Sai University Graduation Ceremony

A Letter from My Sai University Students:

 Just wanted to take a moment to share some snapshots from the graduation ceremony with you. It was a truly special day, and we wanted to express my gratitude for all the guidance and support you provided throughout our academic journey.

On a side note, I was honored to receive the gold medal for securing the highest GPA in my cohort. Your mentorship and the knowledge I gained from your classes played a significant role in this achievement, and I sincerely appreciate all your encouragement.

Thank you once again for your invaluable support. We hope to stay in touch!

Regards,
Abhi, Dakshajaa and Veda

Could the Israel/Hamas ceasefire lead to lasting peace?

NEW PODCAST EPISODE:
Could the Israel/Hamas ceasefire lead to lasting peace?

We should report the reality, which is complex and painful sometimes. But it's very difficult to do that when you are in specific system in your media outlet. You are a reporter, but you're also an Israeli or a Palestinian, a Gazan or a Tel Avivan.  You report about what hurts you the most, and you tend to be oblivious to the suffering of the other. It's very human, but it's also very wrong."

— Ksenia Svetlova

Political analyst and peacebuilder Ksenia Svetlova has her finger on the pulse of Middle East politics and media — and a mission to build a peaceful, integrated region.


Israel and Hamas are just over two weeks into a ceasefire agreement after fifteen months of fighting. 

This is a paradoxical moment to talk about long-term peace. The horrific October 7th attacks and the near-destruction of Gaza that followed served to amplify already high levels of distrust, hate, and trauma. At the same time, the war has demonstrated to Gazans that their government placed conflict with Israel above their own survival. And it has shown Israelis that an indefinite blockade of Gaza doesn’t ensure their security.

Yet with all it's complications, the cessation of hostilities does offer an opportunity to envision a way out of this seemingly endless conflict. 

Our guest for this episode is Ksenia Svetlova, an expert observer of politics and media in the Middle East and the executive director of the Regional Organization for Peace, Economics, and Security, or ROPES. 

Svetlova is an immigrant to Israel from the Soviet Union, an Arabic speaker and a Middle East specialist. For fifteen years, Svetlova reported from Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and different countries in the region. She served four years in Israel’s parliament representing the center-left Zionist Union Coalition. 

Dr. Bob Weintraub for Brookline School Committee

I’m running for School Committee because I have a long and rather unique professional history in education — as an English teacher in New York City, founding principal of the pre-k to 8 Micro-Society Magnet School in Lowell, BHS Head of School from 1992-2011, and professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Columbia University Teachers College and Boston University.

In partnership with my colleague Dr. Adrian Mims, we launched the Calculus Project at Brookline High School in 2009, and I’m currently Chair of the National Calculus Project.

In these challenging times, I believe that my experience in and passion for public education are vital to the necessary conversations about the present and future of our schools.


More of Dr. Bob's
core beliefs:

Leadership Matters

For administrative searches, we need democratic and inclusive search committees that have a real voice in the selection of our school and district leaders.

As well, our schools must be committed to cultivating leaders within the district.

Excellence in Teaching

As my colleague Ron Ferguson wrote, "Schools are built upon the three legs of a tripod—curriculum, instruction, and relationships—and without strong relationships, good curriculum and instruction are less likely to matter."

Prioritize People closest to the kids

Budget decisions must be driven by the return on investment (ROI) for the academic achievement and well-being of our students. Powerful research says that investment must be made at the schoolhouse — teachers, counselors/social workers, and principals who work with our kids every day.

The Academic goal for our schools

The academic profile of the school system — as measured by school attendance, course enrollments, student grades, and standardized test scores — improves over time. And the gap between the higher achieving and historically lower achieving students narrows.

To make this happen, the robust academic culture must be maintained (high standards), and intentional supports (such as the Calculus Project) must be provided so that more and more students can succeed within that academic culture.

The social-emotional goal for our schools

We must honor E Pluribus Unum in our schools.

This means understanding and respect for human differences and our essential kinship, and that every member of our school community has the freedom to define themselves and feel safe within that definition.

Media & Critical Thinking

We are a toxically divided nation. This is a reflection of politically driven information cultures, characterized by disinformation and misinformation.

Brookline should be a lighthouse in confronting this Brobdingnagian problem. We must address this through curriculum and through the practice of democracy in our schools


Vote On Or Before May 6th

Click Here to Endorse: https://www.drbob4brookline.com/

Click Here to Donate: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/committee-to-elect-bob-weintraub-1

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: 89 Seconds to Midnight

It is now 89 seconds to midnight

You can also watch the announcement on YouTube.

In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, the Science and Security Board sends a stark signal: Because the world is already perilously close to the precipice, a move of even a single second should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster.

The Bulletin has reset the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock 26 times since its debut in 1947, most recently in 2025 when we moved it from 90 seconds to midnight to 89 seconds to midnight. Every time it is reset, we’re flooded with questions about the internationally recognized symbol. Here are answers to some of the most frequent queries.

The Doomsday Clock is a design that warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making. It is a metaphor, a reminder of the perils we must address if we are to survive on the planet.

When the Doomsday Clock was created in 1947, the greatest danger to humanity came from nuclear weapons, in particular from the prospect that the United States and the Soviet Union were headed for a nuclear arms race. The Bulletin considered possible catastrophic disruptions from climate change in its hand-setting deliberations for the first time in 2007.

Kansas Senator and Convisero mentor Patrick Schmidt condemns Trump's pardon of violent Jan. 6 offenders

I have helped Patrick in a personal capacity to run for office and support his positions. Sen. Schmidt, D-Topeka, is one of five senators sponsoring a resolution condemning President Donald Trump's pardoning of Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violent crimes.

See here for the full article.

The resolution is unlikely to pass in a legislative body where Republicans have supermajority control. Trump won 57% of the vote in Kansas in 2024, and Republican leaders in the state are largely supportive of Trump's agenda.

"I don't think that this really should be a partisan issue," Schmidt said. "You had people that stole officers' service weapons, you had people that tasered law enforcement officers, you had, I think, almost 200 people with guns."

VII Foundation Executive Director and Convisero mentor Gary Knight on leading investigation of "Napalm Girl"

Gary Knight, Convisero mentor and whose organization VII Foundation I serve as an advisor to, was recently featured in this article on the investigation of “Napalm Girl” photo being credited to the wrong journalist.

Executive director Gary Knight, a photojournalist who led the film's investigation, told AFP it was "critical" that members of the news media "hold ourselves to account."

"The photograph in question is one of the most important photographs of anything ever made, certainly of war," he said.

Over the past two years, Gary has been working with a team of journalists at The VII Foundation and in Vietnam on an investigation into the veracity of the authorship of one of the most iconic images of the 20th century, or indeed, of any century. That investigation was documented by the Vietnamese American film director Bao Nguyen.

What VII Foundation uncovered speaks to the heart of what is most important in photography. The film grapples with questions of authorship, racial injustice, and journalistic ethics while shining a light on the fundamental yet often unrecognized contributions of local freelancers who provide the information needed to understand how events worldwide impact us all.

Gary says the following in a VII Foundation article on the matter:

This is a story that many people in our profession did not want told, and some of them continue to go to great lengths to make sure it isn't told. But regardless of the passage of time and however inconvenient it might be, nothing should stall the pursuit of truth in journalism because we are obliged to hold ourselves to account if we seek to hold everyone else to account. There is an old adage that journalism is 'the first draft of history'; sometimes it takes a second draft to set the record straight.

As one of the legendary Vietnamese journalists we spoke to told us: ‘There's nothing more important than the truth. When the truth is disregarded, that's when society becomes corrupted. (The truth) cannot be twisted, or torn apart, because if so, it's no longer the truth and we will have lost our moral compass.’

The Stringer premiered January 2025 at the Sundance Film Festival. Please watch this space for further information on theinvestigation and the film itself.

ISYP becomes a 2025 PACEY Award Finalist

In a rare bright spot in today’s news, there is a sincere congratulations to ISYP’s South Asia dialogue project as a finalist for the 2025 PACEY Awards.

ISYP, whose external advisory board I am on, is re-launching their South Asia initiative, which built a great community throughout 2022-2023 with successful roundtables on nuclear weapons issues in South Asia, including on the intersection of nuclear policy and cybersecurity. They hope to continue this work in 2025 and expand into producing published works and additional conferences.

Sanaa Alvira joins ISYP as a Research Associate specializing in nuclear policy and related issues at the Centre for Air Power Studies, India, and a Research Assistant at the Centre for the Governance of AI (GovAI). She is also a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellow at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a recent graduate of the Non-Proliferation and Terrorism Studies master’s programme at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She joined ISYP's Leadership Team in 2024 and will be working on the South Asia Programming, in addition to ISYP's other projects.

In mutual congratulations, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Japanese organization, Nihon Hidankyo, an organization dedicated to supporting and amplifying the stories of nuclear bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and educating the public on the dangers and humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons. ISYP warmly congratulates Nihon Hidankyo on being awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. ISYP honors the legacy of the Hibakusha - the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - whose courage and advocacy inspire our commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons.

Latest update on Power Ukraine from HRF

One month ago, HRF launched the Power Ukraine campaign to raise money for portable generators and deliver them to Ukrainians affected by the war and prolonged power outages.

The situation in Ukraine remains urgent: as the winter sets in, and temperatures hit as low as -30 Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit), Russian forces continue to purposefully attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, including boiler stations and power plants, in order to deprive Ukrainians of heat, electricity, and connectivity in the dead of winter. Portable generators allow the people of Ukraine to stay warm, charge their electronic devices, and stay connected with their loved ones.



Convisero mentor Rabbi Adina Allen in Boston

Creativity offers us a portal to transformation, spiritual connection, and revelation. It is there for us when we feel stuck, divided, or disconnected. In her highly anticipated first book, Rabbi Adina Allen delivers a paradigm-shifting and powerfully accessible reading of Torah as a contemporary guidebook for creativity and invites us to rethink and transform ourselves, our lives, and the world around us.

Join us for an afternoon with Rabbi Adina Allen, JSP Co-Founder and author of The Place of All Possibility: Cultivating Creativity Through Ancient Jewish Wisdom, in conversation with Joshua Foer, journalist, bestselling author, and co-founder of innovative Jewish enterprises including Lehrhaus and Sefaria.

Eli Kurland

Eli is a digital marketing professional with a background in strategy, production and advertising. His experience is both data-driven and creative. Mostly focused on the media sector, he has supported Fortune 500 companies in-house and as an agency partner. He has also worked with startups. He has marketed video streaming services, podcasts, digital publications, membership programs, email newsletters, social media and more.

Eli earned a Master’s degree in journalism from New York University, where he reported on subcultures. He also contributed to a ProPublica investigation called “Lost Mothers,” which became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He studied the media as an NYU undergrad, focusing on emerging Internet-supported business models for both media corporations and independent content creators.

Outside of professional and academic pursuits, Eli’s wide-ranging interests span nature, history, investing, stand-up comedy and much more.

Eli is a serious guy who I really enjoy conversing with. He cares deeply about many things, and has the great quality of listening carefully before offering a  rejoinder. 

He often has surprising angles to his thoughts and unusual insights.  When it comes to hot-button issues he cares enough to thoroughly research his opinions, and I can always count on him to deliver a carefully argued and discerning analysis. He obliges you to respect his thinking even if there is disagreement. 

Eli is a wonderful hybrid of decency and integrity.  

Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement, reflections, calls to action

In a major turn of events, Israel and Hamas has reached a ceasefire agreement. In an early news segment, Al Jazeera interviews Mouin Rabbani, non-resident Fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies. A graduate of Tufts University and Georgetown University's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Rabbani has published, presented and commented widely on Middle East issues, including for most major print, television and digital media. 

January 16, 2025: Gazan poet Mosab Abu Toha wrote a piece back in September 2024 that Etan Nechin says amid the ceasefire “demands more than reflection, it demands a reckoning with Gaza's destruction.” More on this here.

January 17, 2025: A recent article by Ussama Makdisiprovides revisits “Victims of the Victims,” Edward Said’s ethical humanism in the context of the Gaza genocide.

Much more will be added as this progresses.

Moneshia zu Eltz

Moneshia is passionate believer in our latent power to bring more kindness and justice into the world as the "more" and "something better" that we are desined for. She thrives in bringing together and building communities of individuals to remove obstacles, address complex problems and recognize spiritual truths as the means to achieve our full societal potential across the socio-economic spectrum. A New Yorker of Indian heritage, she leads by example to execute against winning strategies for business and society for the benefit of all stakeholders, leveraging her experience in M&A, strategy, value creation, mentorship, leadership and inclusion. 

 A graduate from Smith College in Economics and Humanities, Moneshia was a Management Consultant at Monitor/Deloitte in the Forestry/Non profit, Telecommunications, Healthcare and Banking sectors across Latin America, Africa, Japan and India before attending Wharton for her MBA. Thereafter, Moneshia played a pivotal role as Director of Corporate Development at IBM,  evolving across 60 transactions across the globe how employees and leadership development could be made instrumental in supporting higher business performance. She established industry best practices for incoming CEOs and integration executives for long term sustainable growth and monitored performance and outcomes across the portfolio. 

In 2015 she moved to Europe as the Vice President of Collaboration & Strategic growth for Philips in Amsterdam, infusing her ability to integrate technology  into healthcare to make it more efficient, personalized and profitable with digital and cloud, working across start ups, and the Pharma and Medical Device industries. 

In 2018 Moneshia moved further in the direction of human development, taking on roles that empowered a business as a force for good mind-set among peers and collaborators. As interim CEO of Volunteer Vision, a mentoring platform for career readiness and leadership, she propogated an expanded notion of self leadership and learning by doing that was embraced by like minded networks such as NOW Partners, the Bahai international Community and the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders. 

She continues to advise investors and CEOs in healthcare, technology and sustainability on fundraising and M&A as companies evolve in their journeys to optimize their mission, while hosting retreats and colloquiums for professionals from all backgrounds to leverage business acumen and compassion into how we can collaborate for a better tomorrow. She established an INSEAD alumni Business as a Force for Good chapter in Germany that serves 3000 business professionals, and developed a pedagogy of leadership learning experiences that includes group coaching on life design for women leaders, generational gatherings on regenerative processes, and mentorship to further the work of social entrepreneurs (Tallberg Foundation) and Finance (Global Alliance for Banking with Values). Her programs range from tree planting in biogas, organic and regenerative farms to spiritual study/meditation and yoga in the hills of Tuscany, Italy under the themes of reducing food waste to AI/tech for good.

Moneshia is honored to serve the Consivero community and grateful to be on this journey together.

Taylor Bates

Taylor is a 2012 Tufts graduate in political science, where he participated in IGL programs including Synaptic Scholars and ALLIES research trips in Ukraine and Chile.  After graduating from Harvard Law School, Taylor spent six years as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, where he advised clients on antitrust, IP litigation, securities, and white-collar investigations.  Some of his notable representations include Nissan in U.S. securities matters after the arrest of former CEO Carlos Ghosn, Medytox in litigation over theft of botulinum toxin trade secrets, T-Mobile during its merger with Sprint, and Allied Universal in several acquisitions of security guard firms.  

In 2021, Taylor joined the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Division of Enforcement.  As an enforcement lawyer, Taylor investigates and litigates violations of FTC orders and trade regulations.  Some of his notable matters include contempt proceedings in FTC v. Mytel International et al. and FTC v. Harris Originals of NY et al.  His practice also covers alleged deceptive practices in lending, dietary supplements, personal protective equipment, data privacy, and digital subscriptions.  

Taylor currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his fiancee Becks. In his spare time, Taylor enjoys bouldering, skiing, and lifting.  His everyday joys are his espresso machine and cookbook collection, and he is always happy to share a homemade cortado or a home-cooked meal with friends.

Tayler was an exemplary student and Synaptic Scholar. All of his activities were conducted in a very deliberate and responsible manner, something critical given the nature of the trips he took, especially to Chile, working on a precedent-setting Human Rights curriculum for the Carabineros under the tutelage of Judge Juan Guzmán Tapia who persecuted Augusto Pinochet. He showed an unusual ability to be highly efficient and effective. It was no surprise to me when I learned that he was a boulderer. A warm-hearted man, greatly respected by his colleages, who learned to be very careful of his very wry humor, well received by his peers. He was passionate about everything he seemed to do and did well. His pursuit of justice and accountability is highly regarded by me.

Convisero mentor Jehane Sedky leads FXB Center at Harvard University

Jehane Sedky recently joined Harvard University’s FXB Center for Health and Human Rights as its new Executive Director. Jehane is a seasoned senior executive with an excellent record in leadership roles, providing strategic guidance and support to influential leaders such as former US President Bill Clinton, former UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy and the late Harvard University Professor Dr. Paul Farmer. Her expertise spans a wide spectrum of responsibilities, including leading major initiatives, strategic program development for social impact, fundraising, media, and communications. Renowned for exceptional leadership and people management skills, Ms. Sedky excels in unifying teams toward common goals.

The work of health and human rights is imperative, especially as we see here the Lancet Study that discovered official Gaza death toll is estimated to be a 41% undercount.

Aligning Environmental Concerns across Convisero mentors including

Across the Convisero mentors network are individuals and collaborations that are working on the critical concern of the environment.

Recently, Duncard Pickard, was featured in the Vineyard Gazette about his latest project at work, “proving that greenhouse gases are a pollutant and that the countries with the highest carbon emissions have a legal obligation to curb their effects.” He’s also featured in Tufts NOW on this case and feels a special connection to small islands seeing parallels between his hometown of Martha’s Vineyard and their vulnerability to climate change. 

Similarly, the People’s Tribunal for Environmental Justice formed out of a summer Fletcher project Julia Shufro completed for her graduate program. This group included Boaz Wachtel, Rachel Svetanoff, and Peter Droege. Peter, together with India's remarkable Admiral Dhowan, is creating in partnership with The Trebuchet the Global Maritime Accord Academy, whose third session took place recently.

Leo Stern works for the France committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), chaired by Pascal Lamy, former director of the World Trade Organization. The PECC aims to bring together diplomats, entrepreneurs and researchers to foster economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. He assists the Secretary General in defining the overall committee’s strategy. I also organize conferences - e.g., on the blue economy, sustainable tourism, IT supply chain restructuring, deep-sea mining - and provide financial and geopolitical analysis that feed into high stake negotiations.

Gregg Nakano has recently created an extraordinary project in the region concern, the KASL Climate Research Station - Ebadon. Gregg was the ramrod of the Institute's ALLIES civil - military program, whose seeds under Gregg's initiative grew into Pacific ALLIES. Now as part of Pacific ALLIES there is the KASL Kwajalein Atoll Sustainability Laboratory.

Another great alum, Daniel Mandell, who until recently served in the important post of chief Legal counsel to the President of Vanuatu. After he completes his time in Palau, Daniel will be a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Tokyo, Japan, where he will research ways for the U.S./Japan/Australia trilateral relationship to work together on development projects in the Pacific region.

ISYP co-hosts virtual event with VCDNP and IAI: Non-Proliferation for Young Professionals

I serve as an external advisor to ISYP whose efforts are closely related to my own in nuclear nonproliferation and youth involvement. Convisero mentors Talia Weiss, Maria Udolova, and soon to be Talia Wilcox are exemplary leaders in this space. Below is a demonstrative example of ISYP in action.

Left to right: Sanaa Alvira, Leadership Team Member at International Student/Young Pugwash, and Federica Dall’Arche, Senior Research Associate at the VCDNP

On 25 October 2024, the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP), the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), and International Student/Young Pugwash (ISYP) held the second edition of the “Engagement Opportunities in Arms Control, Disarmament, and Non-Proliferation for Young Professionals and Students” event. The virtual meeting provided key insights and hands-on advice on youth engagement and careers in the arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation space, and was attended by over 100 students and young professionals.

Brian Abrams

Brian T. Abrams is the founder of B Ventures Group, an innovative new investment fund applying venture capital toward global peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Before that, he managed over $1 billion in assets, saw nearly 10,000 startups, sat on over 15 boards of directors, and generated top-tier returns. All of that taught him that a human-centric approach to investment is not only the right way but also the best way. Venture capital should be a financial means to a human end, not the other way around. 

Convisero Mentor Lucy Kaplansky Live at BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity

On A Winter's Night ft. Cliff Eberhardt, John Gorka, Lucy Kaplansky, Patty Larkin

Ticket made available here.

Presenting the Reunion Tour of “On A Winter’s Night” from veteran singer- songwriters that remain among the brightest stars of the singer/songwriter movement for the past three decades. In 1994 Christine Lavin gathered them together, along with folk and Americana artists to showcase music of the Winter Season on the now-classic On A Winter’s Night CD, followed by several years of touring collaborations. These artists have released dozens of recordings and toured steadily through the decades, with fond memories of their touring days together. The winter season is again celebrated by these unique and popular performers, back together by popular demand.

Christina Goldbaum's latest: Syria, Lebanon, and more