EMAIL DETAILS

Dear Board of Directors,

We are looking forward to seeing you next week at our Board of Directors Strategy Retreat. Needless to say – we have a great deal to discuss as we gear up for what I believe will be one of our most challenging years ahead.

Despite the last-minute juggling of guest speakers, we now have an amazing line-up for next week. Thank you for your flexibility as we finalized our schedule. We will begin on Wednesday, January 31 at the St. Regis Hotel (923 16th Street NW) at 10:30 a.m. and we will conclude at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 1 to accommodate an important meeting on Capitol Hill. I hope you will also be able to join us for our Special Global Impact Project Reception on Thursday evening!

Confirmed guest speakers for the retreat include:

* Nadia Schadlow, newly appointed Deputy National Security Advisor will join us on Wednesday afternoon – Nadia was just appointed to replace Dina Powell;
* Top Political Strategists -- Erick Erickson, premier Conservative Commentator & Editor in Chief of TheResurgent.com, and Paul Begala, Democratic Strategist and CNN Political Contributor, will join us for lunch on Wednesday to unravel the political landscape;
* General Michael Hayden, Former Director of the CIA and NSA, will join us for dinner on Wednesday to discuss the state of the global threats from the unprecedented humanitarian crises to cybersecurity to terrorism.
* Senator Chis Van Hollen (D-MD) will join us for a concluding power meeting on Thursday morning on Capitol Hill from 9:45-11:00 am. He wears three critical hats for us: member of the Budget Committee, member of State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, and Chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee!

In addition, we will hold strategy meetings on three essential topics: the public policy debate, the upcoming volatile election season, and some opinion research and messaging we are about to launch.

Read-Aheads:

* McMaster makes his pick to replace Powell on the NSC<https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/21/nadia-schadlow-national-security-council-mcmaster-353587>, Politico, January, 2018
* Why 2018 Will Make 2017 Seem Tame<http://mehlmancastagnetti.com/wp-content/uploads/Why-2018-Will-Make-2017-Seem-Tame.pdf>, Mehlman Castagnetti, January , 2018
* US aid policy to watch in 2018<https://www.devex.com/news/us-aid-policy-to-watch-in-2018-91820>, Devex, January, 2018
* Poll: Under Trump, Global Approval of U.S. Leadership hits Historical Low<https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/18/trump-global-leadership-polls-344989>, Politico, January 2018
* Trump Has no Nominees for 245 Important Jobs, including an Ambassador to South Korea<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2018/01/12/daily-202-trump-has-no-nominees-for-245-important-jobs-including-an-ambassador-to-south-korea/5a57cce830fb0469e8840085/>, Washington Post, January 2018

We will share the final agenda and materials with you later this week. I look forward to your guidance and insights during our discussions. If you have any questions or to update your RSVP, please reach out to Emily at ebenovitz@usglc.org<mailto:ebenovitz@usglc.org>.

Many thanks,

Liz
Liz Schrayer, President & CEO