EVENT UPDATE: Unfortunately, the Courageous Leadership Speaker Series event with Benjamin Anthony, co-founder and chief executive officer of the New York-based MirYam Institute, previously scheduled for Oct. 18 at VMI has been canceled.

LEXINGTON, Va. Oct. 9, 2023 — Benjamin Anthony, co-founder and chief executive officer of the New York-based MirYam Institute, will speak at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7:45 p.m. in the Gillis Theater of Marshall Hall on post. Anthony will share his experiences that tie to the annual leadership theme for academic year 2023-24, “Adapting to Complex Situations.”

The event is free and open to the public as part of the Center for Leadership and Ethics’ Courageous Leadership Speaker series.  

Featured "courageous leaders" come to VMI to engage with cadets, staff, and faculty, providing their personal leadership insights. A highly sought-after lecturer, Anthony regularly speaks before audiences at Ivy League colleges and has been the keynote speaker for Israel Bonds, CAMERA, CUFI, and numerous Jewish federations.  

He will also share some information about the MirYam Institute’s exclusive and unique two-week Israel Strategy & Policy Tour (I-SAP) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense and participating military academies. This program is tailored for future officers of the U.S. Armed Forces currently enrolled in U.S. military academies or those seeking careers within government intelligence. In the spring of 2023, ten cadets and two faculty advisors from VMI joined peers from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Canada. This was VMI’s third year participating in the program.  

As co-founder & CEO of the MirYam Institute, Anthony brings considerable experience and expertise to his position in substantive, policy-driven dialogue, and debate about the state of Israel throughout the international community. His portfolio includes the coordination of high-level briefings by senior members of the Israel defense establishment — active and retired — to elected officials, including within the U.S. administration, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives, on matters relating to the state of Israel and its strategic relationship and positioning in an international context. Of particular note is the advisory role he undertook to key administration members on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and potential avenues for resolution.  

Since 2006, Anthony has worked with the Israel National Police and the Israel Defense Forces to prepare, write, brief, and oversee presentations by senior-ranked active officials at select graduate schools throughout the English-speaking world and before international policymakers and legislators. 

Anthony graduated from the University of Manchester in England, earning his bachelor’s degree with honors. Anthony has a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.  

His talk is co-sponsored by the VMI Chaplain’s Office and the Office of Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion. 

For more information, contact Kim Connolly at connollykv@vmi.edu. 

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE