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Dear USGLC Board,

Hello from Rwanda where yesterday we visited a refugee camp, which gave us an opportunity to educate some very influential GOP consultants advising presidential candidates and congressional leaders about the broader refugee issues.

While it will unlikely impact the immediate and very sad political debate, I am certain we have challenged assumptions and are changing opinions.

On another front, just before I left, we had an incredible event in New Hampshire - the second in our Impact 2016 series. I know there's a lot here, but check out the NH recap and the Iowa video - pretty amazing what is happening on the ground:

1. Surrogates in New Hampshire. Last Friday, we hosted a forum at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics that featured surrogates from top GOP campaigns.

* The Bush, Carson, Christie, Cruz, Fiorina, Kasich, and Rubio campaigns all sent high-level surrogates on behalf of the candidates including a former attorney general, two former New Hampshire senators, and a sitting congressman. At the last minute, Trump's surrogate dropped out.
* There were too many spot-on quotes to list here, but every campaign voiced clear support for diplomacy and development. We'll have a recap video soon, but here is our press release<http://www.usglc.org/2015/12/04/new-hampshire-forum-republican-presidential-campaigns-urge-u-s-engagement-overseas-including-investments-in-development-and-diplomacy/> of the best quotes.
* Following the event, Jeb Bush personally tweeted at @USGLC:
[http://www.usglc.org/downloads/2015/12/bushtwitter.png]
* Also participating were General Dan Christman, the top two New Hampshire GOP party leaders, and our moderator from the local TV station.
* We got a lot of attention from our "strange-bedfellows" op-ed we placed in the Concord Monitor<http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/19801656-95/my-turn-americas-role-in-the-world-isnt-up-for-debate>, co-authored by NH GOP Party leader Steve Duprey and his Democratic counterpart, Chairman Raymond Buckley.

But here's the real story from New Hampshire: We won the day before breakfast was even served. In the buildup to the event, the campaigns had to fully engage on these issues at the highest levels, participating in briefing calls, preparing talking points, and in a few instances, the candidates personally choosing their surrogate. Even our tactic of quoting the candidates as part of the questions helped the campaigns "own their positions." Examples:

* Carly Fiorina's surrogate talked about her work on Chevron's CSIS study, microfinance, and investing in women and girls;
* Mark Rubio's surrogate talked about his Girls Count legislation;
* Jeb Bush's surrogate talked about being a leader on USGLC's Advisory Committee and why that was important;
* Chris Christie's surrogate reinforced his commitment to PEPFAR.

2. Recap from Iowa. Check out our two-minute highlights video<http://www.usglc.org/iowa-impact2016-recap-2> from our Impact 2016 forum with Senator Ernst.

* To amplify the event even further, we sent the video, best quotes, and Iowa op-ed<http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/2015/11/28/iowa-americas-role-world-isnt-up-debate/76342036/> with the new debate prep material to our national campaign contacts in all the campaigns to underscore the broad support for our issues in the state.

3. Upcoming in South Carolina. We've just confirmed Admiral Mullen for January 21st for our next surrogate forum in South Carolina. This will be the last of our primary events so please consider joining us - I would really love to have Board members attend. Please be in touch with Emily Benovitz (ebenovitz@usglc.org).

I was very saddened to learn of the recent passing of our friend and long-time National Advisory Council member Sandy Berger. He was a passionate believer and supporter of our work, and his life-long service to our country truly made our world a better, safer place. He will be sadly missed.

A reminder that tonight the USGLC is hosting a Capitol Hill reception where our Chairman, Dan Glickman, and Advisory Council member, Vin Weber, will serve as host for more than 300 Congressional staff. Board members or someone on your team should absolutely try to stop by - Rayburn House Office Building Room B340 from 5-7pm.

Have a great week. Off to Tanzania.

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC