Sessions: Washington Forum on Northern Ireland

Friday, March 14, 2025
Welcome and Opening Remarks - Prof. Thomas DeLeire, Dean McCourt School of Public Policy Georgetown University Prof. Paul Bartholomew, Vice-Chancellor Ulster University Ciara Delaney, Counselor, Embassy of Ireland	10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Sustaining Peace in Northern Ireland: Governance, Diplomacy, and Transatlantic Perspectives: A Conversation with deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly, on behalf of the NI Executive, and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Sharon Hudson-Dean	10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Address by the Right Honorable Hilary Benn, MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, introduced by Prof. Darragh Gannon, Associate Director, Global Irish Studies Program, Georgetown University	11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Lunch	12:30 PM - 1:15 PM
Building and Maintaining Confidence in Policing in Northern Ireland A Conversation between Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, QPM, Police Service of Northern Ireland, Prof. Duncan Morrow, Ulster University and Prof. Carolyn Gallaher, American University	1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Closing Remarks - Prof. Vicky Wilkins, Provost, American University Prof. Cóilín Parsons, Director, Global Irish Studies Program, Georgetown University	2:15 PM - 2:30 PM

Speakers and Panelists

Right Honorable Hilary Benn, MP
Hilary Benn was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been elected as the Member of Parliament for Leeds South/Leeds Central since 1999. During the last Labour government, he served successively as Secretary of State for International Development and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. From 2016 to 2021 he served as the British House of Commons Chair of the Select Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, QPM
Jon Boutcher was appointed the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland in November 2023. He previously led Operation Kenova, a series of investigations into murders during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which released a draft report in 2024. He served as Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police from 2015-2019. In 2015, he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for Distinguished Service by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Sharon Hudson-Dean
Sharon Hudson-Dean covers relations with NATO, the OSCE, the Nordic and Baltic countries, the United Kingdom and Ireland for the US State Department. She previously served as the Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Oslo, Norway, and Riga, Latvia, and as US Consul General in Sydney, Australia.
Honorable Emma Little-Pengelly, MP
Emma Little-Pengelly was appointed as the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in February 2024. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party, Little-Pengelly has been an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagan Valley since 2022. She has previously served as an MP for Belfast South in the United Kingdom House of Commons and as MLA for Belfast South in the Northern Ireland Assembly.