Rotarian Edgar Lin, Deputy Director of Impact Programs, Protect Democracy

So at the end of the Constitutional Convention back in the 1700s, a reporter asked Benjamin Franklin if the delegates had created a republic or a monarchy.

Franklin famously responded, a republic if you can keep it.

emphasizing that the nation's survival depended on active civic engagement.

The role that Rotarians play in this role could not be more important.

In our world, where we gravitate to people who think like us, the people who are drawn to Rotary are willing to listen to perspectives different than their own.

People who are willing to be open to new ideas, even if they don't agree.

We as Rotarians hold a very valuable place in this community.

Yeah, civic engagement is just one element of what it takes to preserve democracy.

Today, fellow Rotarian Edgar Lynn, Deputy Director of Impact Programs for Protect Democracy, will tell you what he's been up to.

There's so much to say about Edgar, I hardly know where to begin, but I will begin by saying he was born in Taiwan in 1983.

At that time, Taiwan was still under martial law, which was not lifted until 1987, thus paving the way for democratization.

Edgar's father, a highly regarded economist, who Beth and Karen and I had dinner with when we were in Taipei for the Rotary Convention, was invited into the democratization process as an advisor and was eventually elected to Parliament.

I can't in a single sentence capture the struggles along the way, but earning recognition as Asia's most robust democracy was not easy.

However, it is easy to understand that Edgar has never taken democracy for granted.

He knows it was hard won and that we must work to keep it.

Professionally, when Edgar joined Rotary in 2014, he was working for the city as a public defender.

You may not know this, I just learned it, but in Taiwan, public defenders are heroes.

They are the lawyers who step up to defend the social dissidents, the citizens who protest potential losses of democratic power.

They protect the people.

and here in Milwaukee, Edgar worked to ensure the rights of all of our citizens were protected.

He left the Public Defender's Office after seven years and moved into private practice with a particular interest in civil rights.

He joined the bipartisan Protect Democracy in 2022, rising from the state policy strategist to his current role at the national level as Deputy Director of Impact Programs.

all along serving as a champion of democracy.

So it is with great pleasure that I welcome to the podium today, my friend and our fellow Rotarian, Edgar Lin.