Diana Walker

CONVENER

• Organization: United Nations Foundation
• Department: Global Partnerships
• Title: Senior Director of Partnership Initiatives

Diana Walker is the Senior Director of Partnership Initiatives in the Office of Global Partnerships at the United Nations Foundation. In her role at the UN Foundation, Ms. Walker facilitates strategic public private partnerships for the UN Foundation that include partnerships with entrepreneurs and start-ups, various private sector companies, the Los Angeles and New York creative communities, the White House, U.S. State Department and other government agencies, and various other non-profits and high- level individuals. In addition, she directs the UN Foundation's Global Entrepreneurs Council, a group of young high-level entrepreneurs who work with the UN Foundation to help solve global problems.

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world's most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals.

Ms. Walker has worked at the UN Foundation for eight years in capacities within the Global Partnerships, Public Affairs, and Energy/Climate Departments. In 2007, Ms. Walker took a leave of absence from the UN Foundation to work on the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Race. She also managed logistics for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee in Washington, D.C. and continues to support the White House on a volunteer basis providing advance and logistics work for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Ms. Walker is from Boulder, Colorado and has a B.A. from the University of Colorado. She is a member of the BMW Foundation's Young Leaders Forum and sits on the Board of Something Independent, a Colorado group focused on bridging entrepreneurship and economic development in Colorado with the outdoor industry.

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Sam Vaghar

CONVENER

• Organization: The Millennium Campus Network
• Department: Executive
• Title: Executive Director

Sam Vaghar is the Executive Director and Co-founder of The Millennium Campus Network, empowering campus organizations to tackle global poverty. In this capacity, Sam engages with numerous partners from the UN Foundation and Better World Campaign to the Jenzabar Foundation and Hewlett-Packard. Under Sam's leadership, the MCN educates over 1,000 campus leaders through annual conferences and has allocated over $50,000 in Student Action Grants. In 2011, Sam spoke at events across Bosnia and Herzegovina at the request of the State Department and met with President Barack Obama at the White House.

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Alistair Thornton

CONVENER

• Organization: IHS Global Insight (IHS); Young China Watchers (YCW)
• Department: Global Economics Group (IHS); Executive (YCW)
• Title: China Economist (IHS); Co-Founder (YCW)

Alistair Thornton is a China Economist at IHS Global Insight. Based in Beijing, his research focuses on China macroeconomics at both a national and provincial level, looking at issues such as monetary policy, the property market outlook, inflation trends, and provincial dynamics. He also provides insight to the work of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and IHS Jane's. Prior to joining IHS, Alistair was an analyst at a policy advisory firm in Beijing and a contributor for the Economist Intelligence Unit. Alistair holds Masters degrees from the University of Edinburgh and University of Sydney, and speaks Mandarin. Alistair is also co-founder of Young China Watchers, a group of emerging China thought-leaders.

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Taufiq Rahim

CONVENER

• Organization: Globesight
• Title: Director

Taufiq Rahim is a political analyst based in Dubai and the Director of Globesight, which advises international and non-profit organizations in the Middle East & North Africa on strategy. He is also the co-founder of Project Encounter, a UAE-based initiative that promotes engagement between the Middle East and the West. He served last year as an Expert Advisor to the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.

Taufiq has previously worked with McKinsey & Company, the United Nations, NDI, and the Aga Khan Foundation. He received a Master's in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and his undergraduate degree from Princeton University.

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Anna Tunkel

CATALYST

• Organization: APCO Worldwide
• Department: Office of the CEO
• Title: Vice President, Strategic Initiatives

Anna Tunkel, Vice President & Director, leads strategic initiatives and external partnerships for the office of the founder and CEO of APCO Worldwide, one of the world's largest privately owned public affairs & communications firms.

Previously, she served as an associate director in Shanghai, managing a number of projects with Chinese multinational firms, an emerging market sovereign wealth fund, and multinationals seeking expansion in China. She also worked in Washington DC on a variety of business development & special projects for the firm, spanning APCO's 33 global offices. Prior to joining APCO in 2005, she worked for the Division of External Relations at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva. She received masters with academic distinction from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Raised and schooled in Russia, Israel and India, she is fluent in Hebrew, Russian, English, and Spanish and maintains a working knowledge of Mandarin Chinese.

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Raffaello Pantucci

CONVENER

• Organization: Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
• Department: International Relations
• Title: Visiting Scholar

Raffaello Pantucci is currently a think tank researcher who spends his time between London and Shanghai. He is a Visiting Scholar at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) and an Associate Fellow at the International Center for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR). He is the author of the forthcoming book We Love Death As You Love Life: Britain's Suburban Mujahedeen (Hurst/Columbia University Press) and is working on his second book about China in Central Asia. He has written widely in the media, academic, and specialist press. Beyond his academic work, he is also the co-founder of the London chapter of the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) network, and the Beijing/Shanghai Young China Watchers (YCW).

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Anna St. John

CATALYST

• Organization: Covington & Burling LLP
• Department: International Practice Group
• Title: Associate

Anna St. John is an associate in the Washington, DC office of Covington & Burling, LLP. As a member of the International Practice Group, she advises clients regarding the review process conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and the national security and political implications for foreign investments in sensitive U.S. sectors. She received a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was Managing Editor of the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, an M.A. in Political Science from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Louisiana State University.

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Emily McLeod

CONVENER

• Organization: Council on Foreign Relations
• Department: Washington Meetings
• Title: Associate Director

Emily McLeod is the Associate Director of the Washington Meetings Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. The meetings program hosts over 125 events per year. The team strategically pursues topics, speakers, and conversation frames that contribute to the broader foreign policy discussion. Emily has her master's degree in strategic studies and international economics from SAIS. At SAIS she served as editor-in-chief of the SAIS Review of International Affairs, publishing issues on cyber policy and sports & international relations. Emily's undergraduate degree is from Claremont McKenna College where she studied government and leadership.

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