VIP Reception

The Event

During his year's VIP Reception, we will be holding a current events update on the state of the crisis in Afghanistan, featuring a conversation between experts Steve Miska, Camille Mackler, and Chris Purdy. This is an exclusive opportunity to hear directly from insiders surrounding this extremely relevant and pressing issue.

Speakers

Camille Mackler | Founder & Executive Director, Immigrant ARC

Camille J. Mackler, Esq. is the Founder and Executive Director of Immigrant ARC (I-ARC), a collaborative of over 80 legal service providers in New York State. In that role, Ms. Mackler works with community leaders, legal service providers, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, and Federal agencies and policy makers to ensure immigrants have access to a fair and efficient immigration system. Ms. Mackler is also currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Truman Center for National Policy, where she is working on researching and highlighting intersections between immigration policy, national security, and foreign relations. Ms. Mackler has led a number of important campaigns and efforts, including coordinating legal efforts at JFK airport during the travel ban and successfully advocating for protections for immigrants at the State and Federal level. She recently helped draft legislation creating the first right to universal representation of immigrants in the country. Ms. Mackler is a frequent lecturer on topics of immigration law and policy and has authored numerous reports on federal immigration policy. She is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and New York Law School.

Executive Director, First Amendment Voice

Steve Miska spent 25 years in the US Army and retired as a Colonel. He served three combat deployments to Iraq, and in the White House as Director for Iraq on the National Security Council under President Barack Obama. He earned top academic honors as a Counterterrorism Fellow at the College of International Security Affairs and has taught at the United States Military Academy, West Point. Steve routinely speaks on first amendment issues and soft networks and has addressed DIA, RAND, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Young Presidents Organization of LA, and numerous media outlets and think tanks. He holds degrees from Cornell University, National Defense University, and West Point. He is the Executive Director of First Amendment Voice, a nonpartisan effort to reinvigorate civic awareness around free expression, religious liberty, press freedom and other first amendment issues.

Chris Purdy is the Director of Veterans for American Ideals and Outreach at Human Rights First. He’s worked on the VFAI project as a volunteer and then on staff since 2016. In his time as a volunteer, Chris worked to build veteran/community relationships across the southeast, from his home in Atlanta. Prior to this position, he developed school reform programs and policy with the Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools. He also spent time as a Lead Teacher for the District of Columbia Public Schools. Chris served for eight years in the Army National Guard where he deployed internationally to Iraq and Thailand. Chris is a member of the Truman National Security Project, Georgia Forward, and LEAD Atlanta. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the State University of New York College at Fredonia, a Master’s of Education, Inclusive Education from Nazareth College of Rochester, and a Master’s of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at University of Texas, Austin.

Event Details

The VIP Reception is also designed to create a unique opportunity to allow for conversation and networking between Symposium speakers and moderators, sponsors, FAV members, and others engaged in the First Amendment space. Following the speaker conversation, we will hold several breakout sessions to allow for more intimate conversations and connections.

The Reception will be held on Thursday, September 21 from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST.

Zoom meeting links will be sent to you via email 2 days before the event.

We look forward to seeing you at the Reception!