As part of its 125th Anniversary Celebration, Trinity Washington University hosted a symposium on many of the pressing issues facing American democracy and how they impact the vote on Friday, October 25. Experts and students explored topics including the importance of women organizing and engaging in political action, social justice as applied to immigration, religious nationalism, and the role of the media as it shapes our political discourse.
As politics consumes our daily conversations and the presidential election grows ever closer, Trinity Washington University’s symposium offered the opportunity to engage with speakers from many areas of expertise for conversations that engaged and enlightened attendees.
Watch the recorded sessions here!
Distinguished Speakers
Jennifer Rubin
Columnist, Washington Post
Jennifer Rubin writes reported opinion for The Washington Post. She covers politics and policy, foreign and domestic, and provides insight into the conservative movement, the Republican and Democratic parties, and threats to Western democracies. Rubin, an MSNBC contributor, came to The Post from Commentary magazine. Prior to her career in journalism, Rubin practiced labor law for two decades. She is the author of “Resistance: How Women Saved Democracy from Donald Trump” and is host of the podcast Jen Rubin’s “Green Room.”
Chonya D. Johnson
Chief of Staff to Congressman Troy Carter (D-LA)
Ms. Johnson currently serves as Chief of Staff for Congressman Troy Carter of Louisiana. With nearly two decades of service in the United States Congress, Johnson has honed her expertise in navigating government practices and addressing the concerns of advocates, key constituencies, and businesses firsthand. Johnson’s commitment to serving everyday people and tackling tough issues has earned her recognition as a fighter and champion in the realm of advocacy.
Stephen Schneck
Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
A political philosopher by training, Stephen Schneck retired from The Catholic University of America in 2018, after more than thirty years as a professor, department chair, and dean. A well-known advocate for Catholic social justice teachings in public life, Schneck currently serves on the governing boards of Catholic Climate Covenant, which advocates for environmental justice and care for creation, and of Catholic Mobilizing Network, a Catholic organization working to end the death penalty and advance restorative justice.
Beatrice Peterson ’12
ABC Political Reporter Beatrice Peterson is an ABC News reporter covering Justice, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity for the network and its broadcast and digital platforms. For the last decade, Beatrice has covered a broad spectrum of local, national, and international news across the U.S. and beyond — as she has focused her work across areas including politics, education, race & culture, and breaking news. Previously, Beatrice served as a 2020 campaign reporter for ABC News, when she traveled across the U.S. covering several Democratic candidates for the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
Laura Peralta-Schulte
Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Relations
Laura Peralta-Schulte is NETWORK’s Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs. She develops policy proposals and strategies to advance our policy agenda on Capitol Hill and with the Administration and leads NETWORK’s Government Relations team.
Laura honed her interpersonal and political communications skills while working as a lobbyist for 11 years, teaching high school government and history in Northern Virginia for nine years. and at the Democratic National Committee, where she began her professional career.
Ronnate Asirwatham
Government Relations Director, NETWORK
Ronnate Asirwatham is NETWORK’s lead lobbyist on immigration. Asirwatham came to NETWORK with 10 years of Federal legislative and administrative lobbying in Washington D.C., and has worked on many aspects of immigration policy and practice including asylum, refugees, unaccompanied children, and Dreamers. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Houston and she has two graduate degrees, one from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and her Master’s in Law in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex, in the U.K.
Minister Christian Watkins, M.Div.
Government Relations Advocate
Minister Watkins is NETWORK’s Justice Systems Lobbyist. He is a proud alum of Jesuit College Preparatory (Dallas, TX), and has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Loyola University in New Orleans. After working in the corporate world for about ten years after undergraduate graduation, Christian was called to ministry. In May 2019, he graduated from Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology with a Master of Divinity, with a concentration in Urban Ministry and Social Justice. Before joining NETWORK, Christian was with the National Council of Churches, in Washington DC as the Justice Advocacy and Outreach Manager, working to elevate NCC’s work on ending racism and mass incarceration as well as supporting ministries involved in this racial equity and empowerment work.
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi served as the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives, having made history in 2007 when she was elected the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House. She made history again in January 2019 when she regained her position second-in-line to the presidency – the first person to do so in more than six decades.
Pelosi is the chief architect of generation-defining legislation under two Democratic administrations, including the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan. She led House Democrats for 20 years and previously served as House Democratic Whip. In 2013, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the American women’s rights movement. In 2024, she was awarded by President Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Pelosi has represented San Francisco in Congress for 37 years. Currently she is Speaker Emerita of the House and the Representative for California’s 11th Congressional District.
Pelosi comes from a strong family tradition of public service. Her late father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., served as Mayor of Baltimore for twelve years, after representing the city for five terms in Congress. Her brother, Thomas D’Alesandro III, also served as Mayor of Baltimore. She and her husband, Paul Pelosi, a native of San Francisco, have five grown children and ten grandchildren.
A 1962 graduate of Trinity with a B.A. in Political Science, Pelosi also holds a Trinity honorary degree. In 2022, Nancy and Paul Pelosi established the Pelosi Chair in Global Affairs and Politics at Trinity. In 2024, Nancy Pelosi published her latest book, The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House.
Schedule
9:00
Greetings by President McGuire
9:30
Student Voices: What Does This Election Mean to You?
Moderated by Dr. Joshua Wright, Associate Professor of Global Affairs; the symposium will open with a “lightening round” of voices of Trinity students talking about their views of the candidates and issues at stake in the 2024 election.
Students:
Shaleekah Ali ’27
Cuaresma Gillard ’26
Lakshmi Mosquera-Herrera ’25
Laura C. Perez ’25
Kayla Strong ’25
10:00
Jennifer Rubin, Columnist, Washington Post: Women and the Election
Rubin’s columns and 2021 book Resistance highlight the importance of women organizing and engaging in political action. Copies of her book “Resistance” will be available.
Moderated by Dr. Jamal Watson, Associate Dean and Director of the Strategic Communications and Public Relations Program
11:00
Catholic Social Justice and the Key Election Issues
Laura Peralta-Schulte, Ronnate Asiratham and Min. Christian Watkins will speak on the social justice issues at stake in this election, with a particular emphasis on immigration issues and the situation at the border.
Moderated by Dr. Stephen Thorne, Distinguished Professor of Education
11:45
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, ’62
Speaker Emerita of the United States House of Representatives
Introduction: Alexandra Bernier ‘25 President of the Student Government Council
12:30
Luncheon and Keynote: International Religious Nationalism and Political Impact
Dr. Stephen Schneck, Chair
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
Moderator: Dr. Steven Gable, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Student: Lauren L. Woodhouse ’27
2:00
The View From Capitol Hill: How Students Can Remain Positive and Get
Involved in a Tough Election Season
Ms. Chonya D. Johnson, Chief of Staff to Congressman Troy Carter (D-LA)
Moderator: Dr. Allen Pietrobon, Assistant Professor of Global Affairs
Student: Sircey Smith ‘24
2:45
Youth Vote: View from Student Activists in Washington, DC
Moderator: Dr. Kimberly Monroe, Assistant Professor of Global Affairs
Panel Leader: Karla Nunez Perez ’24 Trinity
Cinthya C. Calderon-Hernandez, Trinity Washington University
Jovanna Walker, George Washington University
Latrese Johnson, Howard University
Kessley Janvier, Georgetown University
3:30
Political Beat: Beatrice Peterson, ’12: ABC News Political Reporter
4:00
Trinity Reads Shirley Chisolm: Unbought and Unbossed
Moderator: Ms. Trisha Smith, University Librarian; Dr. Brianna Rae Johns, Director of Writing; Mr. Steven Salas, Research & Instruction Librarian
4:45
Wrap-up and on to the reception!!