BRIDGTON-Rotary Peace Scholar to speak December 19

Rotary Peace Scholar to speak December 19

Picture Caption:  Cassandra Varanka, Rotary Peace Fellow

BRIDGTON – Each year, Rotary International awards up to 50 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of its seven peace centers. Cassandra Varanka, sponsored by Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club, was one of these 50 winners. Chosen from some 600 applicants across the globe, Cassandra has been studying at the University of Queensland’s (Australia) Rotary Centre for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution since early 2023. This Centre is part of a global program to advance research, teaching, practical training and knowledge on issues of international relations, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. It offers a tailored master’s degree in international studies, aimed at potential world and community leaders, designed to have a practical effect on addressing international and regional conflicts.

Rotary Peace Scholar Cassandra Varanka will speak to members and guests of the Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club on Thursday, December 19, at 7:30AM at the Bridgton Alliance Church, 368 Harrison Road (Route 117), Bridgton, Maine. It is Free and Open to the Public. Coffee will be served. Available in person and via Zoom, contact LakeRegionRotary@gmail.com for further information and the Zoom link.

Originally from Southern New Hampshire, Cassandra earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Peace & Justice from St. Michael’s College in NH in 2012.

Before beginning her studies in Australia, Cassandra held several important positions:

• Professional Staff Member for the United States Congress Committee on Homeland Security.
• Legislative Assistant to Representative Jan Schakowsky, spearheading the passage of the Women, Peace, and Security Act. This legislation codified the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.
• Policy Director for Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND), where she promoted women’s voices and perspectives in advocacy for nuclear disarmament.
• Advocacy Director at Foreign Policy for America (FP4A), where she collaborated with external advocates and foreign policy experts to develop the organization’s biennial policy agenda, highlighting 20 of the most pressing issues in Foreign Policy and working with Congress to address these issues.

Cassandra will give a brief overview of the Rotary Peace Fellowship Program and then talk about her experience in it.  She will focus on the Applied Field Experience and her final semester and then provide insight into her plans.

Dr. Lisa Ryan, President of the Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club, remarked “We are very excited to have Cassandra with us again and are eager to hear about her studies and plans for the future. She is a remarkable woman. We are so proud of her and to have been her sponsor. We’d love to introduce her to folks in our community.”