The world is changing rapidly—and the most critical global challenges of our time are unfolding right now. From great-power competition and global security to economic uncertainty and the future of American leadership, the decisions shaping our world demand informed, civil dialogue. The World Affairs Council of New Hampshire welcomes you to the global conversation at our annual Signature Event, the Global Forum—the state’s largest gathering of globally minded citizens.

Join WACNH in conversation with Jake Sullivan, former Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, for a timely moderated conversation titled “Shaping America’s Role in a Changing World.” Drawing on firsthand experience at the highest levels of U.S. foreign policy, Sullivan examines the critical global issues defining this moment—including geopolitical competition, international security, diplomacy, and America’s evolving role on the world stage—and offers insights into what lies ahead.

Through watching this recording you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how high-level decisions made in Washington, DC affect communities, businesses, and individuals here in New Hampshire and across the globe. You’ll also hear insights on many of the critical global issues shaped President Biden's time in office, from Ukraine, to Afghanistan, and Gaza, there were no shortage of key decisions to unpack.

Additionally, WACNH proudly presents Common Man for Ukraine and NH4Ukraine.org with the Global Citizen of the Year Award in recognition of their impressive efforts to provide humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine over the past four years. 

About the Speaker

Jake Sullivan is the Kissinger Professor of the Practice of Statecraft and World Order at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Senior Fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire.

He was the 28th Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) from January 2021 to January 2025. In the Obama Administration, he served as National Security Advisor to then-Vice President Biden, Director of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, and Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In the years between government service, Sullivan was a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he helped conceive a bipartisan task force project on a foreign policy for the middle class. He held teaching posts at the University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, and Yale Law School. And he co-founded and co-chaired the advisory board for National Security Action. 

He holds a B.A. in political science and international studies from Yale College; a M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States. He grew up as the second of five children in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is a proud product of the Minneapolis public schools. He lives with his wife, Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, in New Hampshire.