Henry Luttikhuizen

Henry Luttikhuizen is Professor of Art History at Calvin College (Grand Rapids MI). He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia and has taught for nearly three decades. Henry is a specialist in 15th-century Dutch and Flemish art. He has co-written textbooks on Medieval Art and on Northern Renaissance Art. Henry has also curated exhibitions on 17th-century Dutch art. He is a distinguished scholar who has served as the President of the Midwest Art History Society and as the President of the American Association of Netherlandic Studies. Henry has lectured on Dutch art and culture cross the United States. In his presentations, Henry enhances understanding through clarity and humor. He is committed to the notion that knowledge begins in wonder and lectures in a playful manner that encourages his audiences to re-imagine the past as they engage with the present and consider new possibilities.

Alexander J. Motyl

Alexander J. Motyl (Ph.D., Columbia University, 1984) is professor of political science at Rutgers University-Newark. He served as associate director of the Harriman Institute at Columbia University in 1992-1998 and of the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers in 1999-2009; he has taught at Harvard, Lehigh, and Kyiv Mohyla Universities and lectured throughout Europe. Trained as a Sovietologist and East Europeanist, he has expanded his research interests to Western and Central Europe, especially with respect to the historical development of nations and nationalism, the rise and fall of empires, and the causes and consequences of revolutions. He is a regular contributor to Foreign Policy and Foreign Affairs and is the author of seven academic books, nine novels, and two collections of poetry; also a painter, Motyl has exhibited in solo and group shows in New York, Philadelphia, and Toronto. Learn more about Alexander Motyl at alexmotyl.com.

Ralph Nurnberger

Dr. Ralph Nurnberger is a widely acclaimed speaker who brings humor, current political insights and historical background to his presentations. In addition to speaking nationally, Dr. Nurnberger has appeared on radio and television programs as an analyst on political and international issues, and has spoken on a number of international cruises.  Dr. Nurnberger taught at Georgetown University for 38 years. He was named Professor of the Year by the Graduate School of Liberal Studies in 2003 and received another award in 2005 for over 20 years of excellence in teaching.  He currently teaches at Florida Atlantic University.

Dr. Nurnberger has advised numerous Congressional, Senatorial and Presidential campaigns on foreign policy issues, especially those related to the Middle East. Dr. Nurnberger’s articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Christian Science Monitor, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun and numerous scholarly journals and magazines. 

In addition to his academic career, he has served on Capitol Hill, in the Executive Branch and has also spent over thirty-five years in the field of government relations. His experience on Capitol Hill includes serving as Foreign Policy Assistant to former Kansas Senator James B. Pearson (R-KS) and then as a professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  In the Executive Branch, he served as Special Assistant to the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) and later as Director of Congressional Relations for the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) within the Department of Commerce.

He served for over eight years as a Legislative Liaison for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which is widely regarded as one of the finest foreign policy-oriented government relations organizations in Washington DC.  In this capacity, he had direct contact with dozens of Senators and Members of Congress on issues related to the Middle East.

Dr. Nurnberger was the first director of “Builders for Peace”, an organization established in 1993, with the encouragement of then-Vice President Al Gore, to support the Middle East Peace process through economic and social development.  In this capacity, he dealt with international leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, as well as American and international business and political leaders. 

He also spent two years as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where he directed the Congressional relations program, ran a number of conferences, and co-authored and edited books dealing with Congressional leadership and the role of Congress in foreign policy.  

Dr. Nurnberger is a Senior Partner in a Washington, D.C. government relations firm, Nurnberger & Associates, which was founded in 1994. He is affiliated with the firm Gray Global Advisors, which was founded by former House Majority Whip Bill Gray (D-PA).