Private Dinner

Throughout the year WACC offers exclusive opportunities for small group discussion time with our renowned speakers, experts and foreign dignitaries at our Private Dinners.

Past private dinners include the following:

  • Robert Walker, President of the Population Institute
  • Col. Mark Mykleby, USMC, Ret., Senior Fellow, Smart Strategy Initiative at the New America Institute
  • Russell Gold, Wall Street Journal journalist and author of “The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World”
  • George Friedman, Founder and Chairman of Stratfor and author of “Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe”
  • Lyle Goldstein, Professor and Author of “Meeting China Halfway: How to Defuse the Emerging US-China Rivalry”
  • Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, German Federal Minister of Defense (2009-2011); German Federal Minister of Economics & Technology (2009)
  • H.E. Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Ambassador of Singapore to the U.S.
  • Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Director of Peace Corps
  • Matthew Bishop, Globalization Editor at The Economist 

Private Dinner Events

September 22nd, 2026: WACC Private Dinner with Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Director of Research for the Foreign Policy Program, Inaugural Holder of the Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy at the Brookings Institution, and Author

Join the World Affairs Council of Charlotte for a luncheon on Tuesday, September 22 with Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow and Director of Research for the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, three-decade advisor to the Pentagon, CIA, and Congress, and author of To Dare Mighty Things: U.S. Defense Strategy Since the Revolution as he draws on 250 years of American conflict to examine how the U.S. conducts military operations and what that history reveals about a nation still defining its identity as a global superpower at the moment of its semiquincentennial.

September 9th, 2026: WACC Private Dinner with Chris Inglis, Former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency and the First National Cyber Director

Join the World Affairs Council of Charlotte for an exclusive private dinner on Wednesday, September 9, 2026 with Chris Inglis, former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency and the first National Cyber Director of the United States. Limited to 24 attendees, this private dinner offers candid conversation on cybersecurity, national security, and the threats shaping our digital future.

June 18th, 2026: WACC Private Dinner with Zoran Krneta, General Manager at Charlotte Football Club

Join the World Affairs Council of Charlotte for a private dinner with Zoran Krneta, General Manager at Charlotte Football Club on June 18th.  Limited to 24 individuals, this is the perfect opportunity for WACC members and supporters to have the opportunity to talk to Krneta about Charlotte as a soccer city and an emerging global sports destination, the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 coming to North America, and sports as a unifying force around the world. 

April 14th, 2026: WACC Private Dinner with the Honorable Elaine F. Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State

The World Affairs Council of Charlotte will host an exclusive private dinner with the Honorable Elaine F. Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State, on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 for a conversation on the role of foreign direct investments, global business, and international engagement in shaping North Carolina’s economic future. Guests will hear directly from Secretary Marshall and have the opportunity to ask questions during a discussion on how global connections continues to drive economic growth and opportunity across the state.