At a moment when global power dynamics are shifting and new security challenges are emerging, how should the United States navigate an increasingly complex international landscape? What roles do diplomacy and intelligence play in confronting issues ranging from great power competition and regional conflicts to technological disruption and transnational threats?
The World Affairs Council of Greater Houston and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy hosted an in-depth conversation with William J. Burns, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, for a timely conversation moderated by Ambassador David Satterfield, director of the Baker Institute.
Burns shared his perspectives on the most critical challenges facing U.S. foreign policy and global stability today — from Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine and the shifting balance of power with China to the evolving dynamics in the Middle East. He also reflected on the vital role of America’s career public servants — the diplomats, analysts and professionals whose dedication and expertise underpin U.S. leadership and security around the world.
This program offered an opportunity to hear directly from one of the nation’s most experienced diplomats and intelligence leaders on how the United States can navigate an increasingly complex international landscape with clarity, resolve, and integrity.
This off-site event was free and open to the public. It took place at the Junior League of Houston.
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Director’s Lecture Series
Created and endowed by Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian and Mrs. Françoise Djerejian, the Director’s Lecture Series provides a forum for productive discourse to advance the public’s understanding of the most critical challenges facing Texas, the U.S., and the world.
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Participants
Moderator
Ambassador David M. Satterfield
Director, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy; Former ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey
Featured Speakers
William J. Burns, Ph.D., is senior advisor for global affairs at Evercore and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency a role he held from 2021 to 2025. He was the first career diplomat to lead the agency and holds the highest rank in the Foreign Service — career ambassador. Over a 33-year diplomatic career, Burns worked to keep Americans safe and secure. Prior to his tenure as deputy secretary of state, he served as under secretary of state for political affairs from 2008 to 2011, U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs from 2001 to 2005, and U.S. ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001. He was also executive secretary of the State Department and special assistant to former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright; minister-Counselor for political affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow; acting director and principal deputy director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff; and special assistant to the president and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs at the National Security Council.
Before leading the CIA, Burns served as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has received three Presidential Distinguished Service Awards and the highest civilian honors from the Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community. He is the author of the best-selling book, “The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal” (Random House, 2019). Burns earned a bachelor’s degree in history from LaSalle University and master’s and doctoral degrees in international relations from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar.