Institute of Politics

To commemorate the IOP’s anniversary, outgoing director David Axelrod will sit down with former IOP Pritzker Fellow and current U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to offer perspective on the Biden Administration’s approach to foreign policy.

A former deputy national security advisor for President Barack Obama, Blinken – who became the United States’ 71st secretary of state in January 2021 – has been at the center of foreign policy issues facing the Biden administration. From human rights and the war in Ukraine to competing with China and building coalitions to address ongoing crises with food insecurity and climate change, Blinken has prioritized diplomacy as a tool for taking on the many challenges facing the world today.

Additionally, new IOP director, Heidi Heitkamp, will sit down with five alumni from the past 10 years to discuss the many pathways to making a difference.

• Abdul Dosunmu, AB ‘13, Founder & Chief Strategist of the Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition (YBLOC)
• Erin Simpson, AB ‘15, Program Officer for Tech & Society at the Ford Foundation
• Maira Khwaja, AB ‘16, Director of Public Strategy at the Invisible Institute
• Dylan Wells, AB ‘19, Campaign Reporter at The Washington Post
• Devshi Mehrotra, AB ‘19, Co-founder & CEO of JusticeText