Global Engagement

What is Global Engagement?

Our Global Engagement programs bring together community members, business leaders, young professionals, scholars, and more to engage with expert speakers and network with like-minded global citizens. We offer many ways to learn about emerging trends in global affairs and important geopolitical developments.

Our regular speaker series include Chat & Chowder at the offices of Foley & Lardner LLP, and Great Decisions and Diplomacy Now. Thanks to the generous support of The Lowell Institute, our regular programming is now free of charge. We frequently present additional distinguished speakers and special events, as well.

Disclaimer: WorldBoston is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, non-advocacy, educational organization dedicated to fostering civil discourse on international affairs. Our speakers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WorldBoston, our affiliates, or our community.

Chat & Chowder

WorldBoston's Chat & Chowder book talk series features prominent authors on international affairs and speakers on critical current events.

Programs are hosted in-person at the downtown offices of Foley & Lardner LLP, and are also live-streamed to Zoom. Each event includes an author presentation, audience Q&A, and ample time for networking and discussion among community members. True to their name, Chat & Chowder events feature a selection of fine soups and chowders (of course!), as well as a variety of refreshing beverages.

Thank to The Lowell Institute our Chat & Chowder series is free of charge, but advanced registration is required.

As all of our Global Engagement events are free to attend, we’ll now routinely ask you to consider a tax-deductible contribution of any size, whether to defray costs or to make a larger commitment to support our mission. All contributions, individual or corporate, are tax-deductible. Learn more about supporting WorldBoston here.

See recent Chat & Chowder events below, and be sure to join us at our next installment!

Below, you can watch a video of a recent Chat & Chowder with Samuel Worthington.

Previously Featured Authors

SAMUEL WORTHINGTON / PRISONERS OF HOPE: GLOBAL ACTION AND THE EVOLVING ROLES OF U.S. NGOs (April 2026)
GLEN JOHNSON / WINDOW SEAT ON THE WORLD: MY TRAVELS WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE (March 2026)
PAUL KNOTT / THE ACCIDENTAL DIPLOMAT (February 2026)
KAREN ELLIOTT HOUSE / THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING: MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF SAUDI ARABIA (December 2025)
JAMES O'CONNELL / BOSTON AND THE MAKING OF A GLOBAL CITY (October 2025)
MARY THOMPSON-JONES / AMERICA IN THE ARCTIC: FOREIGN POLICY AND COMPETITION IN THE MELTING NORTH (June 2025)
STEPHANIE BAKER / PUNISHING PUTIN: INSIDE THE ECONOMIC WAR TO BRING DOWN RUSSIA (May 2025)
EDWARD FISHMAN / CHOKEPOINTS: AMERICAN POWER IN THE AGE OF ECONOMIC WARFARE (April 2025)
JOHN SULLIVAN / MIDNIGHT IN MOSCOW: A MEMOIR FROM THE FRONT LINES OF RUSSIA'S WAR AGAINST THE WEST (March 2025)

Great Decisions

Great Decisions is the largest nonpartisan public education program on international affairs in the world.

Created in the 1950s by the Foreign Policy Association, a sister World Affairs Council, Great Decisions engages citizens in learning about critical global issues and U.S. foreign policy.

WorldBoston’s Great Decisions series presents analysis by leading experts in eight sessions throughout the year that are based on the eight critical foreign policy topics in the Foreign Policy Association’s annual Great Decisions briefing book. The series is free and open to the public thanks to the generous support of the Lowell Institute.

Every Great Decisions event is filmed and can be viewed on the GBH Forum Network website or on our YouTube channel.

Learn more about the Great Decisions annual briefing book and DVD resources here, and take a look at recent Great Decisions events below.

Thank you to our sponsors, Boston Public Library and the Lowell Institute, who make this special program possible.

Thanks to GBH Forum Network, you can watch a video of our recent Great Decisions on "International Cooperation on Climate Change."

Recent Great Decisions Events

ERIC JENSEN / THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND CYBERSECURITY (April 2026)
KELLY SIMS GALLAGHER / INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (March 2026)
SCOTT TAYLOR / U.S. ENGAGEMENT WITH AFRICA (January 2026)
KENNEDY UKELEGHARANYA / U.S. ENGAGEMENT WITH AFRICA (January 2026)
STEPHANIE SULLIVAN / U.S. ENGAGEMENT WITH AFRICA (January 2026)
MICHAEL POZNANSKY / AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY AT A CROSSROADS (December 2025)
RANA MITTER / U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS (November 2025)
MONA YACOUBIAN / AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST (September 2025)
KORI SCHAKE / THE FUTURE OF NATO AND EUROPEAN SECURITY (June 2025)
SUGATA BOSE / INDIA: BETWEEN CHINA, THE WEST, AND THE GLOBAL SOUTH (May 2025)
DANIEL DREZNER / U.S. CHANGING LEADERSHIP IN THE WORLD'S ECONOMY (March 2025)
THOMAS KENNEY / AI AND AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY (February 2025)

Diplomacy Now

WorldBoston's Diplomacy Now is a high-level annual event, designed as an occasion to consider within a policy context America's place on the global stage.

Diplomacy Now was initiated in 2018, inspired in part by distinguished current and former diplomats, including retired Amb. Nicholas Burns and then President of the American Foreign Service Association Amb. Barbara Stephenson. They and others had written impassioned and widely-read articles calling for renewed attention to diplomacy to protect and advance the U.S. national interest. In February 2018, we held our first Diplomacy Now event with Ambassadors Nicholas Burns and Barbara Stephenson. Since then, we have made it into an annual event, with Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield joining us in 2019, Amb. Stavros Lambrinidis in 2020, Amb. Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley in 2021, and Stacy White and Farah Pandith in 2022. In April 2023, we hosted Ambassador Audra Plepyte of Lithuania, Ambassador Kristjan Prikk of Estonia, Ambassador Maris Selga of Latvia, and Ambassador Paula Dobriansky. In 2024 we hosted Deputy Secretary of State, Amb. Richard Verma, and in 2025 we once again hosted Amb. Nicholas Burns as our expert speaker.

Thank you to our sponsors, the Boston Public Library and the Lowell Institute, who make this special program possible. Every Diplomacy Now event is filmed and can be viewed at the GBH Forum Network or on our YouTube channel.

Diplomacy Now 2026
Advancing Global Connection Through Sport


Join WorldBoston for our annual Diplomacy Now program - focused this year on the power of sports in diplomacy, called Advancing Global Connection Through Sport.

WorldBoston’s signature public program will be a high-level opportunity to consider American diplomacy in our current global context. With the United States’ status as one of the host countries for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer and the future host of the 2028 Olympics, sports diplomacy has become increasingly relevant in American foreign policy. This year's program will look into how sports strengthens international relationships, advances cultural understanding, and connects America with the rest of the world.

Meet Our Speakers

Ambassador (Ret.) Mark W. Libby

Mark Libby served as United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan from 2023 to 2025. From 2021 until 2023, he served as an Assistant Professor and Department of State Faculty Advisor at the National War College. Ambassador Libby previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires (acting Ambassador) at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels from July 2018 until June 2021.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service, his other overseas assignments have included tours in Warsaw, Nassau, Nicosia, and Baghdad, where he served as a political counselor. His Washington assignments have included tours as a watch-stander, and later director for crisis management, in the State Department Operations Center; deputy director in the Office of Central European Affairs; director of the Office of Southern European Affairs (Turkey, Greece, Cyprus); and director of orientation at the Foreign Service Institute. He was also a line officer on the State Department Secretariat Staff under Secretary Powell, returning later as director of that same office under Secretary Clinton.

Ambassador Libby did his undergraduate studies at Tufts University in Massachusetts and at the Institut des Etudes Politiques (“Sciences-Po”) in Paris; he is a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College, where he earned a Master’s Degree in 2014. He is fluent in Polish and French and has some proficiency in Azerbaijani and Turkish. He was awarded the Presidential Rank Award in 2022 and is the recipient of multiple Department of State Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. Originally from New England, Ambassador Libby is married and has one son.
Sally Roberts, U.S. Sports Envoy and Co-Founder and CEO, Wrestle Like A Girl

Sally Roberts is a leader, State Department sports diplomat, entrepreneur, and former elite athlete dedicated to advancing women’s wrestling and strengthening opportunities for the next generation. As the CEO of Wrestle Like A Girl (WLAG), she has played a pivotal role in securing NCAA Championship status for women’s wrestling, ensuring that female athletes have the same avenues for success at the highest levels.

A former world-class competitor and U.S. Army veteran, Sally exemplifies discipline, perseverance, and strategic vision. She spent eight years as a resident athlete at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center, where she became a three-time National Champion, World Cup Champion, two-time World Bronze Medalist, and an Olympic Alternate. She later served in the U.S. Army, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan, and competed in the Army’s World Class Athlete Program, representing the United States as a soldier and a high-performance competitor.

As a CEO and industry leader, Sally has positioned WLAG as a key force in the growth of women’s wrestling. She has worked alongside the NCAA, USA Wrestling, and policymakers to ensure institutional recognition and advancement for female athletes. Her efforts have helped shape the sport’s future, establishing clear pathways for success at grassroots, collegiate, and Olympic levels.

Sally’s expertise and executive influence have earned her numerous accolades, including the 2016 Women in Sport Award from United World Wrestling and USA Wrestling’s Woman of the Year for 2018. She was also selected as one of 25 elite women leaders across seven nations to participate in the EY Women Athletes Business Network, a program designed to propel high-potential women into executive roles.

A sought-after speaker, Sally has addressed audiences at the United States Olympic Museum, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the National War College, and top industry forums, sharing insights on resilience, strategic growth, and advancing leadership roles for women in sports and beyond.

Sally holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and a Master of Arts in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of the Rockies.
Dave Fortier, Founder and President, One World Strong

Dave Fortier is a survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Dave was running his very first marathon to help support a dear friend dealing with cancer when he was injured by the first bomb. He suffered shrapnel wounds and hearing loss. He has since gone on to run 10 additional marathons in Boston, Paris, New York, Florida and Washington, DC. Dave’s passion for helping other survivors of terror and trauma eventually led him to found the One World Strong Foundation, where he now serves as both president and a survivor mentor.


One World Strong’s mission is to establish a vibrant international community of survivors of terrorism, hate crimes, or traumatic events that provides peer-to-peer hope, support and mentorship to anyone impacted by these events. In the days following the Boston Marathon bombings, those who survived the attack received an amazing outpouring of love and support from people throughout the world. They will never forget how members of the Semper Fi Fund—a group of veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan—traveled to Boston to provide one-on-one mentorship and guidance to survivors who sustained similar injuries to their own. It helped them to imagine the possibility of a positive future, and the long-term relationships that ensued also allowed them to move through the healing process, both physically and emotionally, in a much faster way.
Shannon Sprenger, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Shannon Sprenger serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Professional and Cultural Exchanges in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. In her role, she advances U.S. foreign policy by leading strategic exchange programs that promote diplomatic engagement through sports, youth initiatives, music, the arts, and other cultural platforms that showcase American excellence.

Prior to joining the Department, Shannon worked at Deloitte as a Government Consultant, where she advised federal clients on legislative analysis, operational strategy, and IT transformation initiatives. She also contributed to the firm’s development of go-to-market business models both domestically and internationally. In addition, Shannon led key programs for private sector clients, managing complex stakeholder environments, overseeing project execution, and driving improvements in organizational efficiency and operational structure.

From 2018 to 2021, Shannon served at the Department of State in the Office of the Counselor and the Bureau of Administration, where she managed high-visibility logistics and operations in support of senior leadership and department-wide priorities.

Originally from New York, Shannon earned her B.A. in International Affairs from The George Washington University and her MBA from the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School.

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