Speaking Engagements
As an event planner, I have managed logistics and marketing for 10 public speaking engagements as part of the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice’s Distinguished Lecture Series at the University of San Diego. Established in 2003, the series has spotlighted international leaders to promote peace and justice. I planned events for high caliber speakers such as former president of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa, labor leader Dolores Huerta, activist Angela Davis, author Kim Stanley Robinson, and journalist Paola Ramos. These events garnered up to 385 attendees, requiring an overflow room in addition to theater seating. Distinguished Lecture Series events often had several components, including roundtables, VIP receptions, and meet and greets.
To make these events successful, I collaborated with speakers bureaus and campus partners such as operations, catering, parking services, and public safety. I led the team of event staff by hosting preparation meetings, assigning and detailing expected roles, and debriefing the events through meetings or surveys.
Watch the highlight video of the Distinguished Lecture Series event with Dolores Huerta below, which I assisted with editing.
Conferences
In February 2025, I co-organized a Women Waging Peace conference in Kathmandu, Nepal for the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. My team gathered 20 women changemakers from around the world to connect, contribute to research, and learn from each other. I helped plan the conference agenda, coordinated flights for participants, collaborated with the photographers and videographer, offered troubleshooting support, and analyzed post-conference survey responses. After the conference, I wrote a blog post recapping the conference activities and discussions.
In additional to this international conference, I coordinated an Ethiopian Diaspora Peace Conference in partnership with Horn of Africa and a convening for the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice initiative FACE Peace in San Diego, CA.
Panels, Film Festivals, and More
From 2022-2025, I planned an annual panel of Kroc Border Fellows to share how they build peace at the US-Mexico border. The event included time for Q&A and a catered reception for guests to connect with the fellows. I supported the evolution of this event by suggesting renaming it from “Border Fellows Closing Event” to “Border Fellows Panel” in order to better describe the event to new audiences not familiar with the timeline of the program.
In partnership with the Socio-Environmental Tijuana River Project, I co-coordinated the Voices of the River short film festival in April 2025. I provided input on the run of show and coordinated with the operations team to ensure the technical components ran smoothly.
Ashley Boren 