An informative new bi-weekly podcast, “Global Bridges,” shines a light on economic resilience from around the world with guests from far-flung locations including China, Belgium, New Zealand, Mexico, and Italy. Beyond what we read in the news, we learn from guests about the challenges and opportunities that have evolved from the global pandemic and its recovery.

These spotlight podcasts come during a time when many of us have been more grounded, in recent months, due to the pandemic. We are able to “travel abroad” in listening to the guests who are professionals in global destinations. The U.S.-based podcast host for the international program is the University of St. Thomas - Houston Cameron School of Business faculty member, Dr. Beverly Barrett.

“The mission of Global Bridges is to connect listeners from around the world with stories from 'people who are on the ground’ reporting about day-to-day life, economic recovery and business that affects our daily lives,” Barrett said.

Barrett is an Expert on International Business and Economic Policy

As a global policy specialist, educator and researcher, Barrett brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this podcast. With a focus on international business and economic policy, she specializes in regional integration, international trade, institutional governance and education.

Barrett earned her doctorate in International Studies at the University of Miami in Florida while serving in a fellowship with the European Union Center of Excellence. Afterward, her dissertation was published by Palgrave Macmillan as Globalization and Change in Higher Education: The Political Economy of Policy Reform in Europe. This examines the common market of the EU and its relationships to the larger European Higher Education Area (EHEA), which was established with the Bologna Process to recognize higher education qualifications across the 48 participating countries.

Barrett’s background includes service in public affairs with the U.S. House of Representatives; the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs; the U.S. Department of State in Helsinki, Finland; and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Houston Branch. Proficient in Spanish, Italian and French, she studied at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain, while enrolled at Vanderbilt University. In the M.A. program at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna, Italy, and Washington, D.C., she specialized in international economics and foreign policy. She has served as visiting faculty in International Business at Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP), a U.S.-accredited university in Mexico.

Podcast Topics: Public Health, Economy, Work, Education, Travel and Society

The podcast program supports the building of ‘global bridges’ across countries as they share perspectives of life and economic development worldwide during recovery from the 2020 pandemic. The program covers topics including public health, economy and work, education, travel and society unique to the country featured in each episode.

Barrett concludes, “Looking forward, these conversations enable our listeners to understand the varying national contexts of life and business industries as communities and countries around the world build ‘global bridges’ to each other and to the future.”

Global Bridges: Economic Recovery from the Pandemic Around the World

Tune in and listen to the inaugural shows titled:

Episode 1: “Exploring Business Development in CHINA: Perspectives from Shanghai” with guest, Cathy Sun, an attorney and business leader who formerly resided in Houston.

From Shanghai: There are new investment opportunities for foreigners with the government policy changes to allow increased capital investment in China. The strategy to attract foreign finance is presented in this inaugural episode. Good opportunities are on the horizon for the Lunar New Year, begun on Feb. 12, with the Year of the Ox.

Episode 2: “BELGIUM – Heart of Europe: Experiences of COVID, Recovery and International Development” with guest, Thomas Dedeuwaerdere, a policy specialist with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

From Bruges: The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is in production in Puurs, Belgium, from where there are exports globally. The EU has global solidarity approach to contribute to vaccine distribution in the developing world. The traditional work of International Development has moved remotely to online virtual support when travel has been limited due to the pandemic.

You can also find these podcasts on Spotify.

To contact Dr. Beverly Barrett, email barretbf@stthom.edu or visit http://globalizationandchange.com/.