An evening with Steve Bannon

The Common Good hosted an evening with former White House Chief Strategist and former executive chairman of Breitbart News, Steve Bannon. The conversation was moderated by John Avlon, Senior news correspondent for CNN.

Discussed at the event were topics including Globalism, nationalism, The growing threat of an emergent China, and election interference during the 2016 election.

Steve Bannon is a former Media executive, Political Strategist, and White House Staff member. He is also one of the co-founders of Breitbart News.

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Nouriel Roubini: Global Economic Risks

The Common Good hosted a special discussion where world renowned economist Nouriel Roubini discussed a variety of tail risks for the global economy and markets. Including: Brexit, US-China trade and tech tensions, US-Iran relations and the risk of an Oil-Price shock. He also answered questions from those attending, addressing the likelihood of an imminent economic recession, as well as the changing methods of tracking and understanding the economy. After the event, our host provided guests with a lovely dinner.

Nouriel Roubini is a Professor of Economics and International Business at New York University Stern School of Business. He is also the co-founder and chairman of Roubini Global Economics, an independent, global macroeconomic and market strategy research firm.

2020 Presidential Candidates Series: The Common Good hosted a Meet and Greet with presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson

The Common Good was proud to present a special discussion with presidential candidate Marianne Williamson as part of the Presidential Candidate series. Ms. Williamson spoke on numerous topics including her agenda which would include a Department of Peace, a focus on childhood education, healthcare, reparations, and the environment.

Ms. Williamson is an author, activist and international spiritual lecturer. Ms. Williamson has authored 14 books including 4 #1 New York Times best sellers. She is the founder of Project Angel Food, a volunteer food delivery program that serves home-bound people with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. Ms. Williamson also co-founded the Peace Alliance, a non-profit education and advocacy organization supporting peace-building projects.

Left: The Common Good Founder and CEO Patricia Duff, Center: Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson

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Marianne Williamson campaign provides the American people with the option of choosing another way -- not just a better version of same old, same old politics, but a genuine pattern disruption that allows for breakthroughs and possibilities that will not otherwise occur. It is for those who want the person sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office to be someone with an expanded sense of what is necessary, as well as what's possible, in the 21st Century.

Ms. Williamson spoke about working with congress to create a cabinet level - Department of Peace. Ending the scourge of violence in the United States and across the planet requires more than suppressing violence. Lasting peace requires its active and systematized cultivation at every level of government and society. The U.S. Department of Peace will coordinate and spur the efforts we need to make our country and the world a safer place. Nothing short of broad-scale investment and government reorientation can truly turn things around. Both domestically and internationally, she wants to dramatically ramp up the use of proven powers of peace-building, including dialogue, mediation, conflict resolution, economic and social development, restorative justice, public health approaches to violence prevention, trauma-informed systems of care, social and emotional learning in schools, and many others.

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Syria Debacle

The Common Good hosted a special conference call with Ambassador Robert Ford, former US Ambassador to Syria. Ambassador Ford gave credible insights into the state of the dispute in Syria, and the future of the current state in the Middle East.

The Common Good was honored to offer members a fresh take on the Syria conflict in a conference call with former US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford. Mr. Ford is a decorated diplomat who served as Ambassador to Syria under the Obama administration, with an extensive diplomatic tenure in Iraq as well as Northern Africa.

Ambassador Ford discussed many of the key proceedings taking place in Syria, including new developments such as the insertion of the Turkish military into the conflict. Mr. Ford has a decorated history of diplomacy in the Middle East. In 2012, he was rewarded by the John F. Kennedy library in Boston with the annual Profile in Courage Award for his defense of human rights in Syria. His expertise on these issues provided members with unique insights towards the ramifications of Turkey’s actions, such as potential consequences regarding NATO as well as the US relationship with the democracy supportive Kurds.

The Ambassador opened up the call to highly educated questions from informed members who shared his concerns on the conflict. His responses provided a plethora of distinct perspectives, unique to someone of his expertise.

The Rise of Lincoln & U.S. Division

The Common Good was proud to present a special discussion between Sidney Blumenthal, author, journalist, and past Presidential advisor, and John Avlon, CNN anchor, Senior Political Analyst and author. They dove into one of the most divisive periods in American history, the unlikely political ascendance of President Abraham Lincoln, and how Lincoln’s story is relevant today. The event was in co-sponsorship with Cooper Union and held in their Great Hall - the site where Lincoln gave one of the most important speeches in US history.

Sidney Blumenthal is an acclaimed journalist and author of many books including A Self-Made Man, Wrestling with His Angel and All the Powers of Earth, the first three volumes in his five-volume biography series The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln that the New York Times book review has called “Magisterial...A vividly written, wide-ranging and often surprising account of the president-to-be.” He is the former assistant and senior adviser to President Bill Clinton and senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. He has been a national staff reporter for The Washington Post and Washington editor and writer for The New Yorker. His books include the bestselling The Clinton Wars, The Rise of the Counter-Establishment, and The Permanent Campaign. He was the executive producer of the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, directed by Alex Gibney, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary of 2007.

John Avlon is senior political analyst and anchor at CNN. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief and managing director of The Daily Beast between 2013 and 2018, during which time the site's traffic more than doubled to over one million readers a day while winning 17 journalism awards. He is the author of the books Independent Nation, Wingnuts, and Washington’s Farewell as well as co-editor of the acclaimed Deadline Artists journalism anthologies. Avlon served as chief speechwriter to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and won the National Society of Newspaper Columnists award for best online column in 2012. He lives with his wife Margaret Hoover, the author of American Individualism, host of PBS’s Firing Line and a CNN contributor, and their two children in New York. He is now working on a book about Lincoln.

Watch the full event below:

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The Great Hack

The Common Good hosted a special screening of the Netflix documentary The Great Hack, and a riveting conversation with Brittany Kaiser, whistle-blower formerly at Cambridge Analytica, Director Jehane Noujaim, and Founder & CEO of The Common Good Patricia Duff.

Data has surpassed oil as the world’s most valuable asset. It’s being weaponized to wage cultural and political warfare. People everywhere are in a battle for control of our most intimate personal details. From award-winning filmmakers Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, The Great Hack uncovers the dark world of data exploitation with astounding access to the personal journeys of key players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal.

The Great Hack is alarming - it shows how data is being used to hijack our elections and our democracy and how the internet is being used not only for information, but as a weapon. Citizens’ data is collected without their knowledge or permission, often for alarming reasons. Data is being used to drive wedges of fear and hate between us in order for one side to win elections, undermining our democracy and putting us all at risk. What do we give up when we tap that phone or keyboard and share ourselves in the digital age? Are our old democratic institutions too susceptible? What reforms do we need?

Brittany, Jehane and Patricia dove into these topics in discussion following the film, looking at legislation on the table to protect us and addressed how we can educate society to be less vulnerable to online targeting, sharing shocking revelations about the extent of information collected on us through digital data, and warning that even if social media ceases to exist, the data never does.

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Brittany Kaiser is an American former business development director for Cambridge Analytica which collapsed after details of its misuse of Facebook data were revealed to have potentially impacted voting in the U.K and the U.S. Kaiser testified about her involvement in the work of Cambridge Analytica before the U.K. Parliament and in private before the Mueller Investigation. She is the founder of the #OwnYourData campaign and cofounder of the Digital Asset Trade Association (DATA), a nonprofit lobbying firm advancing legislative and policy reform to protect the rights of individuals to control their own digital assets.

Jehane Noujaim is an Academy Award nominated director and one of two non-fiction directors to have won the Directors Guild Award twice. Her Oscar nominated film, The Square (2013), won the Audience Award both at Sundance and Toronto. Noujaim has produced and directed other award-winning films including Rafea: Solar Mama (2013), Control Room (2004) and Startup.com (2001). In 2006, Noujaim was awarded the TED prize which she used to create Pangea Day. Noujaim’s work has been nominated by the DGA, IDA, Independent Spirit and several Critics Association Awards. Noujaim’s most recent release was an animated feature, The Breadwinner (2017) which she executive produced with Angelina Jolie and which was nominated for a 2018 Academy Award.

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Athens Democracy Forum

Members of The Common Good had the special opportunity to attend the Athens Democracy Forum, a pivotal conference addressing the impact of the current feeble state of democracy on our world and on businesses alike.

The Athens Democracy Forum was hosted by New York Times Op-Ed columnist Roger Cohen and programmed by editorial board member Serge Schmemann, and was held by the Democracy and Culture Foundation, an independent nonprofit entity, in association with The New York Times. The conference coincides with the Arraiolos Group meeting, bringing together various European Union heads of state in Athens.

The theme was “Reinventing Democracy: New Models for Our Changing World”.

The key topics that were discussed include:

• We and Them: The Tectonic Plates of Nationalism and Multiculturalism

• The Echo Chamber and the Agora: The Use and Abuse of New and Social Media

• The Cost of Inequality: Where Has All the Money Gone?

• Back to Basics: What Must Be Done to Restore Faith in Democracy

The 2019 Athens Democracy Forum gathered acclaimed speakers including: 

•  Prokopios Pavlopoulos, President of Greece

• Michael Higgins, President of Ireland  

• Juan Manuel Santos, Former President, Republic of Colombia

• Bernard-Henri Levy, French Philosopher

• Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner

• Wole Soyinka, Poet and Nobel Literature Laureate

• Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor, State of California

• HE Laura Chinchilla, Former President of Costa Rica

• Margot Wallstrom, Foreign Minister of Sweden

• Ivan Krastev, Centre for Liberal Studies

• Maria Schmidt, Advisor to PM Victor Orban

• George Papandreou, Former Prime Minister of Greece

• Jay Weatherill, Industry Professor, University of South Australia

• Kassem Eid, Palestinian-Syrian Refugee

• Sergei Karaganov, Russian Council of Foreign Policy

• Anna Diamantopoulou, Former EU Commissioner

• Katharina Schulze, Leader of the Alliance ‘90/The Greens in Germany

•  Ory Okolloh, Activist & Managing Director, Luminate Africa

• Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Youth Envoy

• Paul Polman, Former C.E.O., Unilever and Co-Founder & Chair, Imagine 

• Kostas Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens

•  Annika Savill, Executive Head UNDEF

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Hot Politics

The Common Good hosted a special discussion with Frank Luntz, and Ari Melber on “Hot Politics”. Both Luntz and Melber have credibility for political insights at opposite ends of the political divide - and also down the middle and offered their insight.

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Frank Luntz is an American political consultant, pollster, and "public opinion guru" best known for developing talking points and other messaging for various Republican causes. His work has included assistance with messaging for Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, and public relations support for pro-Israel policies in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He advocated use of vocabulary crafted to produce a desired effect; including use of the term death tax instead of estate tax,and climate change instead of global warming.Luntz has appeared as a consultant or panel member on a number of television news shows, including The Colbert Report, Capital Gang, Good Morning America, Hannity, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Meet the Press, PBS NewsHour, Nightline, The O'Reilly Factor, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The Today Show. He has written op-eds for publications such as The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Ari Melber is an American Emmy-winning reporter, lawyer, and writer. He serves as a Chief Legal Correspondent for MSNBC where he covers the Justice Department, Supreme Court, FBI and legal issues. He serves as journalist for NBC News and also host of MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber. The Detroit Free Press named The Beat with Ari Melber one of the “best” TV shows of 2017. Vanity Fair reported that the show established itself as an influential and “vocal critic” of Facebook’s impact on democracy, while The Hollywood Reporter stated that Melber’s show is proving to be a “success,” and “there are few cable news hosts more perfectly suited” to breaking down legal issues in the news. In a 2014 profile, the Columbia Journalism Review dubbed Melber a “rising star” who “wants to solve problems.” He is a former columnist for Politico and Reuters, and his writing has been published in several books and a variety of news outlets, including the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the Nation and the New York Daily News, among other publications.

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Siege: Trump Under Fire

The Common Good hosted a special discussion with Michael Wolff, New York Times bestselling author and journalist to discuss his book, Siege: Trump Under Fire. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Fire and Fury.

Just one year into Donald Trump’s term as president, Michael Wolff told the electrifying story of a White House consumed by controversy, chaos, and intense rivalries. Fire and Fury, an instant sensation, defined the first phase of the Trump administration; now, in Siege, Wolff has written an equally essential and explosive book about a presidency that is under fire from almost every side.

At the outset of Trump’s second year as president, his situation is profoundly different. No longer tempered by experienced advisers, he is more impulsive and volatile than ever. But the wheels of justice are inexorably turning: Robert Mueller’s “witch hunt” haunts Trump every day, and other federal prosecutors are taking a deep dive into his business affairs. Many in the political establishment―even some members of his own administration―have turned on him and are dedicated to bringing him down. The Democrats see victory at the polls, and perhaps impeachment, in front of them. Trump, meanwhile, is certain he is invincible, making him all the more exposed and vulnerable. Week by week, as Trump becomes increasingly erratic, the question that lies at the heart of his tenure becomes ever more urgent: Will this most abnormal of presidencies at last reach the breaking point and implode?

Both a riveting narrative and a brilliant front-lines report, Siege provides an alarming and indelible portrait of a president like no other. Surrounded by enemies and blind to his peril, Trump is a raging, self-destructive inferno―and the most divisive leader in American history.

"...it was a quiet weekend in Southampton, small family dinners, punctuated by a Common Good conversation with Michael Wolff, author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, and now The Siege: Trump Under Fire. Bonnie Lautenberg, widow of Senator Frank Lautenberg, and accomplished photographer, hosted in her lovely Watermill home, filled with her pictures of moments in history, captured during her fascinating life with Frank, and her new series of film stills married with artwork from the same period. To Wolff’s credit, or was it … when asked if he would comment on Epstein (before his demise), he said ‘No’." - Debbie Bancroft, New York Social Diary

Michael Wolffe is an American journalist, author, columnist and internet entrepreneur. He’s the founder of the news aggregation website ‘Newser’. His books include Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House (2018) and Burn rate: How I survived the Gold Rush Years on the Internet (1998). He’s written columns for publications like The Hollywood Reporter and USA Today. Wolf was born on August 27, 1953 in Paterson, New Jersey. His father, Lewis, worked in advertising, while his mother, Marguerite, worked as a newspaper reporter. He attended Vassar College followed by Columbia University.

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2020 Presidential Candidates Series: Congressman Seth Moulton

The Common Good was proud to present a special discussion with presidential candidate Congressman Seth Moulton as part of the Presidential Candidate Series. Congressman Moulton spoke on his experience as a veteran of the Iraq War and Congressman who defeated an 18-year Democratic incumbent. He also addressed vision and policy prescriptions for the country, which include: better care for veterans; passing a pro-democracy reform bill to expand voting access for all Americans; tackling climate change; growing the US economy by promoting green jobs, advanced manufacturing, and fixing our broken infrastructure; ensuring military-style weapons are not in civilian hands; and implementing a public option to improve healthcare access.

Congressman Seth Moulton is an Iraq War Veteran and Congressman who serves the 6th District of Massachusetts. He joined the Marines in 2001 days after graduating from college and months before the attacks on 9/11. As the leader of an infantry platoon, he was among the first Americans to reach Baghdad in 2003. Moulton ran for Congress in 2014 on a platform of bringing a new generation of leadership to Washington, becoming the only Democrat to unseat an incumbent in a primary in 2014. Moulton has worked to uphold his commitment to bipartisanship. Seth also works to get more veterans in politics with his organization Serve America, where Seth and his team have mentored candidates, raised millions of dollars for them, and campaigned alongside them, flipping 16 state and local offices in 2018.

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2020 Presidential Candidates Series: Governor Steve Bullock

The Common Good was proud to present a special discussion with presidential candidate Governor Steve Bullock as part of the Presidential Candidate Series. Governor Bullock spoke on trying to win back middle America with centrist progressive approaches around healthcare, Medicaid, pre-Kindergarten, and STEM education, supporting reproductive freedoms and LGBTQ+ rights, and getting dark money out of politics. This event space was graciously provided by First Republic Bank and hosted by Rohan Dalal.

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Governor Steve Bullock is a politician, attorney, and former professor. He was elected Montana’s 24th Governor in 2012 and reelected in 2016. Throughout his career Bullock has emphasizes his desire to bring people together and bridge partisan divides. As Governor, he has fought on behalf of workers, students, and families, working with a Republican legislature to expand Medicaid, pass an Earned Income Tax Credit, and establish the state’s first public pre-K. He was also the first governor in the country to protect net neutrality through Executive Order.

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Debate Watch Party

With so many Democratic presidential hopefuls, the first 2020 debate was held over two nights - Wednesday, June 26 and Thursday, 27. The Common Good was grateful to Joseph Fichera, CEO of Saber Partners, LLC, for the opportunity to host a viewing party for the second night.

These were incredible evenings with the most diverse field of candidates to ever take the stage, and TCG members from across the political spectrum came together to share in an engaging and illuminating viewing. It was a fun and energetic night of lively debate, collaboration, and listening, and we cannot wait for the next one and hope to see you all there!

NIGHT 2 – THURSDAY JUNE 27

Sen. Kamala Harris, fmr. Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Gov. John Hickenlooper, author Marianne Williamson, Rep. Eric Swalwell, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, and Sen. Michael Bennet.

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Meet & Greet: Representative Steve Cohen

The Common Good was proud to present a special meet and greet with Congressman Steve Cohen [D-TN], hosted by Charles Myers, Chairman, and Jason Press, Senior Partner, Signum Global.

As a member of the important House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Cohen plays a crucial role in oversight of the Executive Branch and a check and balance on possible wrongdoings or overreaches. He has already overseen testimony from Attorney General William Barr, Michael Cohen, and other members of the Trump administration. As calls for impeachment continue to grow following the Mueller report, Congressman Cohen has become a lead voice for a vigorous approach to these investigations.

Congressman Steve Cohen has represented Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District since 2007. His thoughtful legislation on civil rights and justice has distinguished him throughout his tenure, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi dubbing him “the conscience of the freshman class” in 2008. Prior to his election to the United States House of Representatives, he served for 24 years in the Tennessee State Senate. He currently serves several House Committees including the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Judiciary Committee, where he serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

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Art and Activism in Amsterdam with Ai Weiwei

The Common Good offered an extraordinary opportunity in Amsterdam with one of the world’s most important living artists/dissidents, Ai Weiwei. He discussed the artist’s responsibility in this new age. Ai Weiwei is one of the world’s most prominent contemporary artists and a renowned political activist. Dictatorship, human rights abuses, damage to the environment, the suffering of refugees – in his work, Ai Weiwei uncompromisingly addresses the most urgent issues facing the world today. His political activism and creative brilliance made him one of the world’s most appreciated and relevant artists, at great personal risk: he was arrested, had his passport confiscated and his studio destroyed by the authorities.

This was made possible with a partnership with the Nexus Institute and Nexus Institute President Rob Riemen.

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist and activist. His activity as a dissident has gone hand in hand with his artistic career and he has continued to produce work testifying to his political beliefs while at the same time making plenty of room for creativity and experimentation. (1)

After returning to China from his studies abroad, Ai contributed to the establishment of Beijing’s East Village, a community of avant-garde artists. In 1997, he co-founded the China Art Archives & Warehouse (CAAW), one of the first independent art spaces in China. In 2003, Ai started his own architecture practice, FAKE Design. In 2007, as a participant of documenta 12, Ai brought 1001 Chinese citizens to Kassel as part of his Fairytale project. In 2008, Ai and the Swiss architecture team of Herzog and de Meuron designed the Beijing National Stadium. Recently, Ai Weiwei’s film Human Flow participed in the 74th Venice International Film Festival. (1)

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(1) Material from the Galleria Continua website.

2020 Presidential Candidates Series: Governor Jay Inslee

The Common Good was proud to present a special event with Presidential Candidate Gov. Jay Inslee [D-WA], the first of our Presidential Candidate series. Governor Inslee has made climate change a key issue of his campaign and shared invaluable insights on the 2020 race and what lies ahead for his campaign.

Governor Jay Inslee has led Washington State since 2013 and has made fighting climate change his number one priority in his presidential campaign. As governor, he has enacted policies that make Washington state a national leader in clean energy, clean air and clean water. He created a new Clean Energy Fund that has invested over $100 million in developing innovative energy techniques and growing clean energy jobs, as well as the Clean Energy Institute at the University of Washington, which is pioneering research into next-generation renewable energy technologies like solar and battery storage. Prior to his governorship, Inslee represented Washington’s 1st and 4th Districts in the House, where he voted against the Iraq War and championed investments to grow America’s clean energy industries.

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The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019

The Common Good Forum is an annual program presenting headline issues and the most important, forward-looking ideas affecting public policy and our lives. This year we built a remarkable roster for our annual event, with 30+ participants from government, media, business, foreign affairs and tech, as well as public policy activists.

Our theme this year was

“Rethinking the Democracy Compact”

The very foundations of our nation and the global order have shifted: institutions and gatekeepers are bypassed, societal norms are reorienting and governments are being rearranged - for better or worse. What drives these changes? How do they impact our democracy’s future? Most importantly, how can we harness them?

We presented fascinating discussions on the global transformations underway – greatest international threats and changes from new geopolitical escalations and vacuums; national challenges and our inability to confront our biggest transformations from broken government to gross economic disparities and climate change; growing a vibrant economy and jobs for today and tomorrow; the high-tech and social media revolution and its dangers and opportunities; our shifting political realities, the 2020 race and the impact of activism, immigration, populism, and identity; Fake news and pressure on journalism and freedom of the press here abroad; new scientific and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and gene editing – in short, configuring anew for a society that is human-centred, inclusive and sustainable.   

Agenda:

Welcome

Patricia Duff, Founder, The Common Good

Smithsonian Briefing: “The Future of the Women’s Museum”

Emily Rafferty, Karri Brady and Wendy Pangburn

Changemaker Scholarships

Jamie Margolin, age 17 and Alexandria Villaseñor, age 13. Presented by ABC’s Juju Chang and Sharon Patrick

Women & Power

Kay Koplovitz, Mia Love, Sally Quinn, and Alessandra Stanley. Moderated by Juju Chang

The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas

Matt Bennett, Margaret Hoover, Steve Israel, Claire McCaskill, and Rick Tyler. Moderated by Errol Louis.

Can’t We All Just Get Along? How Washington Can Best Serve the Nation”

Senator Doug Jones

Renewing Democracy

Max Boot, Nicole Austin-Hillery, Cohen Curtis, and Michael Waldman. Moderated by Ari Melber

Growing a Fair Economy

Alan Schwartz and Stephanie Ruhle

Artificial Intelligence & Warfare

Major General (Ret.) Dr. Robert Latiff

World View: Security Challenges & Opportunities

Ambassador Bill Burns, Ambassador Nicholas Burns and Former Congressman Jane Harman. Moderated by Edward Luce

Rule of Law, Corruption, and Abuse of Power

Bill Browder and Preet Bharara. Moderated by John Avlon

Journalism & Democracy

Tom Brokaw, Lesley Stahl, and Sir Harry Evans

Citizen Activism & TRIBUTE TO robert f. kennedy

Kerry Kennedy

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Fareed Zakaria

American Spirit Awardees

Sir Harry Evans

Courage in Journalism

Lesley Stahl

Courage in Journalism

Preet Bharara

Distinguished Public Service

Bill Browder

Citizen Activism

Changemaker Scholarship Recipients

Jamie Margolin

Climate Change Action

Alexandria Villasenor

Climate Change Action

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Discussion with Ambassador Martin Indyk

The Common Good presented a timely discussion with Ambassador Martin Indyk, US ambassador to Israel 1995-1997 & 2000-2001, regarding the Israeli election on April 9th and the resulting impact on the region.

“Change may be afoot in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a 10th term but faces strong competition from General Benny Gantz and his recently formed Israel Resilience Party (Hosen LeYisrael).  If Netanyahu is ousted, this could reverberate across the region and the world – peace, war, it all hangs in the balance. How will this election and its potentially surprising results pan out? Ambassador Indyk will provide us with necessary insight into how the election unfolded, the results, and what it means for Israel and the world”

Ambassador Martin Indyk was US ambassador to Israel from 1995-1997 and 2000-2001, and long has been a diplomat and foreign relations analyst with expertise in the Middle East. Indyk served as ambassador during the Clinton administration, and also took on the role of Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. During the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 2013, President Barack Obama appointed Indyk as Washington’s special Middle East envoy. His diplomatic expertise is lauded by politicians in the USA, Israel, and Palestinian alike. Presently, Indyk is the executive vice president of the Brookings Institution, an American research group specializing in social sciences.

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Vicky Ward Investigative Reporter and New York Times bestselling author "Kushner, Inc."

The Common Good was proud to present a very timely discussion with investigative reporter and New York Times bestselling author Vicky Ward on “Kushner, Inc.” Ward will unpack the story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s rise to extraordinary power in Trump’s White House. This event was hosted by Ambassador Joseph R. Paolino.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are the self-styled Prince and Princess of America. Their swift, gilded rise to extraordinary power in Donald Trump’s White House is unprecedented and dangerous. In Kushner, Inc., investigative journalist Vicky Ward digs beneath the myth the couple has created, depicting themselves as the voices of reason in an otherwise crazy presidency, and reveals that Jared and Ivanka are not just the President’s chief enablers: they, like him, appear disdainful of rules, of laws, and of ethics. They are entitled inheritors of the worst kind; their combination of ignorance, arrogance, and an insatiable lust for power has caused havoc all over the world, and may threaten the democracy of the United States.

Ward follows their trajectory from New Jersey and New York City to the White House, where the couple’s many forays into policy-making and national security have mocked long-standing U.S. policy and protocol. They have pursued an agenda that could increase their wealth while their actions have mostly gone unchecked. In Kushner, Inc., Ward holds Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump accountable: she unveils the couple’s self-serving transactional motivations and how those have propelled them into the highest levels of the US government where no one, the President included, has been able to stop them.

Vicky Ward: Vicky Ward is a New York Times bestselling author, investigative reporter, and magazine columnist. She is the author of bestselling books The Liar’s Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How one Building Broke the World’s Toughest Tycoons (Wiley). She is an editor at large at HuffPost and HuffPost’s long-form magazine, Highline, as well as Town & Country magazine. She was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair for eleven years, where she covered politics, finance, art, and culture.

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Political Briefing: "Election 2020: Messaging and Strategy"

The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Guy Cecil. Chairman, Priorities USA, on “Election 2020: Messaging and Strategy”. What are the issues and messages that moved voters in 2018? What are the powerhouse approaches in 2018? He has spent years on the forefront of the national and local political arena working with numerous campaigns across the country. This event was hosted by Karen and Dennis Mehiel.

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Guy Cecil is one of America’s leading political strategists. He is currently the Chairman of Priorities USA Action, and independent political action committee, and the Founder of Miles Strategies. Guy has more than 15 years of experience managing high-profile political, non-profit, and corporate issue advocacy campaigns, including having served as Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He is recognized as a leading Democratic strategist with experience in every region of the country, including senate races in 35 states.

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Rule of Law, Investigations, Testing the New Supremes

The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with one of the leading legal experts in the nation, Laurence Tribe, co-hosted by Fern Hurst and moderated by John Heilemann, host of Showtime’s The Circus, and the National Affairs Analyst, NBC News. Dr. Tribe discussed the many critical legal issues facing the nation that could bring sweeping changes and surprises: the investigations related to Trump, from Mueller to the House; the new Supreme Court and the consequential cases it is likely to hear; and the importance of the legal efforts regarding immigration, asylum, voting rights, and presidential financial entanglements with the foreign powers, among other possible areas of interest.

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Laurence Tribe, The Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard, has taught at the Law School since 1968. Tribe helped write the constitutions of South Africa, the Czech Republic, and the Marshall Islands, and prevailed in three-fifths of the many appellate cases he has argued including 35 in the U.S. Supreme Court. Tribe was appointed in 2010 by President Obama and Attorney General Holder to serve as the first Senior Consular at the Dep’t of Justice for Access to Justice. He has written 115 books and articles, most recently, To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment. His treatise, “American Constitutional Law”, has been cited more than any other legal text since the 1950s.

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