America at 250

Day 1

A Republic if We Can Keep It

THE GENIUS, COST, & LEGACY OUR FOUNDERS LEFT THE NATION

Breakfast and lunch included 

7:30 AM | Check in - Leadership Institute Headquarters (1101 N. Highland St., Arlington, VA) and Breakfast

8:30 AM | Welcome and Introductions (Leigh Vlasblom and Shelly Norden)

8:40 AM |Keynote Speaker - TBA

Session One: The Threat to Our Republic through our Education System: Internal and External

9:30 AM | Socialism and Communism: What Too Many Americans Support (Ken Pope)

10:30 AM | Break

11:00 AM | Foreign Influence in Education (Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky)

12:00 PM | Lunch

1:00 PM | Surviving Totalitarian Regimes - Understanding the Present by Looking at the Past, Moderated Panel Discussion (Daniel Di Martino and Xi Van Fleet) 

Session Two: A Republic if you can Keep it: The Genius, Cost and the Legacy Our Founders Left the Nation

2:30 PM | Civics 1: Historical Overview 1620–1776: Mayflower Compact to the Declaration of Independence (Tiffany Hoben and David Alred)

3:30 PM | Break

3:40 PM | The Ongoing Cost of Freedom: What the Few Sacrifices to Defend the Nation (Ken Pope) 

4:40 PM | Q&A and Wrap Up of Day One

6:00 PM | Reception: Enjoy light snacks and drinks as you tour the museum and explore the new temporary exhibit with artifacts from America’s founding titled A New Birth of Freedom, that explores America’s past, present, and future. Participants will walk through the struggles of Jamestown, where a communal system led to starvation and despair, stand with the Pilgrims, whose faith carried them through a devastating first winter, and encounter the bold words of Thomas Jefferson. Our participants will also experience in the permanent galleries, the global spread of communism from Marx to the nations today that continue to suffer under totalitarian rule. VOC’s Karina Lipsman, Director of External Relations will provide a brief history of VOC, the museum, and the temporary exhibit. Address: 900 15th St NW, Washington DC 20005

THEMES and TOPICS:

"Equitable" Systems, Economic Models, Capitalism, Constitutional Republic, Declaration of Independence, Equality

Communism, Socialism, Failed Ideologies, Cambodian Killing Fields, Venezuela's Socialist State

American Founding, Greco-Roman Republicanism, Judeo-Christian Moral Philosophy, Enlightenment Political Theory, Self-Governance, Revolution

Day 2

A Republic if We Can Keep It

THE GENIUS, COST, & LEGACY OUR FOUNDERS LEFT THE NATION

Breakfast and lunch included

8:00 AM | Check in - Leadership Institute Headquarters (1101 N. Highland St., Arlington, VA) and Breakfast

8:30 AM | Welcome and Introductions (Leigh Vlasblom and Shelly Norden)

8:40 AM |Civics 2: Case Study – The Nullification Crisis: Roots of Disunion (Tiffany Hoben and David Alred)

Session Three: Institutions in Crisis: Restoring Trust in Education, the Media, Justice System and Government

9:30 AM | Institution is Crisis: Our Justice System 

10:30 AM | Break

10:40 AM | Institutions in Crisis: Our Education System (Jennifer Richmond and Brandy Shufutinsky)

11:25 AM | Institutions in Crisis: Our Media 

12:10 PM | Lunch

1:15 PM | Institutions in Crisis: Our Government

Session Four: Principles that Must Shape America’s

2:15 PM | The Principals and Virtues to Maintain and Reinvigorate to Preserve the Republic, Moderated Panel Discussion 

Session Five: America at 500: A Vision Worth Preserving

3:30 PM | What Must Endure and What Must Change to Achieve 500 Years as a Constitutional Republic, Moderated Panel Discussion

4:40 PM | Q&A and Wrap Up of Day Two

THEMES and TOPICS:

State's Rights Debate, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, Nullification Crisis, Federalism, Constitutional Interpretation, Dissent

Governing Principals, Equal Under the Law, Lawfare, Government Oversight, Judges or Political Operatives

Teaching the Teachers, University System, K-12 Education, Foreign Funding, Ideological Agendas

Traditional and Legacy Media, Traditional Roles vs Modern Roles, Lap Dog Mentality vs Attack Dog Mentality

Bureaucratic / Administrative State, the "American Aristocracy", Politics of Destruction, Regulation State