Speakers

Connard’s trauma survivor journey as a Vietnam Veteran and an adult child of an alcoholic, assisted by his work as a recovery therapist and enthusiast of outdoor adventure, has led him to writing fiction and nonfiction. Connard will share aspects of writing life and provide a reading from his memoir, Once Upon a Kentucky Farm, which details his struggles with family abuse, alcoholism, and dysfunction, juxtaposed with the healing visits to his maternal grandparents subsistence farm.

 

Due to the current public health situation in Santa Barbara, the next two club meetings virtually - January 19, 2022 and February 2, 2022.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89857961450?pwd=N05ldUErL0RiTW80MGJnb0F2MHJFdz09

(ID: 898 5796 1450)

Passcode: 955837

By Phone: (669) 900-6833

 

MEETING AGENDA

7:00 a.m. - Zoom Networking (optional)
7:30 a.m. - Business Meeting

8:00 a.m. - Speaker

 

Jonathan Pratt was most recently the executive assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.  Previously, he served as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; office director for Pakistan; political counselor in Islamabad; deputy chief of mission in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; political counselor in Khartoum, Sudan; and management officer in Luanda, Angola.  He has also served in Amman, Jordan; Kinshasa, DRC; and the Bureau of International Organizations.

 

He is the recipient of the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award, the Director General’s Award for Reporting, and the James Clement Dunn Award for Excellence.  He has an MA from the University of California at San Diego, a BA from Wesleyan University, and is an alumnus of Teach for America and the Peace Corps.  He speaks Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.  He is married to fellow Foreign Service Officer Bridget Lines and they have one daughter.

 

Due to the current public health situation in Santa Barbara, the next two club meetings virtually - January 19, 2022 and February 2, 2022.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89857961450?pwd=N05ldUErL0RiTW80MGJnb0F2MHJFdz09

(ID: 898 5796 1450)

Passcode: 955837

By Phone: (669) 900-6833

 

MEETING AGENDA

7:00 a.m. - Zoom Networking (optional)
7:30 a.m. - Business Meeting

8:00 a.m. - Speaker