Forum Programming

Tracy Jooste is the Associate Director of the Governance Action Hub at R4D. She collaborates with global and local partners to co-create and test innovative governance solutions and plays a cross-cutting strategy and management role.

With over fifteen years of experience driving equity and accountability initiatives, Tracy has contributed to shaping inclusive public policies, budgets, and governance processes. Most recently, she led partnerships that enhanced access to water, sanitation, and healthcare services for communities living in informal settlements across South Africa and spearheaded a gender-responsive budgeting initiative. She has held leadership positions across the public sector, non-profit organizations, the private sector, and academia.

Driven by a belief that governance impacts almost every aspect of our lives, she is passionate about collaborative governance as a way to foster greater equity. Tracy is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the London School of Economics and a member of board of the Isandla Institute.

Dr. Kate Moore is an international educator energized by our changing world of work and how we connect campuses, communities, and companies across the globe. She founded the Global Career Center (GCC) to partner with universities and colleges throughout the world, employers from a wide range of industries, and learners of all ages to connect employability and education through collaborative program development, comprehensive services delivery, and curated experiential education. Kate holds a doctorate in higher education management from University of Pennsylvania, a masters in nonprofit management from Eastern University, and a bachelor’s in international studies from American University.

Christopher McKenzie is a higher education executive, founder, and long-time international education practitioner with more than 25 years of experience building programs that connect global learning to real-world career outcomes. As a founding member of Global Career Center, he helps design innovative, project-based learning experiences for Universities and Students. Known for his practical, solutions-focused approach, Christopher brings a rare mix of big-picture strategy and on-the-ground experience. He is a frequent speaker and presenter at international education conferences, where he shares practical insights on experiential learning, international internships, and closing the gap between education and employability 

Gabriel Rached is an Academic Researcher and Professor in International Political Economy (Universidade Federal Fluminense). He holds a PhD in International Political Economy (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) with his thesis concerning Multilateral Organizations and Economic Development. He carries out research and teaches on the topic of Global Governance and is involved with undergraduate and graduate activities. In the last years, he has been conducting research as a Postdoctoral Fellow (Università degli Studi di Milano) working on Global Shifts and the new institutional framework conducted by emerging countries in the international scenario. Since then, has been studying thematics related to the New World Order and contemporary changes in the International Institutions, particularly discussing new agreements for development and the challenges for increasing representativity in the international arena.

Congressman Bill Foster is a scientist and businessman representing the 11th Congressional District of Illinois, a position he’s held since 2013. He also represented the 14th Congressional District of Illinois from 2008 to 2011. He is the only PhD physicist in Congress. 

Bill serves on the House Financial Services Committee where he advocates for consumer protections and an economy that works for everyone. In response to the Great Recession, he helped create several important reforms in the financial services and housing markets, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He currently serves as the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions. 

Bill also serves on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee where he fights for evidence-based policies and forward-thinking approaches to some of our country’s most pressing issues, including climate change and energy innovation. One of Bill's top priorities in Congress is to be a champion for sustained federal funding for scientific research.

In the 118th Congress, Bill was appointed  to the House Bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The purpose of the task force was to explore how Congress can ensure America continues to lead the world in AI innovation while considering guardrails that may be appropriate to safeguard the nation against current and emerging threats.  

In the wake of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, Bill was named to the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus. The Select Subcommittee is charged with examining the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, including the use of taxpayer funds to mitigate the public health and economic consequences of the pandemic.

Bill's business career began at age 19 when he and his younger brother co-founded Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc., a company that now manufactures over half of the theater lighting equipment in the United States.

Before he became a Member of Congress, Bill worked as a high-energy physicist and particle accelerator designer at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). He was a member of the team that discovered the top quark, the heaviest known form of matter. He also led the teams that designed and built several scientific facilities and detectors still in use today, including the Antiproton Recycler Ring, the latest of Fermilab's giant particle accelerators. 

Bill lives in Naperville with his wife Aesook, who is also a physicist. Bill has two adult children, Billy and Christine. Bill's father was a civil rights lawyer who wrote much of the enforcement language behind the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Catered Lunch Provided 

*Discussant: Dr. Donna Tonini, Associate Director of the Center for Global Studies

*Discussant: Dr. Steve Witt, Director of the Center for Global Studies

Ana Cristina de la Parra Guerra

Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology and Professor at Universidad de la Costa (CUC). Her research in aquatic ecology and emerging contaminants provides critical data for environmental policy and ecotoxicological risk management in coastal ecosystems. As part of the ‘Orquídeas’ program, she bridges the gap between environmental science and public policy, advocating for gender-inclusive approaches in territorial governance and building socio-environmental resilience through applied scientific evidence.

Ana Carolina Torregroza Espinosa

Ph.D. in Marine Science and Dean of Natural and Exact Sciences at Universidad de la Costa (CUC). She leads interdisciplinary academic and extension processes that integrate biodiversity conservation with public policy for environmental management and peacebuilding. Her work focuses on scaling community-based ancestral knowledge into regional governance models, using applied research on coastal ecosystems to inform sustainable development policies and equitable growth frameworks in the Colombian Caribbean.

Dariana Cecilia Zapata Lozada

Project manager at Universidad de la Costa (CUC), specialized in the governance of science, technology, and innovation (CTeI) initiatives. She coordinates complex projects co-financed by the General System of Royalties (SGR) and MinCiencias, focusing on translating scientific research into public policy instruments. Her work promotes sustainable productive transformation and engagement by fostering strategic alliances between academia, government, and vulnerable communities in the Colombian Caribbean to empower women and youth through applied knowledge transfer.