Edina Community Ed

Great Decisions: The Future of NATO & European Security | European security is more uncertain than it has been for decades. Putin’s Russia has launched a war with Ukraine on its doorstep, and America’s uncertain role as leader of NATO and security provider has been called into question with the failure of Congress to pass supplemental military support for Ukraine. What are Europe’s options, and how might developments on both sides of Western Europe – in Ukraine and across the Atlantic – impact its choices? What are America’s stakes in NATO and Europe’s strategic dilemmas?

Rick Olson: Rick Olson is a retired professional with a variety of educational and life experiences. He has worked as an economist, an attorney, a certified financial planner, an agricultural loan officer, an agricultural cooperative president, a State Representative in Michigan and a public-school business manager. He obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School and completed the coursework in two Ph.D. programs (Agricultural Economics and Education Administration), but declined to write a thesis in either, so he is not a Ph.D. An avid traveler, he has been in 48 countries and in all 50 of the United States. He has flown to the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda three times since February 2020 to guide a non-profit organization he founded to assist the refugees at Best Future School (and now at four such learning centers). He has also led the effort on three Rotary International Global Grants for refugee settlement camps in Uganda. He is now also involved in support of the efforts of Sustainable Cambodia. He currently resides in Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA with his wife of 54 years, a retired school superintendent, and is the father of two boys, ages 45 and 43. Rick is also an adventurer, having climbed Mt. McKinley in Alaska in 1977, riding his bicycle across the USA in 2016, did a 19-day trek to the Base Camp of Mt. Everest in 2017, and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 2019. He led Rotary International tours through Eastern Europe in 2019 and again in 2022. Most recently he has completed the Camino de Santiago in its entirety.

The Great Decisions program provides background information and policy options for the eight most critical issues facing America each year and serves as the focal text for discussion groups across the country. The Great Decisions program was created by the Foreign Policy Association. The mission of the Foreign Policy Association today, as it has been for over 100 years, is to serve as a catalyst for developing awareness, understanding, and informed opinion on U.S. foreign policy and global issues. Through its balanced, nonpartisan programs and publications, the FPA encourages citizens to participate in the foreign policy process.

This program is brought to the community through a partnership with the Edina Senior Center and Edina Community Ed.

The Friends of the Edina Library and Global Minnesota have graciously co-sponsored this program.

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Please read our Adult Programming Overview page for all info regarding registration, cancellation, and building info.

Adult Programs - Edina Community Ed (edinaschools.org)

Registration for all class sessions closes 3 days before the start date.

Late Registration: If you miss the deadline but are still interested, you can contact the Community Ed office. Space may be limited, but we'll try our best to accommodate late registrations.

Email: communityed@edinaschools.org
Phone: (952) 848-3952