Brookings Mountain West—a collaboration between UNLV and the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C.—is pleased to announce our fall 2026 Visting Brookings Scholars and Lecture Series. During their visits to Las Vegas Brookings Scholars engage with UNLV students and faculty, community leaders, and policymakers.

This fall, Brookings Institution colleagues will offer their expertise on a variety of timely topics including foreign policy and international affairs, immigration, workforce development, economic and racial inequality, and more. Brookings Mountain West will host two public lectures in October, highlighting salient issues on the future of U.S. national security and the conflict in the Middle East.

The UNLV community is invited to request one-on-one meetings, workshops, roundtable gatherings, or classroom presentations with any of our visiting scholars using this form. Public lecture details are available on the Brookings Mountain West webpage.

Visiting Fellows

• September 14 - 17, 2026 — Marcela Escobari, Senior Fellow and Vice President-Global Economy and Development

Marcela Escobari is the vice president and director of the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings. With research areas including workforce development, emerging markets and developing economics, Latin America and the Caribbean, and more, Escobari has served in a variety of capacities. Confirmed by both President Obama and President Biden, she served as the assistant administrator for the USAID’s Bureau for Latin America & the Caribbean.

Additionally, Escobari served as the special assistant to President Biden and coordinator for the Latin American Declaration for Migration and Protection in the White House National Security Council. During her tenure as a Brookings Senior Fellow, Escobari pioneered the Workforce of the Future initiative. This project carries out robust research on local economic growth strategies to create high-wage jobs. In 2024, Escobari received the Freedom House Mark Palmer Prize, an award recognizing exceptional diplomats and civil servants dedicated to democracy and human rights.
 

• October 5 - 8, 2026 — Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow-Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology

Robert Kagan is a Stephan & Barbara Friedman senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings. A contributing author to The Atlantic and a previous columnist at The Washington Post, Kagan is an expert on U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy, International Affairs, U.S. relations with Russia, China, and Europe, and much more. Kagan’s most recent book, published in April 2024, Rebellion: How Antiliberalism is Tearing American Apart-Again explores the historical forces that shaped opposition to liberalism, leading us to a unique point in political history.

Kagan has served in a variety of previous capacities including as a member of policy planning staff in the State Department, a principal speechwriter for Secretary of State, George P. Schultz, and as Deputy of Policy in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs. In 2016, Kagan was named in the “Politico 50", as well. While visiting Brookings Mountain West, Kagan will deliver a public lecture on Wednesday, October 7 at 4 p.m. titled “The Jungle Grows Back: Adjusting to a Post-American World.”
 

• October 19 - 22, 2026 — Jeffery Feltman, Visiting Fellow-Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology

Jeffery Feltman is the John C. Whitehead Visiting Fellow in International Diplomacy in the Foreign Policy Program the Brookings Institution. Additionally, Feltman is a senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation based in Washington D.C., and a distinguished visiting fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Previously, he served as the Under-Secretary General for political affairs at the United Nations and chief foreign policy advisor to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Secretary-General Antonio Gutrerres.

An expert in the United Nations, Defense and Security, the Middle East & North Africa, and more, his current research explores multilateral conflict mediation efforts. Feltman will deliver a public lecture on Wednesday, October 21 at 4 p.m. titled, “Iran Strikes and Shifting Sands: America and a Remade Middle-East-The post Iran war landscape, new regional alignments, and U.S. Interest.”
 

• November 2 - 5, 2026 — Farah Khan, Fellow-Brookings Metro, Center for Community Uplift

Farah Khan is a fellow with Brookings Metro’s Center of Community Uplift. Her expertise includes extensive knowledge on how public policy can reduce economic, racial, and geographic inequalities. Previously serving as a consultant with the World Bank, Khan’s research focuses on fiscal policy can improve welfare outcome for disadvantaged populations leading to reduced economic disparities.