Toyota International Public Policy Director Leila Afas will be the featured speaker on February 27 at the Leaders & Luminaries Series sponsored by the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS). Afas will be speaking on How to Be Your Company’s Secretary of State in her lecture which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the UT Dallas Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center.
This event is free and open to the public, but an RSVP is required. The lecture, which will be held in the Ann and Jack Graves Ballroom, will be preceded by a reception at 6 p.m.
Before joining Toyota, Afas was appointed by President Obama to support the goal of doubling U.S. exports following the 2008 financial crisis. As an appointee at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Leila supported a record-breaking return of $76 in U.S. exports for every dollar programmed. Afas has also earned an international reputation for her work in public and private sectors including positions in the UK House of Commons, U.S. Trust Company in New York and World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
The Leaders & Luminaries Lecture Series brings leading practitioners and academics to UT Dallas to speak on prominent policy issues.
“Through Leaders & Luminaries, our goal is to share conversations about vital policy issues with a wide audience of students, scholars, and practitioners,” said Dr. Jennifer S. Holmes, Interim Dean of EPPS. “We are inviting and encouraging the public to join us in these conversations.”
The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences at UT Dallas is a national leader in research addressing critical social, political and economic issues. EPPS graduates work in government, nonprofits and the private sector, with many pursuing advanced degrees that prepare them for leadership roles in advancing positive change on the local, national, and global level.