Look back at 2025 and ahead to 2026 as we prepare for continued growth! With some refreshers, a heartfelt message, and links to follow, this interactive flipbook is created with FlippingBook, a service for streaming PDFs online. No download, no waiting. Open and start reading right away!
2025 Council Impact Report
Conversations, not platforms.
www.WorldAffairsCouncil.com
VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP 2025-2026 EXECUTIVE BOARD
2
OFFICERS Chair:
William (Bill) Edwards
Vice Chair: OPEN Secretary: Sajindra Gunawardane Treasurer: Paul Vann COMMITTEE Co-CHAIRS Development (Fundraising) OPEN Programs: Mani Kang & Robert Petrosyan
Membership/Outreach: Denise Mainero & Appo Jabarian Marketing & Public Relations: Tim Welch & Doug Resh Future World Leaders Committee: Beatrice de Salles & Nora Valenzuela (Academic WorldQuest, Young Professionals, & Internships) AT-LARGE Dr. Heidi Hardt Lea Petersen Naseem Qader Manuel Marquez
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO
3
As 2025 comes to a close, I am proud of how the World Affairs Council of Orange County has evolved to better serve our community during a time of profound global change. This year, we made intentional shifts to increase both impact and accessibility. By moving away from expensive hotel ballrooms and into creative, hosted venues, we opened the door to broader participation and more meaningful dialogue—meeting our community where it is, rather than asking it to come to us. These changes allowed us to focus resources on substance, not spectacle. We also deepened partnerships and collaborations across sectors, recognizing that Orange County’s global role is expanding. With a growing concentration of space and defense companies, and major international sporting events on the horizon, our region is increasingly connected to the world—whether we acknowledge it or not. The need for informed, civil, and practical global engagement has never been clearer. In response, we are sharpening our identity as a service to the community: a trusted convener, translator, and connector in an international landscape that can feel complex and overwhelming. Our work is no longer just about programs —it is about relevance, readiness, and responsibility. This impact report reflects what we have accomplished together in 2025. It also points to what lies ahead. We hope our work earns your confidence and your support, as we continue building a World Affairs Council worthy of Orange County’s present—and its future.
Jayne Herring President & CEO World Affairs of Orange County
4
VISION, MISSION & VALUES
We educate and inform our members and community on important issues concerning world affairs. We promote awareness and engagement on critical global issues, opportunities, and challenges affecting our community and the world. Access • Civic Revelence • Collaboration • Curiosity Integrity • Inclusion • Integrity • Non-Partisanship • Service With vibrant, diverse membership and wide-ranging programs, the WACOC is Orange County’s leading, and most trusted forum for all who seek to better understand the world and our role in its future.
Vision:
Mission:
Values:
ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
5
6
YEAR AT A GLANCE
32 Hosted Programs 14 Partner Programs 2 Staff, 12 Interns, 1 Fellow 28+ Partners & Collaborators 200+ Active Members 200+ Active Donors 20 Venues in 10 Orange County Cities
TOP 2025 SUPPORTERS
7
$20,000 + Pankey Family Foundation
FOUNDERS CLUB PATRONS ($10,000 +) Judge James & Dr. Grace Walker Gray Helen Haig Mark Chapin Johnson Foundation Andria Strelow
AMBASSADOR PATRONS ($5,000 +) Col. Allan Dollison (Ret.) Bill Edwards * Edwards Global Services, Inc. Isaiah Leslie * Legal Court Reporting Denise & Mario Mainero Rick & Evelyn Putnam Serge & Mona Tomassian * Tomassian, Inouye & Grigorian LLP Charlie & Ling Zhang DIPLOMAT PATRONS ($2,500 +) David* & Lena Adishian * Merrill Lynch Adishian Group Greg Bates & Joann Leatherby Jean Pierre Lafare Paul & Donna Gilbert Vann
CONSUL PATRONS ($1,000 +)
Hon. Robert Alberts Peter Bryant * Clareo Partners LLC Tim Hobert The Human Progress Foundation Manuel & Elana Marquez Errol Mathieu Liz Maxson
Ken Petersen Marshall Silberberg M.C. Sungaila Ambassador Gaddi Vasquez Tim & Audrey Welch Judith Whitmore
323 unique donors in 2025, from over 62 cities!
2025
8
PROGRAMS
3 Dinner Programs Admiral James Stavridis & NATO Compassion as Strategy & USAID Confronting Genocide w/Bellwether International 3 “Happy Hour” Programs Admiral Micheal Rogers & National Security India-American Relations Space Law w/RocketLab, VAST, & Virgin Galactic
4 Luncheons
Mind/Tech Nexus in Defense Canadian Consul General Zaib Shaikh Educating Women in Afghanistan Honoring the Nurses of the Vietnam War
4 Webinars
Disruptions in Trade Sports Diplomacy with the Women’s Foreign Policy Group Ports & Politics Venezuela
2025
9
PROGRAMS
3 Premium Experiences for Top Donors Post-Program dinner with Admiral Rogers Luncheon with Pakistani Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh Luncheon with Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman Social Events Open Houses at the WAC-OC Office Young Professionals Intercollegiate Social w/ USAID Members Holiday Party “Around the World in 20 Minutes!” 8 Hosted Film Screenings The American Southwest - (Coast Film & Music Festival) Comparsa (Coast Film & Music Festival) Diamond Diplomacy - (Newport Beach Film Festival) The Eyes of Ghana (Coast Film & Music Festival) Lolita in Tehran - (Newport Beach Film Festival) My Sweet Land - (UCI Center for Armenian Studies) The Negotiator - (Newport Beach Film Festival) Yanuni - (Coast Film & Music Festival) 4 annual events: Academic World Quest Competition Royce International Symposium Trustees Luncheon November Luncheon Honoring Veterans
2025
10
PROGRAMS
Partner Events We Promoted & Attended Royce International Symposium Rugby Tens at the Great Park Stadium “Tangle Live” at Barclay Theater “Breaking Barriers” with ACG OC International Mixer w/Iranian-American Business Council OC World Trade Week Forum UCI Korea Law Center Spring Forum Constitutional War Power with Chapman University’s War & Society Program Coast Film and Music Festival Newport Beach Film Festival World Affairs Councils of America National Conference Partner Webinars for our Members “The World Ahead” with The Economist’s Tom Standage Denmark, Greenland, and the United States – Partners in a Changing World “The Human Scale” with Lawrence Wright with Jim Falk
11
With a focus on accessibility, we look for cost-effective yet professional and convenient venue “hosts” in Orange County. Suggestions are always welcome!
12
YOUTH ENGAGEMENT High School: Academic WorldQuest
OC & National Competitions, Volunteering Opportunities College: Internships, Fellowships, Young Professional Intercollegiate Network Programs, Mentoring All: Networking, Academic & Career Mentoring
PARTNERS , SUPPORTERS, & COLLABORATORS
13
We thank all of our partners, supporters, and collaborators who aligned with our mission in 2025! We look forward to finding new partners and more ways to collaborate in the coming year.
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
14
We continue to operate a “tight ship” to make the most of your dues and donations! With only ~ $250,000 in annual expenses, we are proud of our impact!
MEMBERSHIP
15
BASIC MEMBERSHIPS These get members “on the list” and in the loop , while remaining accessible to fulfill our mission of providing our programming to the community.
PATRON MEMBERSHIPS Membership dues at the PATRON levels are tax-deductible donations towards out mission, with added levels of accessibility to premium opporutnitioes for higher tier donors. These donations help to support our work in the community and to cover our operational costs.
16
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2026
January 21: Indian Textile Revolution with Bowers Museum February 25: Cutting Through Red Tape: The OC Guide for International Businesses March 5: The Politics of China with Dr. Susan Shirk with Soka University of America March 12: Royce International Symposium with Cal State Fullerton & OC Forum March 14: Academic WorldQuest OC Competition with Chapman University March 28: Voices of the Global South with Soka University of America April 2: Alliance for American Leadership with University of California, Irvine April 17: Ambassador Michael McFaul with Stanford Alumni Association
17
The World Affairs Council of Orange County
Be a part of our impact in OC. As the world becomes more complex, interconnected, and unpredictable, our role as a nonpartisan forum is more critical than ever. From global health and great power competition to humanitarian crises and international trade, the need for informed and thoughtful dialogue with one another, from students and young professionals, to career diplomats and academics, global business experts and retirees with a passion for learning, is a requirement for successful democracies. Your support enables us to provide a wide range of programs addressing these pressing challenges — and others as they emerge — fostering meaningful, nonpartisan conversations that inform, inspire, and engage our community. We believe our programs should be accessible to encourage civil dialogue across ALL demographics in Orange County, and your gifts help to cover administrative costs and deeply discounted program costs for students, young professionals, and veterans. Thank you for your support! World Affairs Council of Orange County 2151 Michelson Drive, Suite 264 Irvine, CA 92612-1374 orangecounty@worldaffairscouncil.org
THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL 2025!
18
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online