Club Member Claes G. Ryn is the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Statesmanship at the Catholic University of America (C.U.A.), where he has also been Professor of Politics. He was Chair of his department for six years. He has taught also at Georgetown University, the University of Virginia, and Louisiana State University. He was a doctoral and undergraduate student at Uppsala University in his native Sweden.
His teaching and research have combined study of ethics, culture, epistemology, and the history of Western political thought with study of American political thought, U.S. foreign policy, and international relations. He is Editor of the scholarly journal Humanitas. Claes was Chairman and co-founder of the National Humanities Institute, President of the Academy of Philosophy and Letters, and President of the Philadelphia Society. He has lectured widely in the United States, Europe, and Asia, especially China. A frequent visitor to China, he gave the Distinguished Foreign Scholar Lectures at Peking University in 2000. These lectures were published as a book in Chinese translation by Peking University Press in 2001. In 2012 he was named Honorary Professor at Beijing Normal University. Three of his books and many of his articles have been published in China in Chinese translation. He is an Honorary Member of Sweden’s oldest and largest student association, Heimdal, at Uppsala University.

Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, was the home of the Mixtec and Zapotec cultures.  They blessed the world with corn, chocolate, vanilla, tomatoes, squash and many kinds of chili peppers!   So today the women of Oaxaca know how to cook many delicious dishes.  However, the indigenous population in Oaxaca state lives in poverty.    We are preparing a proposal for Rotary to transform lives of women in Oaxaca using solar cookers.  These simple devices use no fuels, have no emissions, and require hardly any labor time.  This frees the women’s time for child care, education and employment.   This talk will show examples of how women are using solar cookers in Oaxaca. 

Paul has always had an interest in energy and environmental issues.  In his retirement, he decided to focus his efforts in solar cooking, which is not a crowded field.  He joined a small local nonprofit called Solar Household Energy, which has been developing solar cookers and managing field projects for over 20 years all around the world.  Paul’s work has focused on the more technical aspects of solar cooker testing and research.  This work has expanded his awareness of the needs of cooks, who are mostly women, to have better alternatives.   Paul joined his local Rotary Club in 2017 and currently serves to support the zoom meetings and videos of their weekly meetings.

Paul has a BS in Physics and an MS in and Computer Systems Management.   He served as a civilian employee in the Navy, where he conducted research projects in acoustics and oceanography.   Later he worked as a technology contractor for various government agencies.  In 1998 Paul co-founded a strategic management consulting firm. 

North Bethesda Rotary Club’s own Nick Martinez, our recent past President, is a financial adviser in the Bethesda branch of Edward Jones.  Nick will speak to us about the recent volatility in the world’s financial markets and how to respond constructively to these developments.

Here’s an excerpt from Nick’s writeup on the Edward Jones website:
“As an Edward Jones financial advisor, I believe it’s important to invest my time to understand what you’re working toward before you invest your money. It’s also important to understand the level of risk you’re comfortable accepting when investing so we can balance it with the steps necessary to reach your long-term goals.  Whether you’re planning for retirement, saving for college for children or grandchildren, or just trying to protect the financial future of the ones you care for the most, we can work together to develop specific strategies to help you achieve your goals. We can also monitor your progress to help make sure you stay on track or determine if any adjustments need to be made. Throughout it all, we’re dedicated to providing you top-notch client service.”