About Our Speaker: 

Ambassador Gaddi H. Vasquez is a distinguished public servant and humanitarian leader whose career spans law enforcement, diplomacy, and global development. Born to Mexican-American migrant farmworkers in Texas and raised in California, he became the first in his family to earn a college degree, later embarking on a lifetime of public service rooted in compassion and community. He served as a police officer, a county supervisor in Orange County, and ultimately made history as the first Hispanic Director of the U.S. Peace Corps, where he expanded volunteer diversity and launched key initiatives, including the agency’s presence in Mexico. Later, as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, he championed food security and humanitarian aid as instruments of soft power, traveling extensively to support vulnerable communities worldwide. His private-sector work at Edison International and his civic involvement with major institutions underscore his commitment to public good. A recipient of numerous awards and honorary doctorates, Ambassador Vasquez brings profound insight into how empathy-driven leadership can shape international policy and foster global goodwill.

Panelist: 

Dr. Sonya Stokes is an emergency physician and term member at the Council on Foreign Relations, where she serves on the Independent Task Force on Preparing for the Next Pandemic. During the first wave of COVID-19 in New York City, Dr. Stokes co-authored the mass casualty protocol for evaluating and managing COVID-19 patients in the emergency department. She is a former fellow in the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, and she currently serves on the scientific advisory board for the Integrated Bioscience and Built Environment Consortium.