 On January 10th, 2017, in the run-up to the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States, USIP will host a third Passing the Baton event that will bring together senior officials from the outgoing administration and designees from the incoming administration, members of Congress, and a broad spectrum of foreign policy experts, media, and opinion leaders. It is now a United States Institute of Peace tradition to host a Passing the Baton event whenever there is a change of leadership in the White House. Our third such event will be convened for the first time in USIP's iconic headquarters building, once again demonstrating the important convening power of the Institute. The purpose of Passing the Baton is to promote candid public discussion of America's role in the world and the priority foreign policy and national security challenges that will confront the new administration. Passing the Baton will begin on the evening of January 9th with a series of five private policy dinners at our headquarters building for a mix of the most senior foreign policy experts including former, outgoing, and incoming administration officials. Each dinner will have a facilitated conversation regarding key priorities that will face the next administration. The insights of each dinner will be shared the following day with the conference audience. We've confirmed incredible hosts for these dinners, USIP's Board Chairman Stephen Hadley, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, and former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski. The next day, January 10th, the one-day conference will include a series of major addresses and panel discussions on the most important global issues facing the United States at this critical moment in history. Secretary of State John Kerry will launch the conversation in the morning and will be followed later in the day by remarks from the outgoing National Security Advisor Susan Rice and from our incoming successor, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn. Other speakers during the day include Senators Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton, General Jack Keane, Michelle Flournoy, and USIP's own Sarhang Hamasahid. In order to ensure an inclusive conversation, we're pleased to partner with the American Enterprise Institute, the Atlantic Council, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Center for American Progress, and the Heritage Foundation. Given the unusual divisiveness of this past election year, USIP hopes to set a tone of inclusivity and bipartisanship in these discussions in the interest of promoting global peace and US national security.