Maintaining our commitment to foster relationships for our scholars and build a professional expert pipeline, AWC hosted its 2025 Fall Fellows Summit in Washington, D.C., from October 9-10. This summit allowed our 2025-2026 cohort to meet in person, share and further develop their ideas, and connect with leading academics and experts. The goal was to help them gain insights on furthering their academic and professional careers and debate new and emerging topics in the United States and abroad.
The Summit kicked off with a dinner featuring Paul Lettow, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and America in the World Consortium affiliate.
The next day featured a packed schedule, beginning with a breakfast with Hal Brands, an AWC Principal, followed by a history and writing lesson with Frank Gavin, the Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Afterward, the Fellows enjoyed a social hour at SAIS with a beautiful backdrop of the National Mall and an outstanding view of the U.S. Capitol.
The Fellows then held a working lunch at the historic headquarters of the American Enterprise Institute with Kori Schake, the Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies and the Foreign and Defense Policy Team. The Fellows were joined by Kori’s entire team, engaging in a vigorous scholarly debate over foreign policy.
After lunch, the Fellows had some time for a brief break before heading to the Alliance for Secure AI headquarters for a happy hour, hosted by Peyton Hornberger, Josiah Gaiter, and their team. They were joined by Mark Beall, who served as the Director for AI Policy and Strategy at the Pentagon during the first Trump administration and now serves as the President of Government Affairs at The AI Policy Network. The Fellows engaged in discussions about cutting-edge issues and solutions regarding emerging technologies and AI.
To wrap up the successful Summit, the Fellows were joined at dinner by Thomas Mahnken, the President and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and a Senior Research Professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS. The 2025 Fall Summit concluded with this full schedule. The 2025-2026 Fellows will reconvene in January at Duke University for a writing and publishing workshop.
