Buffett Conversation | The Assault on Journalism with Thomas O. Melia

Thomas O. Melia will serve as a Buffett Distinguished Practitioner in Residence from May 11–15, 2026. He is a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Democracy & Civil Society, after serving (2021–2025) as senior advisor on foreign policy to recently-retired Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Maryland). Earlier, Melia served in the Obama Administration as USAID's Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, & Labor. Throughout his career, in the nonprofit world and in government service, he has focused on the promotion of democracy and human rights globally.

Join us for a Buffett Conversation with Melia about the assault on journalism at home and abroad. Melia will discuss the central role that professional journalism plays in a democratic country, describe the range of issues and programs the US has long undertaken to strengthen journalism in authoritarian states or countries in transition, and the current attacks on these programs and institutions by the Trump administration.

Doors will open at 12:00 p.m., and lunch will begin at 12:15 p.m.

Please note that 720 University Place is not an ADA-accessible space. Increasing physical access to buildings and facilities is a goal of the University, but not all buildings and venues have been updated at this time.

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