Events

Josh Bates, author of The Baghdad Shuffle, will visit and speak at the Rotary Club of Waikiki on April 1, 2026.  He served as an infantry and intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps from 2000 to 2022.  His service included combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and multiple operational assignments throughout the Indo-Pacific.  Josh’s formal education includes a BA in Political Science from the University of San Diego, an MA in Military Studies from the Marine Corps University, an MA in Diplomacy and Military Affairs from Hawai’i Pacific University, and a graduate certificate in China Intelligence Issues from the National Intelligence University.  Josh served as an adjunct instructor for both the National Intelligence University and the Marine Corps University’s College of Distance Education and Training.  His literary interests focus on hardboiled crime fiction and espionage/military thrillers. Josh lives with his family in Kailua, Hawai’i where he surfs, spearfishes, and provides technical and content advisement for a variety of media projects. The Baghdad Shuffle is his first novel.

The Rotary Club of Waikiki is pleased to welcome Arleen Velasco as our guest speaker this week.

Arleen Velasco is an engineer with a small research firm in Honolulu and has worked for Hawaiʻi-based companies for more than 30 years. Fourteen years ago, she moved to Hawaiʻi and finally had the opportunity to devote more of her time to causes she has long cared about: protecting the ocean and strengthening local communities.

Arleen currently serves as Vice Chair of the Oʻahu Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation and Vice Chair of Diamond Head Neighborhood Board No. 5. Her engineering research background, combined with her deep love of the ocean, has led her to become actively involved in many of Hawaiʻi’s environmental challenges, including plastic pollution, coastal erosion, and ocean-water contamination caused by sewage.

Arleen will discuss the past and current work of the Blue Water Task Force, a Surfrider Foundation citizen-science program that tests beaches on Oʻahu for evidence of sewage pollution. Through this program, community volunteers help monitor coastal water quality and provide valuable information that can help protect Hawaiʻi’s beaches, ocean, and communities.

We look forward to learning from Arleen's experiences, insights, and contributions to our community.

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