Category Archives: seminar

OSAC Annual Briefing 2024

November 20-21, 2024
Arlington, VA
Apply by October 18, 2024
Greetings, Future global security leaders! My name is Jerry Tavares and I am the Executive Director of OSAC, the U.S. Department of State’s largest public private partnership consisting of over 28,000 members, 6,700 U.S. organizations, operating in more than 150 countries around the world. Each November, OSAC hosts the Department’s largest event of the year, the OSAC Annual Briefing. This event convenes over 1,200 public and private sector security professionals from corporations large and small academia, faith-based missions, NGOs, military, and government to discuss current and emerging security threats impacting U.S. organizations abroad.
On behalf of OSAC, I would like to formally invite motivated students interested in global security, intelligence, and international affairs to apply to join us at this year’s Annual Briefing on November 20 at Amazon HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia. You’ll hear from speakers like White House Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, White House Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, FIFA World Cup 2026 Chief Safety and Security Officer G.B. Jones, GLAAD Media Institute Education and Advocacy Vice President Ross Murray, and have a chance to connect one-on-one with OSAC leadership.
To apply, you must be a U.S. citizen (or legal permanent resident) and a currently enrolled college junior, senior, or graduate student. Spots are limited so apply now by sending your name, school, field of study, and a few lines about why you want to attend to osacannualbriefing@state.gov. The application period will close on October 18, 11:59 pm ET or once all spots are filled.  If selected, you will be notified by email. You must respond, confirming your acceptance within 72 hours of notification. Please note, this is not a hiring or recruitment event and no travel, lodging, or other costs will be covered. We appreciate your consideration and hope to see you this November!

Virtual Seminar: ‘In and Out ‘the Mix’: How Street-Identified Black Women and Girls (De)Escalate Gun Violence in Trauma Deserts

Dr. Brooklynn Hitchens (UMD), will be presenting at an upcoming QRN webinar! Please mark your calendars for this opportunity to learn about Street PAR and the findings from her work in Wilmington, DE.

‘In and Out ‘the Mix’: How Street-Identified Black Women and Girls (De)Escalate Gun Violence in Trauma Deserts

Date: Friday, Oct. 4th, 2-3pm
Zoom link: https://temple.zoom.us/j/95056969418?from=addon

Using mixed-methods data and Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR) methodology, Dr. Hitchens examines the social ecology of gun violence among street-identified Black women and girls—or how a range of contextual factors increases their risk for experiencing and perpetrating violent harm. Street-identified Black women and girls comprise a distinctive, hard-to-reach subset of the broader urban, Black population that is often in closer proximity to criminal justice contact, violence, and other forms of illegal activity. This talk unravels how these women negotiate violent encounters in trauma deserts where poor access to trauma care increases mortality rates and community tensions in low-income Black neighborhoods. Dr. Hitchens demonstrates how their social proximity to street life is a site of resilience or survival in oppressive conditions, and ultimately shapes their cultural worldviews and victimization risk. She also discusses best practices for scholars and practitioners on managing the social value of our research and obligations to study participants through community-engaged and emancipatory methods.