Date and Time: Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 | 7:00-8:00pm (EST)
Description: Teachers will have the opportunity to come together with other educators to reflect on the election and learn about how to keep students civically engaged beyond the election. Learn how Close Up’s discussion models, resources and activities used on its programs can be also be utilized in the classroom and receive tools for promoting civil discourse around contentious election issues.
Presenters:
Sante Mastriana is a Professional Development Specialist for the Close Up Foundation and holds a Master’s in Education from Hunter College. Sante originally joined Close Up as a Program Instructor after working for several years as a classroom teacher in a Title 1 school in the Bronx, NY. Sante has conducted professional development at schools and conferences in over a dozen different states and brings his experiences as a classroom teacher and a Close Up Instructor to the forefront in designing sessions. Sante’s primary goal in providing professional development is that every participant complete the session equipped with knowledge and materials that can be implemented immediately in real-world settings.
Emily Gibson is the Director of Curriculum at the Close Up Foundation, and has worked at Close Up since 2012. As the Director of Curriculum, Emily oversees all of Close Up’s curriculum development, the training of program instructors, and professional development for teachers. Before coming to Close Up Emily taught English and history to middle and high school students in Philadelphia. Emily attended Northern Arizona University and majored in History and Art History. Emily received her teaching certification from the University of Pennsylvania.
Date and Time: Wednesday, November 11, 2020 | 4:00-5:00pm (EST)
Description: Foreign policy is consistently one of the biggest issues going into any election, and there are implications whether there is an administration change or not. During this webinar you will hear about America’s role in the Middle East and throughout the world, and how foreign policy changes as we move through not only a presidential election, but shifts in Congress as well.
Presenters:
Ambassador Richard Schmierer is the Chairman of the Board for the Middle East Policy Council. He is also a Member of the Advisory Board of the National Council for U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR), where he is also a Distinguished International Affairs Fellow. Ambassador Schmierer served for more than 34 years as a State Department Foreign Service Officer, attaining the rank of Minister-Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. He completed his foreign service career in 2014 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA). From July through December 2013, Amb. Schmierer served as NEA Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. From September 2009 through August 2012, he was the U.S. Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman. Prior to his ambassadorship he served as NEA Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and as Director of the Office of Iraq Affairs. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Joe Geraghty has been with Close Up for 36 years, starting as a program instructor in January 1984. He spent 23 years working on our weekly television show on C-SPAN and producing our award-winning educational documentaries. His award highlights include a Gavel Award from the American Bar Association for his work on “Profiles of Freedom: A Living Bill of Rights” and a Grand Award for Best Documentary from the New York Festivals for producing and writing “FightForFreedom: The Inspiring Story of African American Civil War Soldiers.” Joe was the editor of Close Up’s “Current Issues” annual textbook for four years. Since 2015, he has had the opportunity to work with this outstanding team of educators on the Close Up Foundation’s teacher program.
