Founder, Arab American Institute; Director, Zogby Research Services; Author, Looking at Iran

Joel Brinkley, Hearst Visiting Professor in Residence, Stanford University: Former New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent - Moderator

A just-released Arab American Institute survey revealed that each year since 2006, Iran's standing among other Middle East nations has declined, so much so that today majorities in most countries in the Middle East and North Africa see Iran as a meddlesome source of sectarian disruption. Just eight years ago, there was widespread support for Iran across the Arab world. So what happened? Zogby will look at the dramatic change in Arab and Muslim attitudes toward Iran during the past decade and the policy implications resulting from that shift.

Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Also know: In associaton with the Club's Middle East Forum.

Tamim Ansary, Director, SF Writers Workshop
Atta Arghandiwal, Banking Consultant
Robert Rosenthal, Executive Director, Center for Investigative Reporting - Moderator

Ansary, author of Games Without Rules: The Often Interrupted History of Afghanistan, and Arghandiwal, author of Lost Decency: The Untold Afghan Story, moved to the West from Afghanistan as young men. Arghandiwal was born into a military family and Ansary into an academic family. They will discuss the past, present and future of their troubled homeland.

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel

Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines.  After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel

Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines.  After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel

Peter Gleick, Co-founder, Pacific Institute; Ph.D., Energy and Resources UC Berkeley 

Gleick, renowned expert, innovator and communicator on water and climate issues, will discuss the Pacific Institute's 25 years of dedication to protecting the natural world, encouraging sustainability and improving global security. He will also discuss how conflicts can be influenced by intelligent water policies, especially in regards to the Middle East.

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel 

Sylvia Raker, Creator and Director of Business Development, Exploratorium Global Studio

Adam Tobin, Managing Director, Exploratorium Global Studio

Raker, a scientist as well as a business executive, and Tobin, former head of Exploratorium exhibit development, will discuss the Global Studio's mission to help foreign governments and public entities create learning environments, build human capacity and transition to more knowledge based economies, while respecting their specific cultural and social conditions. One area of significant activity for the Global Studios is in the Middle East, where countries such as Saudi Arabia are making substantial investments in education.

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel 

Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines.  After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel

Karima Bennoune, Human Rights Activist; Author; Professor of Law, UC Davis

Bennoune was raised in Algeria and the U.S. and has more than 20 years of human rights research and activism under her belt. Over a period of three years, Bennoune interviewed everyone from the deeply religious to the secular from Lebanon to Minneapolis. Join us as she discusses the results of her research and her new book, Your Fatwah Does Not Belong Here: Untold Stories from the fight against Muslim Fundamentalism, which contains impassioned accounts of heroic resistance and grassroots opposition. 

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel 

Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines.  After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel

Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines.  After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel