Eisenhower Fellowships hosted its 2023 Annual Meeting and related events in Philadelphia in May, a two-day celebration of global leadership.

The gathering began May 16 with a riveting conversation on Race in America with author, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist and MSNBC Chief Political Analyst Eugene Robinson and Eisenhower Fellow Dwaun Warmack, President of Claflin University. They explored the current state of U.S. race relations with EF President George de Lama through their unique shared prism of a fateful town in the Deep South, Orangeburg. S.C.

The next morning, the EF Board of Trustees held its Annual Meeting at the Bellevue Hotel. That evening, some 75 Eisenhower Fellows from 30 countries and scores of invited guests gathered for the EF Annual Awards Dinner at the College of Physicians in Center City. EF Chairman, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, presented the 2023 Distinguished Fellow Award to Irina Anghel-Enescu (Romania, 2008) for her dedicated engagement and commitment to Eisenhower Fellowships and her distinguished professional achievements.

Earlier in the day, Secretary Gates engaged in an off-the-record luncheon discussion for Trustees and invited guests on current world events with Brian Tierney, founder and CEO of Brian Communications and former publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News.

Later that afternoon, Secretary Gates hosted the Chairman’s Seminar and Pin Ceremony for our 2022 USA Justice Fellows, 2023 Global Fellows and two 2022 Eisenhower Global Scholars.