2020 was a tough year, but the AFA found at least one silver lining!  The virtual environment, coupled with the global pandemic, racial tension and political divide in America, and rising friction with powers abroad, led us to create the organization’s first speaker series – “Leading Through Uncertainty.”  We sought to bring in successful leaders from a variety of fields like medicine, law, international relations, politics, economics, military, and the environment.  The goal was simple: to hear about, and learn from, their personal experiences in times of crisis.

Last fall, we were honored to speak with Retired Lieutenant General Nadja West, the 44th Surgeon General of the United States Army, and Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter, international lawyer and foreign policy analyst.

Several of our Board members had the pleasure of meeting General West last year through the Harvard Kennedy School, and immediately knew she’d be perfect for this series. Her accomplishments are astounding; the first African-American female three-star, first African-American Army Surgeon General, and the highest ranking woman to have graduated from West Point, to name just a few.  General West has twenty years of experience in executive leadership and disaster management, and played an integral role in forming the DoD response to the Ebola crisis as Surgeon General.  Drawing on her expertise as a physician and former Army officer, we invited General West to discuss leadership tactics and civilian-military partnership during the uncertainty of COVID-19.

Needless to say, General West kicked off “Leading through Uncertainty” with resounding success.  She spoke at length about effective leadership “not by the sword and shield, but by the head and heart.”  We talked about practicing leadership on every level in an organization, and learning to maneuver in a multi-generational environment.  She then talked about the international landscape, and how the strategic counter to other world powers may lie within mutually assured collaboration rather than destruction.  To conclude, General West urged us to practice mindfulness in our daily lives – wonderful advice for stressed out law students!

Anne-Marie Slaughter then joined us in mid-November, and her talk was equally fantastic.  Dr. Slaughter graduated cum laude from HLS in 1985 (the same year as our law school’s Dean, who kindly introduced our guest!).  She returned to direct the International Legal Studies Program from 1994 to 2002, before serving as the Dean of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and working as Director of Policy Planning for the State Department under former President Obama.  Currently, Dr. Slaughter is both President and CEO of the think tank New America.

As a fellow lawyer, political scientist, and foreign policy analyst, we asked Dr. Slaughter about political leadership and international policy concerns in the midst of a global pandemic.  She spoke about American “renewal,” looking backward and facing our history while simultaneously looking forward, toward solutions.  She urged us to focus on renovating the broken infrastructure at home – doing more than simple ‘reform,’ but less than revolution.  Dr. Slaughter recommended that we read Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal and, like General West, to be leaders wherever we can; she urged us to use our natural talents and work in our own communities, focusing on change at local levels.  Perhaps her most impactful advice was telling us to be “radically honest” about our failings and when things are right, to keep them right; when they’re wrong, to put them right.

Encouraged by the impact of General West and Dr. Slaughter, the AFA will continue the “Leading Through Uncertainty” series this spring.  Stay tuned to see which incredible leaders join us virtually in the spring of 2021!