The Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) hosts Professor Stephen E. Flynn, Professor of Political Science, Director of the Center for Resilience Studies, Northeastern University, on Monday, Jan. 25, at the Old Lyme Country Club, 40 McCurdy Rd., Old Lyme. Dr. Flynn will speak on “Extreme Weather, Pandemics, and Terrorism: Bolstering Societal Resilience in the Face of 21st Century Mayhem.”
A reception begins at 5:30 p.m. and the presentation starts at 6 p.m.
Dr. Stephen Flynn is Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University, with faculty affiliations in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. He is also Director, Center for Resilience Studies, and Co-Director of the George J. Kostas Research Institute for Homeland Security.
Before arriving at Northeastern in 2011, he served as President of the Center for National Policy and spent a decade as a senior fellow for National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2008 he served as the lead homeland security policy adviser for the Presidential Transition Team for President Barack Obama.
Dr. Flynn was an active duty commissioned officer in the U.S. Coast Guard for 20 years, including two tours as commanding officer at sea.
He is the author of The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation (Random House, 2007), and America the Vulnerable (HarperCollins 2004). He holds research affiliations with the Wharton School’s Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, and the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute.
In Sept. 2014, he was appointed by Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to serve a member of the Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Council (HSSTAC). He is also a member of the National Security Advisory Board for Argonne National Laboratory.
He holds the M.A.L.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and a B.S. from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Dr. Flynn was a founding Executive Director of the Southeast Connecticut Committee on Foreign Relations (SECCFR), the forerunner of SECWAC. Milt Walters, SECWAC’s Chairman, expressed his gratitude that “Dr. Flynn, a leading expert on infrastructure security, could share his insights on the good and the bad at this point of unrest in the world.”
A dinner follows immediately after the presentation for a limited number of members and guests at the Old Lyme Country Club. To attend the dinner, a reservation is required – call 860-912-5718 or email info@secwac.org to make your reservation. A vegetarian option is available but must be reserved in advance.
All reservations or cancellations must be received 24 hours prior to the program. Bring your check payable to SECWAC or for the total number of your reservations at $35 each. Courtney Assad will collect your payment when you arrive to get your name tag. Credit card payments can also be made at check-in. At the same time, you will be given dinner tickets for each reservation to be collected by the server as confirmation of your payment.
Guests: SECWAC is a membership organization. Guests are welcome; please call 860-912-5718 or email info@secwac.org to reserve a guest pass.
Upcoming Program: Professor Elizabeth Wood, Yale University, will speak on “Sexual violence in conflict: why some armed groups engage in it, and the policy implications” at the Saybrook Point Inn on Feb. 3.
Editor’s Note: SECWAC is a regional, non-profit membership organization affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America and fosters an understanding of issues of foreign policy and international affairs through study, debate, and educational programming. Our principal activity is to arrange 10 meetings per season to provide a forum for nonpartisan, non-advocacy dialogue between our members and U.S. policy makers and other experts on foreign relations (http://www.secwac.org).