Your passport to global affairs

Naples United Church of Christ
5200 Crayton Road, Naples
3:45 and 7:30 pm
In person and livestreamed

Our Enduring Global Crises

November 3, 2025: Distinguished Fellow Barbara Slavin of the Stimson Center in Washington, “Conflict: Iran.”

November 17, 2025: Edward Luce, National Editor of the Financial Times, Author of ZBIG, a Cold War biography of Zbigniew Brzezinski.

December 8, 2025: Ambassador William Taylor [US Ambassador ret. Ukraine]: Distinguished Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.

January 12, 2026: Mona Yacoubian, Senior Advisor and Director, Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and international Studies.

January 26, 2026: Daniel Alpert, The International Club of Business Economics: “Impacting the Global Economy”

February 9, 2026: Michael E. O’Hanlon, Brookings Institution, “To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategies Since the Revolution”. 

February 23, 2026: Tim Ditter, Senior Research Scientist, Center for Naval Analyses. “Advances in Chinese Military and Uncrewed Technology”.

March 9, 2026: Prof. Paul Webster Hare, Master Lecturer, Boston University. “Diplomacy and Negotiation: Cuba and Latin America”.

March 23, 2026: Louis Mead Treadwell, 11th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. 

April 7, 2026, TUESDAY: Ambassador Douglas Lute, former assistant to President George W. Bush and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan, which earned him the title “War Czar.” He retains his position on the National Security staff, “A Global National Security Conversation.” 

Gentle Reminder:
Join or Renew Your Membership Now
Membership Cards Will Be Mailed Soon

Membership renewal for the season is continuing. We need your current information to mail your membership cards in the coming days. Don't forget to sign up! New members are welcome.

You will have access to lectures and programs from expert speakers, Great Decisions discussion groups, and can find purpose by participating in meaningful programs that help area students learn how to engage with their world.

We look forward to seeing you when programs resume very soon. Click here to renew your membership -- or to join as a new member.

New Officers Will Lead Our Board for the Coming Season

Mark Schwab, President

Gunther Winkler, President-Elect

NCWA Book Club Meeting Dates 

November 4
December 2
January 6
February 4 (Wednesday)
March 3
April 7
The club meets via Zoom from 12:00 to 1:30 pm usually on first Tuesdays of the month for six sessions during the season. The reading list and Zoom link will be announced soon.

New members of the Board of Directors and new officers for the 2025-26 season have been elected.

Mark Schwab will continue one more year as president. President-Elect is Gunther Winkler, who is returning to the Board after time away when he was president of Greater Naples Leadership. 

Francisco Figueroa will be the new Board Secretary. Continuing in their former positions will be Mimi Gregory, Vice President for Programs; Carol Green, Vice President of Operations/Communications, and Robert Roussel, Treasurer.

Other Board members are:

Judi Lipnick, Membership Chair; Judy Baker, School Outreach Co-Chair; Alan Van Egmond, Model UN Chair; Dave Brown, Great Decisions Chair; Terry Nauck, Great Decisions Co-Chair;

Also, Martha Williams, North American Scholarships Chair and Communications Chair for Model UN and School Programs; Mark Schneider, Webmaster/ Technology Chair; Jean Foster, Hospitality Chair and Fundraising Co-Chair;

Also, Susan McManus, Fundraising Co-Chair and FGCU Liaison; and Michael Finkel, Academic WorldQuest Chair.

To read their biographies, click here.

Cypress Lake High School’s team took top honors and a $1,000 prize for their presentation proposing a creative, actionable and ambitious plan to address plastic pollution along Southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Their plan identified the primary sources and kinds of plastic pollutants found on local shorelines and proposed a multifaceted strategy to reduce them. Team members were Mya Jenkinson, Gus Lessinger, Valeska Perez, Penelope Lesage and Stella Busby.

They presented their winning proposal to members of the Naples Council on World Affairs, which sponsored the Model UN competition (click here). In addition, Gus was interviewed by Mike Kiniry for his Gulf Coast Life program on WGCU (listen here).

Survey Shows High Satisfaction,
Suggests More Improvements

NCWA's recent member survey showed it is healthy and stable two years after the end of the pandemic. Member satisfaction remains very high, although improvements can be made in programs and in staying relevant in rapidly changing times. The Board of Directors has begun to use this information in plans for the coming season and beyond.

Attendance at lectures continues to be high, as it was two years ago. Live-streaming of lectures is popular. Ratings for the quality of lectures were 88% and quality of topics 87%, compared to an overall 88% two years ago. The lecture program was considered highly timely and relevant. Members found the lecture venue to be convenient and comfortable.

Great Decisions participants thought the material in the briefing books and supplemental reading supplied by NCWA was improved but there was need for more improvement. 

The program for bringing guests to lectures and Great Decisions meetings was used by 31% of the respondents this season and 92% are willing to bring guests next season.

More members preferred using the updated website than the call center because of wait times to reach the call center, although many said they like to use both. 

28% of respondents were highly likely to donate some amount to NCWA student programs, such as summer scholarships, Model UN or Academic WorldQuest. An additional 19% were somewhat willing to donate. To read members' written comments, click here.