Olympic Games in Paris: A Divided Country Welcomes a Fractured World
WHAT: As athletes and spectators from around the world gather later this month in the “City of Light” for the 2024 Summer Olympics, American University experts offer their insight into a wide range of topics including the Olympic and political landscape in post-election France, the business of sports, sports law, the value of sports diplomacy, and more.
When: July 9, 2024 – ongoing
Where: On campus, in-studio, virtual
Background: American University experts who are available for interviews:
Jeremi Duru is a professor of law at the Washington College of Law and the director of the Sport and Society Initiative. He is among the nation’s foremost sports law authorities and has a particular interest in sport’s impact on society, with a principle focus on racial and gender dynamics. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Sports Lawyers Association and for the Fritz Pollard Alliance of coaches, scouts and executives of color in the National Football League, the National Sports Law Institute’s Board of Advisors, and the LawInSport Editorial Board. He has also served as a member of the NCAA’s Committees on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sport, the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s Anti-Doping Review Board and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Racial and Social Justice Expert Advisory Team.
Ron Hill is the dean’s professor of Marketing and Public Policy and Distinguished Professor at American University’s Kogod School of Business. His research includes impoverished consumer behavior, marketing ethics, corporate social responsibility, human development, and public policy. Hill is the author of more than 200 journal articles, books, chapters, and conference papers in outlets such as the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Business and Society, Human Rights Quarterly, and the Harvard Business Review.
Robert Kelley is an assistant professor at the School of International Service. His interests lie at the intersection of culture and politics, and he specializes in the study of global citizenship. In 2012-2013, Prof. Kelley directed the Intercultural Management Institute at American University. Prior to joining AU, he worked at the U.S. Department of State in the Office of Foreign Missions enforcing reciprocity in bilateral diplomatic relations. His areas of expertise include soft power and public and cultural diplomacy, particularly as it relates to the Olympic Games.
Garret Martin is the co-director of the Transatlantic Policy Center at American University. He has written widely on transatlantic relations and Europe, security, U.S. foreign policy, NATO, European politics, and European foreign policy and defense. He is a frequent media commentator, providing analysis and interviews, among others, to NPR, the BBC, CNN, Voice of America, USA Today, WUSA, ABC News Australia, and France 24.
Matt Winkler is the program director for the Master of Science in Sports Analytics & Management at American University. Winkler has more than 20 years of experience in the global sports industry. He has worked with top organizations such as the NCAA, NHL, WNBA, the World Cup, and the Olympics. Winkler was an executive for the Washington Capitals and Washington Mystics as part of the Monumental Sports and Entertainment portfolio. Prior to his tenure there, Winkler worked for D.C. United and the U.S Soccer Federation. He was also the press officer for the Olympics. Winkler is the co-founder and executive director of the SEME conference, which is a sports marketing networking conference.
Garima Sharma is an assistant professor at Kogod School of Business, American University. Her research focuses on how businesses can help address the social and environmental problems we face today. Business goals can be short term and narrowly defined, but addressing social and environmental problems requires long-term thinking, interdisciplinary collaborations, and innovative ways of organizing. Her research focuses on how business successfully manages these tensions. More recently, her research has focused on how systems thinking can help business leaders create a more resilient future. We live in an interconnected world such that business issues must be addressed systemically by considering other issues. Her research provides insights on how business leaders can think, collaborate, and act more systemically.
Media: To speak with AU experts, please contact AU Media: aumedia@american.edu or 202-885-5950.
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