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
Virtual Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Founder and CEO of Learn Thru Movement

Suzy Koontz, Founder and CEO of Learn Thru Movement, is an actuary, an educational consultant, a math teacher, and the creator of Math & Movement, Movement & Literacy, and over 150 kinesthetic teaching tools. As the author of over 15 books, Suzy’s passion is helping students recognize their ability to learn and helping them lead healthier lives while achieving academic success. Suzy’s mission is for ALL students to be on grade level in math and reading. As a national presenter for schools, conferences, and PTA/O, Suzy shares how movement-based learning can assist in accomplishing this goal. Suzy’s work has been featured in television, radio, and print. Please see Suzy's media performances, at https://mathandmovement.com/
Virtual Washington DC Weekly Club Meeting
Always Aspiring, Always Inspiring
Sarah Ramson
My name is Sarah Ramson and I am 11 years old. I started learning music before I was 3 and currently play songs on 6 instruments; Harp, Piano, Flute, Tenor Steel Pan, Guitar and the Ukulele.
I am a home-school student (5th Grade) and music is a major part of my lesson plan. My remaining curriculum consists of studying Ballet at the Kirov Academy of Ballet, Kumon Math (Algebra 2) and Reading, Chess, Mandarin and an online home-school program to include Language Arts, Civics, Science and History.
I also play competitive Golf and recently competed in the 2019 US Kids World Golf Championship, finishing the summer with my best score being 83 on 18 holes from 4400yds. My past golf accomplishments consist of two Eagles from 56 and 74 yards as well as competing in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 US Kids World Golf Championship in Pinehurst, NC. I also advanced to the 3rd round of the 2017 and 2019 PGA Drive, Chip and Putt contest.
I am also a Chess player (rated 1083, halfway to expert level) and periodically play in National Tournaments. At 5yrs old, I placed 3rd at the 2013 Chess Nationals in Florida and at 8yrs old, I placed 16th out of 147 competitors (winning 5 out of 7 or my games) at the 2017 Chess Super Nationals in Tennessee. Most recently, I won the under 10 Mid-Atlantic Regional All Girls Tournament and I am ranked nationally at 64 percentiles of all Chess players, at 78 percentiles among Juniors and at 83 percentiles for Female Chess Players...top 10 Female in Washington, DC.
This past June (2019), I earned my Black Belt in Martial Arts and now enjoy teaching the Art to my peers. My other activities include Ice Skating, Gymnastics, Swimming and Archery. I really enjoy reading, riding my bike, building my Lego projects, playing with my American Girl dolls and most of all, hanging out with my friends. My favorite book series are American Girl, The Vanderbeekers, Pippi Longstocking, Sugar Plum Ballerinas and Geronimo Stilton! Of everything above, my favorite things to do are hanging out with my friends, Ballet, Ice Skating and Reading.
My goals for now are to be a Classical Harpist, Pianist and play lots of instruments. My ultimate goal is to be a Prima Ballerina and eventually, a Supreme Court Judge!
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.