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John F. Kirby to Headline 2025 Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership April 2

Kirby served as National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House from 2022 to 2025.

  • published: 2025/01/30
  • contact: Sam Peshek - Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications
  • email: unonews@unomaha.edu
John F. Kirby

Highlights

  • Kirby and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will discuss the role of U.S. leadership in a changing world on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.

  • The event is free and open to the public.

  • Past forum guests include former President Joe Biden (2019), former Secretary of State John Kerry (2020) and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (2024).

  • RSVP to attend


Retired Admiral John Kirby, who from 2022 to 2025 served as National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, will join former U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel for the seventh Chuck Hagel Forum in Global Leadership at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at 7 P.M. in UNO’s Strauss Performing Arts Center.

The event is open to the public. Visit the Hagel Forum website to RSVP and view additional information about the series.

Hosted in partnership with the Atlantic Council, the series explores critical issues with global leaders in search of solutions to today’s global challenges.

Previous forum guests are:

  • Former President Joe Biden (2019)

  • Former Secretary of State John Kerry (2020)

  • Former Secretary Homeland Security Tom Ridge (2021)

  • Former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano (2022)

  • Former Washington Executive Editor of the Wall Street Journal Gerald F. Seib (2023)

  • Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (2024)


About Admiral John Kirby

In his role as National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, Kirby coordinated interagency efforts to explain United States policy and serves as a senior administration voice on related matters.

Prior to the role, Kirby served as Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, where he advised Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on public communications and community engagement. He also served as the Department’s chief spokesperson.

Kirby also served as an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a military and diplomatic analyst at CNN. Kirby previously served at the Department of State, as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Public Affairs from December 2015 to January 2017 and as the State Department’s spokesperson from May 2015 to January 2017.

Prior to the State Department, Kirby served as the Pentagon Press Secretary under Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, the first uniformed officer to hold the position of chief spokesman for the Department of Defense.

About the Atlantic Council

Based in Washington, D.C., the Atlantic Council is a nonpartisan organization that galvanizes U.S. leadership and engagement in the world, in partnership with allies and partners, to shape solutions to global challenges.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

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