Korbel Honors 2026 | Featuring Melinda French Gates

Welcome to Korbel Honors, a celebration of the Joseph Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs and its impact in the world.

Korbel really gave me the opportunity to be in the driver's seat, the autonomy to be myself and also educate others. Our students at Korbel are so enthusiastic and really concerned about making a big difference.

This was the place that I think I really found who I want to be in my career. I met like-minded people who share in a vision of a better world.

The major highlight for me was being able to have those conversations in between seminars and classes and courses in the hallways and expand my mind on different things. We train our students not only to be good at their jobs, but to actually be really strong pillars of their communities. I have found an incredible community. I've learned so much even just at like pop-up policy events or different panel events every day. I'm so grateful just to be here.

My goals as a professor are to provoke students in the classroom to make connections between the things that they read in their books and the things that they might even know about in their personal lives and the broader social world. Taking Dr. Barry's foundations of global social justice course has really impacted my outlook of myself as a student, but then even what it looks like to be a global citizen. Because of the nature of the classes, I was able to not only connect better with the students there, but with the professors and really learn how to effectively communicate in whatever the topic was.

Getting to know each student and their dreams for this world to be a better place. That for me motivates me.

It's not just the books that they author or the lectures that they deliver. It's really about how they're able to help enlighten the minds of tomorrow.

Because of the opportunities that Korbel is able to provide, I was able to develop my own course where I take students to Kenya. Our students get to work with local professors. They're interacting with members of parliament and senators. These experiences, they provide long-lasting lessons.

I just returned from New Delhi, India as a student participant in the IE Rosina Global Student Challenge. Students from around the world work in inter-regional teams to be able to come up with some different frameworks for pressing global challenges. Students have accompanied me on fieldwork trips to Nepal and to Bosnia. I was able to take students to Mexico City where we hosted this institute of feminist activists from across Latin America. So I studied abroad in Mexico City at the de Montre School of Government and Public Transformation. I have such a love for intercultural communication and exploring what we have in common in the world rather than what divides us.

Currently I'm the senior adviser for the Senate President at the Colorado State Senate. Korbel taught me to question and take me out of the equation. Think about others.

Korbel just does a really great job of breaking down barriers, building community, opening dialogue, and challenging our own perspectives.

I'm a program officer with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. I help implement a federally funded sustainability and clean energy program. Because of Korbel, I've been able to grow professionally in ways that I never saw coming. I would love to situate myself in a community just like Denver where I could be moving the needle on issues like immigrant rights and gender justice. Because of Korbel, I have the belief that I can be anywhere in the world and make a difference.

Well, good evening. It is wonderful to see so many people here this evening and such an exciting evening for all of us here. My name is Fritz Mayer. It is my great honor and privilege to be the dean of the Joseph Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs here at the University of Denver. By the way, that film was terrific. It really gives you a bit of a glimpse into what the place is about, the kind of spirit, the community that we have. Chancellor Haefner, Provost Laboa, DU trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, welcome to Korbel Honors. Tonight we celebrate our collective work and remind ourselves why we do what we do. Quickly, a special word of thanks to Judith and Gary Judd and the Social Science Foundation for their generosity in making this possible. And also I want to say thank you to our staff, Jill Schmid, Tahira Hero, Sage Brewer, Elena Penip, who's responsible for all of the back-end work to make tonight possible. So, thank you to my staff.

We live in a time of great transformation. The world order established 80 years ago in the aftermath of World War II is fracturing. How do we build a better one? Here at home, division and polarization threaten our social fabric. How do we relearn how to hear each other, embrace our differences, and make good on the promise of e pluribus unum? AI is coming at us fast. How do we harness it for good and much more? There's no good to bemoan the changes and the challenges. We don't get to choose the time we are given, only what to do with it. And that's what we're about at the Korbel School and at the University of Denver, deciding what to do with this time, how to meet this moment because there's never been a more important moment for a school of global and public affairs in my view or indeed for a university.

You know, why do we here at the University of Denver have the audacity to think that we can tackle the great challenges of our time and shape the future of the world? Well, because of our commitments, because of our values among them, to bridge divides, to hear each other, to engage with each other, to think critically, to bring evidence to bear on problems. Because we're not in DC. We're in Denver. We're not in New York or San Francisco either. We like to say you can see far from here. With distance comes perspective. The ability to see the big picture and imagine how to make it better. You know, new ideas almost always come from outside. And because of our legacy, a story that began with audacity, a Czech immigrant, Joseph Korbel, who believed that a school of international affairs at the University of Denver could make a difference in this world.

Tonight, we really embrace one part of that legacy. Korbel and his family including his famous daughter Madeleine Albright and the whole Albright family and network, his student Condoleezza Rice, and so many others who have followed a legacy of women leaders that is very much alive today in this community. So for that reason, we are especially delighted this evening that we will be joined, we are joined by Melinda French Gates. And we really look forward to hearing from you. Recognizing you for all the remarkable contributions you've made to expanding opportunity and advancing progress for women and families in the United States and around the world. And I must say so much more. Before we do that, very importantly we'll begin by recognizing members of our own community, our faculty, our staff, and our alums whose work reflects the very best of what we aspire to be. So thank you all for being here this evening and again welcome to Korbel Honors 2026.

Good evening everyone. It is really scary to be up here but I am doing it for a very special person. Okay. This is a wonderful event. I am Sachin Desai, a teaching professor at the Korbel School and I was honored to receive the Korbel Outstanding Teaching Award last year and so, but I didn't have to give a speech last year. So this is like they make you pay the price the next year. No, it's good though. So yeah, the Korbel Outstanding Teaching Award, you know, this is a great event. We see, you know, a lot of friends of Korbel, a lot of current students, former students and, you know, so many other people, all of whom, you know, make Korbel the special place that it is. The Korbel Outstanding Teaching Award is given in recognition of the extraordinary commitment that our faculty, our wonderful faculty has to our wonderful students. And so it is especially nice because the recipient of this award is nominated by students first of all and then selected by a committee of school leaders. Okay. So this year's awardee is Professor Eileen Grigel.

And Eileen embodies the commitment that we have to our students to the fullest extent. Students talk about how Eileen takes the most complex problems and then breaks them down into something that's clear and engaging and enjoyable. They also talk about how generous she is with her time, the amount of thoughtful feedback that she gives to the students and most of all they talk about her genuine investment in their growth not just as students but also as thinkers and professionals. So then Eileen along with Professor George Di Martino who's sitting right there, they have co-founded and co-directed the Global Economic Affairs Master's program at Korbel for over 20 years now and you'll find many of the alums of this program and current students in the audience right now. It's an exceptional program that has graduated many, many outstanding graduates over the years and all of them simply adore Eileen and George. So basically that's it. I mean Eileen's going to come up and say her own things as well but just wanted to introduce a very, very special person. I think Eileen is universally renowned as being an exceptional teacher, a very distinguished scholar of global finance and most of all a wonderful human being. So, please join me in welcoming Professor Eileen Grigel to receive the Korbel Outstanding Teaching Award.

Thank you Sachin. Thank you everyone, thank you for the generous words. It has been one of the greatest pleasures of my life to teach at the Korbel School. I learn from and I'm inspired by the hard work, the values, the creativity and the aspirations of my students. It's truly a privilege to play a small role in helping them to navigate the choices that they're making at a very important time of life to help them to master difficult subject matter and then to put it to use in achieving their goals. I'm always inspired by the accomplishments of our alumni who contribute to the world in so many ways. Indeed one of my deepest joys is staying connected to alumni such as honoree tonight, Maria Langan-Reikoff, and learning about the work that they're doing and seeing them serve as mentors for current students. The work that our students and alumni do always has made the world better. It's made the world more just, more peaceful, more prosperous, and more sustainable. This work is more important than ever as our fracturing world faces so many daunting challenges that of rebuilding after wars, modernizing institutions and relationships, innovating in the face of any number of wicked problems, and re-engaging with the needs of those left behind. Ensuring that we increase access to the Korbel School in the face of these challenges remains more important than ever given the contributions that our community makes to the world. I've been very fortunate to work with fantastic staff and faculty colleagues. What we do in the classroom is very much a team effort. I'm grateful to everyone that I work with for their support, their friendship, and for what I learned from them. Thank you.

Good evening. I'm Rayanne Borie Zasley. I am the director of our office of career and professional development. And as the staff awardee from 2025, I am honored to present our award for 2026 to Debbie Galen. This staff award recognizes someone who has made a meaningful impact on both the Korbel School and the broader DU community through dedication, leadership, and service. And I'm honored to share why my colleague and friend Debbie Galen, who has served students at the University of Denver for nearly 20 years, including the last nine at Korbel, was nominated by so many staff and faculty. As director of student affairs, Debbie shows unwavering commitment to student success. She works tirelessly to support students, getting to know each unique student and ensuring all feel welcome and at home at Korbel. Her exceptional knowledge and problem-solving skills guide students and faculty through even the most complex situations. Colleagues who nominated Debbie described her as someone who always has an answer, whose responses arrive within minutes, an excellent problem solver, and the go-to staffer for just about everything. Debbie's impact on the student experience is marked by joy, calmness, and optimism. And she has brought those same qualities to her colleagues, including during her service as a member and chair of the staff council. Debbie, on behalf of the entire Korbel community, thank you for all that you do every day.

Thank you so much, Rayanne. The staff in this room know that we work in higher ed not because of the super high salaries, but because we really enjoy helping students and we believe in the mission of what we're doing here. For me, working at Korbel represents the absolute pinnacle of this opportunity to find meaning in work. To be able to support bright, amazing students who will go out and make a positive impact on this world is such an honor and allows me to feel like I have just a little bit of part of putting that good out in the world. I love working with our extraordinary faculty who genuinely care about the student experience and make my job also a little bit easier. So, I want to thank any of you who have let me be part of your academic journey and have allowed me to live vicariously through you, especially when you go on amazing trips and come back and tell me all about it. You're all an inspiration. Lastly, I could not get through the day-to-day in this job without such a supportive collaborative staff at the Korbel School. Thank you and with a special thanks to the student affairs staff, Mayumi and Genevieve, who keep me sane on a daily basis.

Good evening everyone. My name is Nancy and I'm a second-year graduate student at the Joseph Korbel School and president of the Korbel Graduate Students Association. It is my honor to present this year's Distinguished Alumni Award. The Korbel Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes graduates who carry the values of this school into the world. Individuals whose careers reflect a deep commitment to purpose, impact, and public service. This year's recipient, Maria Langan-Reikoff, exemplifies that mission in extraordinary ways. Over a 34-year career in the US intelligence community, she held senior leadership roles at the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence, helping shape how the United States understands and responds to global challenges. As vice chair of the National Intelligence Council, she led strategic analysis on the risk and opportunities shaping our world and played a central role in the landmark Global Trends 2040 report. Maria has also maintained a strong connection to the Korbel School, serving as both a mentor and career champion for our students and alumni and as a member of the Social Science Foundation board. Her career and service reflect not only deep expertise, but a commitment to rigorous thinking, public service, and long-term global understanding, values that define a Korbel education. Please join me in congratulating the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award winner, Maria Langan-Reikoff.

I always hate to have to turn the page when you start remarks. Good evening. I am truly honored to accept this award. My sincere thanks to Dean Mayer, the faculty, and the alumni board for this recognition. My time at Korbel shaped not only my career but how I approach national security issues and how I think about leadership. I have found two things that I find really important for a meaningful and fulfilling career. One is a sense of mission that was never lacking in the intelligence community. The other is a little harder to find. It is being surrounded by people who challenge, who inspire, who uplift one another on a daily basis when it's really hard. One of the greatest privileges of my journey has been the opportunity to learn from and to collaborate with other members of this big Korbel family. I was fortunate to work with amazing pioneering women leaders for the government, for the world, in Secretary Albright, Jamie Miscik who was the first woman to lead CIA analysis, and Secretary Condoleezza Rice whom I get to work with today. I also served with other outstanding dedicated Korbel alums from across the US government. Many of those made contributions you will never learn about. I'm especially grateful for the scholarship that made my education possible. It wasn't just financial support. Korbel helped me find my voice. It gave me the confidence in my ideas. Moreover, Korbel opened my eyes by offering a broader opportunity to think about what it really means when we say national security. That's a very broad spectrum. Those insights I have carried with me for my whole career. I now call myself a futurist. And as I look ahead, I believe Korbel is uniquely positioned to help the next generation and this broader Denver community as we manage this rapidly transitioning world that those who've come before me have described. Let me finish with just a few really personal thank yous to my advisor Eileen Grigel who made monetary theory fun all those years ago. We're talking a lot today about women and I think we all have to thank our moms. She was the first in her family to go to college. She encouraged me to read widely and she raised nine children. To my husband and my partner Paul who convinced me to move to Colorado but has been my strongest backer all of these years. To our two children. They put up with a lot during global crisis and they always asked the most difficult questions. They kept me honest and they kept me focused on what was really important. I accept this award with total gratitude and real humility because there's so many outstanding graduates out there. I recommit myself to learning and to help the next generation find the opportunities that I had. So, thank you very much.

Good evening everyone. I'm Nas Barma. I'm a professor and associate dean for faculty affairs at the Korbel School and the director of the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy. It is my distinct honor tonight to introduce the Joseph Korbel Award. Our school's highest recognition, named for Joseph Korbel himself, the Czech American scholar and diplomat who founded the Korbel School and whose life embodied the belief that knowledge properly applied can make the world a more just and more peaceful place. The Korbel Award honors an individual who has committed their life to that same vision to building a world that is more secure, more equitable, and more democratic. This year's recipient is Melinda French Gates.

We have many more wonderful things to say. A philanthropist and founder of Pivotal, Melinda French Gates exemplifies a tireless commitment to expanding opportunity for women and girls worldwide, driving philanthropic innovation, and demonstrating that private investment applied with rigor and purpose can change the trajectory of millions of lives. Please join me in watching this short video about her impact.

Melinda was very motivated when she understood that less than 2% of philanthropic funding invests in women and girls. She knew how much potential could be unlocked if we can address this bias against women and create greater equity. There are barriers, unfair barriers that are holding women back. She does not accept what exists now as what it must be. And she actually works toward what ought to be. We know that when women thrive, families thrive. And we know that when women are cared for, when they're educated, when they're healthy, an entire family becomes all of those things, too.

Melinda is one of the most well-respected philanthropists in the world. When we first got the call that she was going to be investing in our work, I burst into tears. The support that we get from Pivotal is so much more than an investment, so much more than a monetary investment. It is a true partnership. I feel like in so many other kind of funding relationships, it's done in a very transactional nature. You get a certain amount of money to do a certain thing, but here it's really a partnership with a long-term vision. So, it allows for a lot of experimentation, risk, innovation, and a way to really feel as though we have a partner with us for the long term. I really hope that she understands not just how deep her impact is, but also how much it means to the people that she invests in that she in particular is investing in them. Women's lives have looked different in a monumental way given the support that we've gotten from both Melinda and Pivotal. We have been able to really engage and help a whole new generation of women leaders seek public leadership positions that would not have been able to do so in a non-traditional way without our support and without her engagement in our work. There's so much change before us and because of Melinda's support, we're able to think strategically long term about what it will take for our people to have the tools, the resources, the skills, and the opportunities to thrive for themselves, but also for our country to thrive. When women have their health, everyone comes out better. When women can earn a living and have the option to do that, all wages rise.

If Melinda was listening right now, I would love for her to know that her work matters. She is doing monumental work in a way that has not been done previously and we are just so grateful for it. I'd want her to know that her support has been not only a game-changer for our work at States United, but it has been a game-changer for all of us as leaders. She sets big ambitious goals and then tries to figure out where are those leverage points that as a philanthropist she can take a risk to see if something new will work. She knows and understands that everyone will be better in a world where women have their full power.

On behalf of the entire Korbel School community, it is my great privilege to present this year's Joseph Korbel Award to Melinda French Gates in recognition of a life's work that has made this world more just, more equitable, and more full of possibility. Please join me in welcoming Melinda French Gates to the stage to accept this award along with Dean Fritz Mayer who will join her in conversation.

Thank you so much. Well, first of all, thank you for being here. It is such an honor and such a pleasure and I'm so excited to have a chance to talk with you and to explore, you know, your remarkable record. And so thank you. Thank you very much for being with us this evening.

And thank you so much for spending some time earlier today with our students. I know it was a thrill for them and sounded like it was a great conversation.

Well, let me, there's so much we could talk about, but let me sort of start a little bit at the beginning, a bit of the backstory in terms of, you know, you've, as the film said, and as we all know, you have devoted your life or your professional life, much of it anyway, to advancing the causes that you really care about. And help us understand sort of how that started. How did you, you know, what was the motivation? What was it that led you to identify these as the causes you wanted to work on?

Fantastic. How lovely.

No, it didn't. Although as I was saying earlier, it was originally called the French Science Building and that we were all very confused about what French science was. And so then it became the French Family Science Building. So I know the building well and I knew of your presence anyway at Duke for a long time.

Yeah. It's fascinating to hear you talk about the evolution of your thinking and how you realized, you know, that evolved over time. You didn't initially see that as the kind of key thing. Has your thinking continued to evolve in this area?

I want to come to Pivotal and explore that in a minute. But let me ask you a question as a philanthropist, as someone who's a leader in this space, who's been very influential, just in terms of how you think about what philanthropy can do and what it can't do. The kinds of problems, the kind of systemic issues that you're describing are not so easy to solve. And notwithstanding the sums of money that you have, that's actually not an enormous amount of money relative to the scale of the problem. So, I'd love to hear your thoughts about how you think about how best to target that money and really leverage the assets that you have as a philanthropist.