Longtime SIETAR USA Member Joe Lurie is featured on the latest episode of SoftPower/FulStories, a podcast detailing powerful stories from fascinating and remarkable guests--ambassadors and artists; historians and health care heroes; fearless Peace Corps alumni, aid workers, authors, and global influencers--whose unique work and poignant stories highlight the often unsung connections and collaborations happening around the world. The episode's title is, "Cross-Cultural Awakenings: From Childhood to The Peace Corps, to the School for International Training, to UC Berkeley's International House and Beyond."

Joe Lurie, the Executive Director Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley's International House, has a story, a proverb, or an eyewitness account for seemingly every occasion. Here's one from Ukraine: "You don't really see the world if you only look through your own window." From an early age, Joe has not only sought out new windows with different views, but has also made it his life's work to open these windows for as many others as possible.

UC-Berkeley's "I-House" is a dynamic multi-national residential program center serving the campus, local community, and 1,000 residents from more than 75 countries annually. Lurie served as Executive Director for more than two decades and subsequently has been a writer, teacher, intercultural trainer and consultant on cross-cultural communications. His clients have included Google, American Express, the Peace Corps, the Institute of International Education, and many others.

A former Peace Corps volunteer, he also directed programs in France, Kenya, and Ghana for the School of International Training. He also served as Vice President for AFS Intercultural Programs in the United States. His work has been featured on NPR, PBS, Harper's Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, and elsewhere. He is the author of Perception and Deception: A Mind-Opening Journey Across Cultures, and co-author of Close Encounters of a Cross-Cultural Kind.