that serves to mobilize resources and support for disadvantaged older people in India.  In her role, she managed all compliance, operations, and fundraising for AFHI and developed partnerships with corporations, institutions and individual donors.  Before that, Sumani worked for over nine years with the Confederation of Indian Industry, India’s largest chamber of commerce, and served as the head of the North America operations, helping develop and grow trade, commerce and bilateral partnerships.
 

Sumani holds a Masters Degree in International Studies from the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver; Post Graduate Diploma in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Delhi; and a Bachelors Degree in Journalism from the University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.  Sumani lives in the Washington DC metro area with her husband and two young children who keep her on her toes at all times.
 

March 27th 2024 at 12:30 pm
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
End Forced Organ Harvesting--Another Form of Human Trafficking

Shirley Hu 
is a proud American citizen for over 40 years. She was born and raised in Taiwan and treasures her Chinese cultural heritage.
Shirley is a full-time volunteer supporting multiple non-profit organizations after retiring from her Information Technology
development and management career.  She has been a Rotarian for over 10 years and is a Major Donor Level 4
with Rotary Foundation, focusing on Peace & Conflict Resolution to combat human trafficking.

Shirley is the current chair of Rotary Satellite Club of Ending Forced Organ
Harvesting.  She is an honorary member of CAAHT (Community Action Against Human Trafficking) Rotary club and serves as one of the North America coordinators for RAGAS (Rotary Action Group Against Modern Slavery.

 

April 3rd 2024 at 12:30 pm
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting

Edwin C. Chapman, MD, DABIM, FASAM

Dr. Edwin C. Chapman has practiced in Washington, DC for over 47 years, specializing in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine.  Over the past 21 years, he has investigated the complex mix of addiction, under-treated mental illness, infectious diseases (AIDS & Hepatitis C), criminal behavior, and chronic diseases.
     Dr. Chapman received his B.S. and M.D. from Howard University College of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine as well as a fellowship in cardiology from historic Freedmen’s and Howard University Hospitals.  He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM, 1979), the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM grandfathered to ABAM, 2009), a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.  He maintains active memberships in the National Medical Association (NMA), Medico Chirurgical Society of Washington, DC (MED CHI of DC), the American Medical Association (AMA), the Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC) as well as associate membership in the Black Psychiatrists of America.

     Dr. Chapman is a founding member and secretary of the board of directors of the Leadership Council for Healthy Communities where he brings integrated medical care into underserved communities and faith institutions.  Using this urban, collaborative care virtual office telemedicine design, he addresses the needs of opioid-addicted index patients and their entire families, recognizing the impact of addiction as a “social determinant of health” and a factor leading to “toxic stress” in both family and community-wide settings. 
In 2008, Dr. Chapman was featured in the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Month DVD entitled “Medication-Assisted Therapies: Providing a Whole-Patient Approach to Treatment” He was appointed in January 2019 to the National Academy of Science Engineering and Medicine committee “Examination of the Integration of Opioid and Infectious Diseases Prevention Efforts in Select Programs” and currently collaborates on research protocols with the Howard University School of Pharmacy and College of Medicine.

     Dr. Chapman is a widely sought speaker on the impact of historical oppression and anxiety/depression reactive addiction on the African American community and has been featured in The Washington Post, Addiction Professional Magazine, NPR, and many other publications.  He was recognized by the National Medical Association as their 2016 “Practitioner of the Year,”  Prince George’s County Links, Inc  40th Anniversary 1st awardee for “Excellence in Health and Human Services,” and the Black Mental Health Alliance for Education and Counseling “2019 Phoenix Arising Behavioral Health Provider of the Year Award.”

 


April 10th 2024 at 12:30 pm
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
District of Columbia Emancipation Day - Public Holiday April 16th 

The Honorable Vincent Bernard Orange, Sr. is an attorney and certified public accountant possessing degrees in taxation, law, communications, and business administration. Mr. Orange served 14 years in Washington, DC as an elected official, including two-terms as the Ward 5 Council Member and two-terms as an At-Large Council Member, and served 6 years as the Washington, DC Democratic National Committeeman; and recently served four-years as President & CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Orange is currently setting up youth apprenticeship programs for the government of the District of Columbia.

In 2005, Mr. Orange authored legislation creating the only District of Columbia public holiday entitled “District of Columbia Emancipation Day” which honors the 3,100 DC enslaved persons freed on April 16, 1862, nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863.


The Honorable Vincent Bernard Orange, Sr. has received numerous awards and recognition, including the 2023 President Joseph R. Biden’s Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, induction into the Washington, D.C. Hall of Fame Society (2018), DCTV Hall of Fame (2017), Washington Business Journal Power 100 Recognition (2016 & 2017), Prince Hall Lodge No. 14 Life Time Achievement Award (2017), and the Sigma Delta Tau Legal Fraternity, Inc. Outstanding Service Award (2016) for career accomplishments promoting excellence in the study, practice and judicial processes of the law.

Mr. Orange is a life-time member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a Prince Hall Affiliated Mason, and a member of Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church located in Washington, DC.
 

April 17th 2024 at 12:30 pm
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Ike in Love and War

Richard Striner is a writer, scholar, and activist. He led an historic preservation organization before joining the faculty of Washington College, where he served as professor of history for thirty years. He also served as senior writer for the Dwight D.Eisenhower Memorial Commission.

The author of over a dozen books, he is also the author of numerous magazine and journal articles along with public affairs commentaries and op-eds.

An independent, he encourages people to “think outside the box.”  His writing has covered political history, presidential history, literature, economics, film, architecture, and historic preservation.

His most recent book is Summoned to Glory: The Audacious Life of Abraham Lincoln (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).  Previous presidential books include Woodrow Wilson and World War I:  A Burden Too Great to Bear (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014), Lincoln and Race (Southern Illinois Univerity Press, 2012), Lincoln’s Way: How Six Great Presidents Created American Power (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010), and Father Abraham: Lincoln’s Relentless Struggle to End Slavery (Oxford University Press, 2006). He contributed to the on-line New York Times “Disunion” series on the Civil War and he has written two cover stories for the American Scholar magazine. He has also written articles for
William & Mary Quarterly and Aspen Institute Quarterly. He was a regular book reviewer for The Weekly Standard.  

His latest book, Ike in Love and War: How Dwight D. Eisenhower Sacrificed Himself to Keep the Peace was published by Post Hill Press in September, 2023.


 

April 24th 2024 at 12:30 pm
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting

May 1st 2024 at 12:30 pm
In-Person/Hybrid Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting

Missed the meeting? Watch the speaker’s presentation.

YouTube

Terrell Danely Washington Literacy Center | Adult Literacy & Paths to Engagement | February 28, 2024

Rotary Club Washington DC 10 views March 1, 2024 1:54 pm

RI President R. Gordon R. McInally owned and operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh until 2016. He has held various academic and professional positions, served as Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and is an ambassador for “Bipolar UK”.
A member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry in Scotland, Gordon joined Rotary in 1984 aged 26. He has served as President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) and in RI has had many roles, including adviser to the 2022 Houston Convention Committee and chair of the Operations Review Committee. Gordon looks forward to working with members on building new style Rotary clubs and groups. His vision is to ensure that Rotary should exist everywhere in a style to suit everyone who has the desire to do good in the world. 

He is also a patron of “Hope and Homes for Children” and led a partnership between that organization and RIBI during his presidency to lift orphans of the Rwandan genocide out of poverty and into stability. He recalls a moment of epiphany about Rotary’s power to transform lives while in Rwanda when he met a 16-year-old girl who had previously never owned shoes. Gordon is also a patron of “Trade-Aid” for developing countries. 
 

In his free time, Gordon enjoys rugby, good food and wine, and “stick dressing”. Gordon strongly supports The Rotary Foundation, which he describes as “the fuel that provides the energy to do Rotary service.” He and his wife, Heather, also a Rotarian, are Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation. They are also members of the Bequest Society. As a proud grandfather, Gordon wishes to dedicate his presidency to making the world a better place for children everywhere to live and thrive. “No matter how long I live, I will never be able to give back to Rotary what Rotary has given me,” he says.

RI President R. Gordon R. McInally owned and operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh until 2016. He has held various academic and professional positions, served as Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and is an ambassador for “Bipolar UK”.
A member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry in Scotland, Gordon joined Rotary in 1984 aged 26. He has served as President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) and in RI has had many roles, including adviser to the 2022 Houston Convention Committee and chair of the Operations Review Committee. Gordon looks forward to working with members on building new style Rotary clubs and groups. His vision is to ensure that Rotary should exist everywhere in a style to suit everyone who has the desire to do good in the world.

He is also a patron of “Hope and Homes for Children” and led a partnership between that organization and RIBI during his presidency to lift orphans of the Rwandan genocide out of poverty and into stability. He recalls a moment of epiphany about Rotary’s power to transform lives while in Rwanda when he met a 16-year-old girl who had previously never owned shoes. Gordon is also a patron of “Trade-Aid” for developing countries.


In his free time, Gordon enjoys rugby, good food and wine, and “stick dressing”. Gordon strongly supports The Rotary Foundation, which he describes as “the fuel that provides the energy to do Rotary service.” He and his wife, Heather, also a Rotarian, are Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation. They are also members of the Bequest Society. As a proud grandfather, Gordon wishes to dedicate his presidency to making the world a better place for children everywhere to live and thrive. “No matter how long I live, I will never be able to give back to Rotary what Rotary has given me,” he says.

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YouTube Video UExJdHZDNlFoRVI5bHJDYUJMemN4bjd2dFZpcEVJRFFKZy41NUMwNTVERDNBRDc4REM0

RI President, Gordon McInally | February 21, 2024

Rotary Club Washington DC 16 views February 29, 2024 1:49 pm

Rozier "Roach" Brown | Executive Director, The Inner Voices | February 7, 2024

Rotary Club Washington DC 23 views February 10, 2024 4:01 pm

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova was appointed the Ukraine’s Ambassador to the USA and arrived in DC on Apr 20, 2021.  She served in Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance in 2015-2020 as First deputy Minister and Government commissioner on investments and then since 2018 as a Minister of Finance. During her time at the Ministry she was a co-author of Ukraine’s macroeconomic revival program, has conducted unprecedented fiscal consolidation leading to deficit to GDP of 2% and debt to GDP reduction to below 50%, introduced midterm budgeting, gender oriented budgeting as well as negotiated, structured and coordinated successfully two IMF programs and other IFI cooperation programs.  During her tenure she and her team also created UkraineInvest government promotion agency, Ukrainian Startup fund and an eData ecosystem of government public finance portals, including spending.gov.ua, openbudget.gov.ua and analytical instrument BOOST, which opened the majority of the public finance data to the public and increased Ukraine in all major international data transparency ratings.  

Prior to her career in public service, Mrs. Markarova spent 17 years working in private equity and financial advisory, having leadership roles in ITT investment group, Western NIS Enterprise Fund, Chemonics and and World Bank, as well as founded Archidata, a startup electronic archive company in between service positions in 2020. 

Oksana Markarova serves at the Boards of UkraineHouse DC foundation in Washington DC, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukrainian Development Foundation and supports Ukrainian Catholic University and Ukrainian Press Museum-Archive.  She holds BS and MS degrees in Environmental Science from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine and MPA in public finance from Indiana University with academic excellency and best international student awards.  On 16 December 2020, Oksana Markarova received the French National Order of Merit.  On 28 December 2022, Markova received the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd Class By the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 370/2023, dated July 5, 2023, Oksana Markarova was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine with concurrent accreditation to Antigua and Barbuda.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova was appointed the Ukraine’s Ambassador to the USA and arrived in DC on Apr 20, 2021. She served in Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance in 2015-2020 as First deputy Minister and Government commissioner on investments and then since 2018 as a Minister of Finance. During her time at the Ministry she was a co-author of Ukraine’s macroeconomic revival program, has conducted unprecedented fiscal consolidation leading to deficit to GDP of 2% and debt to GDP reduction to below 50%, introduced midterm budgeting, gender oriented budgeting as well as negotiated, structured and coordinated successfully two IMF programs and other IFI cooperation programs. During her tenure she and her team also created UkraineInvest government promotion agency, Ukrainian Startup fund and an eData ecosystem of government public finance portals, including spending.gov.ua, openbudget.gov.ua and analytical instrument BOOST, which opened the majority of the public finance data to the public and increased Ukraine in all major international data transparency ratings.

Prior to her career in public service, Mrs. Markarova spent 17 years working in private equity and financial advisory, having leadership roles in ITT investment group, Western NIS Enterprise Fund, Chemonics and and World Bank, as well as founded Archidata, a startup electronic archive company in between service positions in 2020.

Oksana Markarova serves at the Boards of UkraineHouse DC foundation in Washington DC, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukrainian Development Foundation and supports Ukrainian Catholic University and Ukrainian Press Museum-Archive. She holds BS and MS degrees in Environmental Science from Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine and MPA in public finance from Indiana University with academic excellency and best international student awards. On 16 December 2020, Oksana Markarova received the French National Order of Merit. On 28 December 2022, Markova received the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd Class By the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 370/2023, dated July 5, 2023, Oksana Markarova was appointed as Ambassador of Ukraine with concurrent accreditation to Antigua and Barbuda.

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YouTube Video UExJdHZDNlFoRVI5bHJDYUJMemN4bjd2dFZpcEVJRFFKZy4wMDkwRkI3NzExODA2MTFG

Her Excellency Ambassador Oksana Markarova | Ukraine Ambassador to the USA | January 31, 2024

Rotary Club Washington DC 92 views February 1, 2024 5:50 pm

Gregory J. Argyros | MedStar Washington Hospital Center | January 17, 2024

Rotary Club Washington DC 9 views January 22, 2024 9:00 am

Liz Crafford | Invasive Plants in Your Neighborhood: The Problem and the Solution | January 10, 2024

Rotary Club Washington DC 30 views January 19, 2024 9:00 am

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Neal Daniels | JROTC at Dunbar High School | January 3, 2024

Rotary Club Washington DC 10 views January 18, 2024 9:01 am

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.