Events

Artificial Intelligence: Do Not Be Afraid. Knowledge is Power.

Samson Marcos Tse is a software engineer who has spent his whole life in California and still managed to move constantly: raised on computers, he has called San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco home, collecting traffic complaints and tech jobs in every one of them.

He was there for the last AI rush, building systems at IBM Watson, and he is here for the current one, leading engineering efforts at Unity Technologies, where he helped build the Unity Rewards platform used by players around the world. Along the way he has cofounded a startup, designed backend systems that process billions of transactions a day, taught kids to code, and built games purely for the fun of it, proof that a decade in the industry has not entirely ruined his sense of play.

Samson describes himself as an AI expert, but not an expert on AI, a distinction he promises to explain. A dedicated Rotarian who has led numerous service projects across his community, he believes technology belongs to everyone willing to learn it. His message is simple: do not be afraid. Knowledge is power.

Building Bridges Through Rotary

In conjunction with San Diego Climate Week, and Rotary Clubs in the U.S. and Mexico, Steve will showcase inspiring initiatives including the Tijuana River Project, Pollinators Without Borders and other cross-border environmental efforts.

About Steve Bender

Steve Bender is a global sustainability leader and strategic advisor with decades of experience building partnerships, launching environmental initiatives, and helping organizations grow in ways that are both responsible and resilient.

He is the CEO of Sea 2 Sky Solutions, an international consulting firm focused on sustainable innovation and collaboration; the head of Newport Homes, where he leads work in green building, affordable housing, and sustainable building design; and the CEO of The 7 Seas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the world's oceans. Steve also serves as Global Head of Strategic Partnerships and Revenue Growth at EarthX.

Steve serves as Chairman of the Board of the United States Green Chamber of Commerce. As a founding director of both the U.S. Green Chamber and the California Green Chamber, he is widely recognized for bringing business, government, and nonprofit leaders together around shared sustainability goals, always with a focus on making sustainability work for business.

His conservation and civic leadership include serving as President of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach, The Rotary Global Service Club, as well as Director of the Environmental and Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) for Western North America, supporting environmental projects across more than 1,700 Rotary clubs. He also serves on the Rotary Climate Action Team and is a former President of the Newport Bay Conservancy.

Steve is the founder of Rebuild Ukraine Green, an initiative working with international partners to support post-conflict recovery in Ukraine. In collaboration with Rotary, Steve also focuses on funding landmine removal from agricultural regions and supporting a prosthetic hand program to help civilians injured by the conflict regain mobility and independence.

A certified Master Diver with a lifelong love of the ocean, Steve works closely with businesses, governments, NGOs, and international organizations to turn sustainability goals into practical, measurable, and lasting impact.

About the Program

As Americans prepare to vote in another critical contest, do they trust that it will be a free and fair election and that ballots will be counted accurately?

Professor Thad Kousser will share findings from a new national survey on trust in elections and draw on the work of a team of scholars centered at UC San Diego that partners with election officials across the country. Since the 2020 election, these officials have conducted public-information campaigns designed to provide voters with factual, nonpartisan information about election safeguards. The research team has supplied rigorous, real-time data to support those efforts and strengthen public confidence in American democracy. This timely discussion will examine the lessons learned and what they mean as the nation approaches the 2026 midterms.

About Thad Kousser

Thad Kousser is a professor of political science at UC San Diego and an associate dean of Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs. He co-directs the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections and the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research. His research focuses on American state and national politics, election administration, voting reforms, direct democracy, public opinion, and trust in elections.

Professor Kousser joined the UC San Diego faculty in 2003 and served as chair of the Department of Political Science from 2016 to 2022. He has worked as a staff assistant in the California, New Mexico, and United States Senates and regularly comments on American politics for outlets including NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, and San Diego Union-Tribune. He received his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Related research: Read the September 2026 national survey on trust in elections and visit UC San Diego's Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections.

About Nathan Moeder

Nathan Moeder is widely considered one of the West Coast’s foremost authorities on the financial feasibility of real estate projects. He serves as a strategic consultant who advises a wide array of clients from the perspective of real estate economics.

His clients include real estate developers, investors, corporations, financial institutions, businesses, and public agencies. His project assignments span all real estate sectors, including residential developments, office buildings, industrial, hotel, retail, and mixed-use projects. He brings extensive experience and financial expertise as an advisor and analyst to successful projects and assignments throughout North America.

Mr. Moeder is a member of Lambda Alpha International, a land economics society. He served on the San Diego/Tijuana Urban Land Institute board for 14 years, where he founded the Young Leaders program.

He is an Advanced Toastmaster and speaks regularly to industry and business organizations on global economic trends and real estate land-use issues at the local and national levels. He has been quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Baja Times, California Real Estate Journal, National Real Estate Investor, Meridian Star, San Diego Daily Transcript, and San Diego Business Journal. His radio and television appearances have included Channel 39 KNBC, Channel 10 KABC, Channel 8 KFMB, Channel 9 KUSI, and other local outlets.

Mr. Moeder received his B.A. in Economics in 1998, with a concentration in mathematical economic theory, from the University of San Diego. He also holds a Master of Science in Real Estate degree from USD, where he participated in its inaugural class.

Mark your calendar for another Rotary Insider Tour.

Join us Friday, November 13, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, featuring Old Masters, Impressionists and more.

Logistics and sign-ups to come.

Contact: jpercival@scribecommunications.com

Learn more about the San Diego Museum of Art

By popular demand, Eduardo Velasquez returns to LJGT Rotary.

Eduardo Velasquez, Vice President of the San Diego Regional EDC, will share San Diego's Economic Outlook 2027 and a look at what may be ahead for the region.