We've all seen the troubling stories and photos of desperate people risking their lives to escape an untenable existence in their home countries to reach what they hope will be safer shores.  Ambassador Thomas Miller will share with us the causes of the refugee crisis, the current situation, what is being done, and what more needs to be done.

A 29-year career diplomat, Tom Miller’s experience in the Foreign Service spanned many continents. From 2001-04, he served as U.S. ambassador to Greece, where he focused on security concerns of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. From 1999-2001, as U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina, he worked on helping the country recover after a devastating war. From 1997-99, he was Special Coordinator for the Cyprus negotiations (rank of ambassador). He was also posted to Thailand as well as the State Department in Washington, where he worked on North Africa, the Middle East, and counter-terrorism issues. From 2010 through 2018, Tom served as President/CEO of International Executive Service Corps, a non-profit that provides expertise to developing countries to train in best business practices. From 2005 through 2008, he served as CEO of Plan International, a nongovernmental organization that works in 66 countries to improve the lives of children in developing countries. Since 2011, Tom has served as Chair of the Board of the International Commission on Missing Persons, an internationally acclaimed organization that identifies missing persons by using DNA-matching techniques. Tom has also served on a number of boards including currently on the boards of Partnership for a Secure America (promoting bipartisanship in US foreign policy) and the Foreign Service Labor Relations Board.

What was it like before the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision? After that decision, a women's right to privacy and her reproductive healthcare were preserved – for nearly 50 years. Dr. Raymond Scalettar will discuss the legal and medical aspects of the Supreme Court's June 24, 2022 majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.  He will focus on the medical and social consequences of the recent decision which takes us back to the infamous past.

Dr. Raymond Scalettar is a Clinical Emeritus Professor of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He received his Medical Degree and Doctor of Science from the State University of New York, In addition to his practice of medicine in Washington DC, he had a lifetime interest in the socioeconomics of healthcare which he pursued as Chair of the Board and President of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia and nationally, as a leader of the American Medical Association and ultimately Chair, of the Board of Trustees.

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Stevens School, on 21st Street between K and L, is nearly obscured by the modern office buildings all around it. But as the city's oldest school still in use, it has lots of history to tell about DC public schools in general. Built in 1868 as the first public school for Black children, it is a surviving symbol of nearly a century of school segregation. Its many famous alumni include the last offspring of a president to attend a DC public school. Now newly rehabbed and modernized, it has gained renewed life as the school system's only stand-alone preschool learning center drawing children from all over the city. Historian Ralph Buglass will look back at the days of school segregation in the nation's capital through the lens of this little-known landmark.

Ralph Buglass teaches lifelong learning courses at American University, Johns Hopkins University, Montgomery College, and Frederick Community College. Ralph is a frequent speaker for Montgomery History on a variety of local history topics. He also is a volunteer researcher for Peerless Rockville, the non-profit historic preservation organization for Montgomery County’s seat of government. In 2020, with Peerless Rockville, he co-authored Images of America: Rockville, a pictorial history of the city’s 250 years. A Montgomery County native, he graduated from Winston Churchill High School, then earned a BA in American history from Cornell University and an MA in journalism from American University.