Karen Willetts hails from Frostburg where she graduated from Beall High School. While attending the College of Wooster, she spent her Junior year in Dakar, Senegal. She taught a few years in Ohio and then returned to Senegal as a short term missions teacher. After learning the local language, Wolof, she decided to study with Wycliffe Bible Translaters in Texas.  At UTA, she received a 2 year Fulbright grant to Cote d’Ivoire. In Abidjan she worked at the Institute of Applied Linguistics and received her Masters in African Languages. Karen returned to the states to take care of parents and later married Dr. Pascal Kokora, former Ambassador from Ivory Coast to the US, and Georgetown French professor. She worked in MCPS for 27 years enjoying her time at Springbrook H.S. as a French teacher in the International Baccalaureate program.
In retirement, she and her husband are supporting work on building a library in Esiama, Ghana and a health clinic in Fresco, Ivory Coast.

With over 43 years of distinguished service in law enforcement, including as Chief of Police for the Supreme Court of the United States, Swope is a recognized expert in police leadership, ethics, and community policing. A Fulbright Fellow and highly decorated officer, he has worked with agencies from the FBI to Scotland Yard and has been published internationally on policing and leadership.

We’re pleased to welcome Ross Swope back to the club – his last visit featured fascinating stories from his life in law enforcement.

Entrepreneurship in Frontier Markets

From informal markets of Lima to conflict zones of East Africa and garment factories of South Asia, intrepid entrepreneurs contend with challenging conditions. Some strive to expand opportunity, others to rebuild, and others to break through social barriers. Dr. Kim Bettcher will share insights from entrepreneurs he has worked with about how they adapt and what they do for their community. He will provide glimpses into the informal sector, business for peace, women’s empowerment, and more.

Kim Eric Bettcher, PhD, advises associations, think tanks, and coalitions on strategies to improve public governance, civic engagement, and inclusive opportunity. Combining insights from policy, business, and nonprofit advocacy, he helps reform-minded leaders shape win-win solutions for systemic change. For twenty years, he facilitated knowledge exchange across the global portfolio of the Center for International Private Enterprise and guided program design on themes of policy leadership, collective action, organizational capacity building, economic empowerment, and more. Dr. Bettcher has taught as an adjunct professor at George Mason University’s School of Public Policy and was previously a research associate at Harvard Business School. He holds a PhD in political science from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.