Darius
Udrys is a political scientist, media specialist and civic educator
with more than a decade of experience promoting democratic citizenship
in the US and abroad. Dr. Udrys has worked as a broadcast journalist and
media trainer with RFE/RL, Inc. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), and
has served in various non-profit leadership positions, including
director of Ludwick Family Foundation's Arsalyn civic education program
and chair of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Lithuanian American
Community. He is currently development manager at the Los Angeles-based
Center for Civic Education and chair of the Los Angeles-Kaunas Sister Cities Committee.
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Darius Udrys interviewed by Leonidas Donskis on Lithuanian State Television, October 2008.
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Darius Udrys holds a PhD in political science and an MA in politics from Claremont Graduate University. He has a BA in political science and German from Hillsdale College, and has also studied German politics, language, and culture at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitaet in Bonn, Germany. He is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Public Diplomacy Council, and Rock the Vote's High School Civics Advisory Board.
Highlights of his work in civic education and public diplomacy:
- author of award-winning elementary school curriculum Democracy in Action*
- speaker at civic education events, including presentations at Vilnius Pedagogical University (2008), the XI and XII World Congresses on Civic Education (Buenos Aires in 2007, Ifrane and Casablanca in 2008) and a conference in Baghdad (2004) on education for democracy
- designer of Arsalyn program's conference series "Bridging the Partisan Divide: Rediscovering Deliberation"
- managed revamp of CIVNET.org--a worldwide online civic education community
- development officer and principal grant-writer for Civitas International Programs
- managed partnerships between 20 civic education organizations in Europe, Eurasia and the US
- contributor to Brookings Institution listening tour on US public diplomacy
- guest lecture on public diplomacy at Vytautus Magnus University Institute of Political Science and Diplomacy (2008)
- panelist, "Presenting America to the World: The Public-Private Partnership," Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars conference "Cultural Diplomacy: Clash or Conversation?" University of Southern California (2009)
Highlights of media work:
- media trainer for Arsalyn's youth conference "Navigating the Media Maze"
- media trainer at RFE/RL, working with new journalists from countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran
- eight years as broadcast journalist with RFE/RL
- freelance broadcast journalist with Lithuanian State Radio (LR1) since 2004
- served as communications coordinator for the Center for Civic Education's International Department, including media campaign to promote Empowering a New Generation for Demoracy: The International Project Citizen Showcase resulting in coverage on Voice of America, Newschannel 8, and ABC affiliate WJLA's "Good Morning Washington"
- redesign of Arsalyn program's corporate identity & publicity materials
- examples of multimedia shows: Road to Freedom, Millennium, About Project Citizen
Highlights of volunteer work:
- Chair, Lithuanian American Community, Los Angeles Chapter (2005-2008)
- Chair, Los Angeles-Kaunas Sister Cities Committee (2006-present)
- Member of US Lithuanian Educational Council (2001-2002)
* Winner: California School Boards Association's 2007 Golden
Bell Award for implementation in Glendora, CA schools
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Darius Udrys resides in the Los Angeles area and is available for worldwide assignment.
To contact him, please use the form below.
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