Thomas DiNapoli
Thomas DiNapoli
54th Comptroller of the State of New York
Thomas P. DiNapoli is the 54th Comptroller of the State of New York. He is known for his integrity, independence and steadfast leadership. Since taking office in 2007, Tom DiNapoli has aggressively fought misuse of public resources, strengthened one of the nation’s top public pension funds, and consistently spoken out against fiscal gimmicks and government inefficiency.
Comptroller DiNapoli has changed the way the $176.8 billion state pension fund operates to increase transparency and establish strong internal controls, ensuring the strongest investment performance and ethical operations. He barred investment firms contributing to his campaign from doing business with the state pension fund. He was also a leading voice in getting the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose tough new rules on “pay to play” to prevent improper influence on investment decisions.
Protecting public funds from waste, fraud and abuse is part of Comptroller DiNapoli’s core responsiblities. His audits and efforts have identified billions in misuse, waste and savings. He has also been relied on to examine public finances and provide an independent, credible analysis of government finances. In January 2013, his office launched a Fiscal Monitoring System to score localities on their fiscal condition, sending an early warning to those in trouble.
DiNapoli spoke at The Common Good Forum 2015 on the panel “Investing the People’s Money” alongside Jane Buchan, Janet Cowell, moderated by Omeed Malik.
Twitter: @NYSComptroller
Dana Bash
Dana Bash
CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent in Washington D.C.
Dana Bash is CNN’s chief political correspondent based in Washington, D.C. and serves as the network’s lead reporter covering both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. She was the primary reporter covering the 2016 Republican field of presidential candidates and also continues to regularly serve as a moderator for CNN’s political town hall specials.
Additionally, as the network’s chief political correspondent, Bash played a key role in CNN’s 2016 presidential primary debates, serving as a questioner in six of the network’s seven primetime primary debates on both sides of the aisle. Bash also serves as a co-anchor on set in the CNN Election Center for all election night specials and is the primary fill-in anchor for Jake Tapper on CNN’s premier political show, State of the Union.
Bash attended The Common Good Forum - May 14, 2015 as a moderator for the panel Lead Up to 2016 and Beyond: US Politics Now, with Margaret Hoover, Jim McLaughlin, and Robert Zimmerman.
Twitter: @DanaBashCNN
Janet Cowell
Janet Cowell
Former Treasurer of North Carolina
Janet Cowell is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Girls Who Invest, and is the former Treasurer of North Carolina, the first woman to hold the office. She was first elected to the post in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. Cowell oversees more than $90 billion in pension investments for the more than 900,000 teachers, firefighters, and public employees in North Carolina. As Treasurer, she manages the 32nd largest public pension in the world and the third most solid in the nation.
Under Cowell’s executive leadership, North Carolina is one of only ten states in the country to earn a AAA bond rating by all three rating agencies. Treasurer Cowell was recently named one of the top 25 public pension executives in the world by Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
Cowell spoke at The Common Good Forum 2015 on the panel “Investing the People’s Money” alongside Jane Buchan, Thomas DiNapoli, moderated by Omeed Malik.
Twitter: @JanetCowell
Everett Cook
Everett Cook
Pouschine Cook Co-founder
Prior to co-founding Pouschine Cook, Everett was a managing director of Ampton Investments, Inc., where he focused on private middle market recapitalizations and acquisitions and was Chairman and CEO of Bake Rite Foods, Inc. Prior to Ampton, Everett served as an operating executive and director at several companies owned and controlled by his family. He was a vice president and director of Cook International, Inc., a vice president and director of Terminix International, Inc., a director of PBCM, Inc., and chairman of Cook Flexner & Co., Inc. Previously, he was a mortgage securities and corporate finance professional with First Pennco Securities, Inc.
Annie E. Clark
Annie Clark
Co-founder of EROC
Annie E. Clark is a co-founder of EROC, and a lead complainant in the Title IX and Clery complaints against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Political Science. She has a certificate in business, and is a former administrator at the University of Oregon. She is a contributing writer to The Huffington Post, MSNBC, and The Chronicle Vitae. After directly working with New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, she helped write the Bi-Partisan Campus Safety and Accountability Act. In 2013, she was listed alongside President Barack Obama as one of the most influential forces in higher education, and she is featured in the campus sexual assault documentary The Hunting Ground.
Clark was honored with the American Spirit Award for Citizen Activism alongside Andrea Pino at The American Spirit Awards - May 14, 2015.
Twitter: @aelizabethclark
Secretary Michael Chertoff
secretary Michael Chertoff
Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Michael Chertoff was Secretary of the U.S. Departement of Homeland Security from 2005 to 2009. He co-authored the USA Patriot Act and also transformed FEMA into an effective organization following Hurricane Katrina.
Before his role as Secretary, Mr. Chertoff served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Earlier, during more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, he dealt with cases of political corruption, organized crime, corporate fraud and terrorism – including the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Mr. Chertoff currently works at the Chertoff Group and provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues, from risk identification and prevention to preparedness, response and recovery.
He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College (1975) and Harvard Law School (1978). From 1979-1980 he served as a clerk to Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, Jr.
Mr. Chertoff spoke at The Common Good Forum - May 14, 2015.
Mr. Chertoff returned to speak at the National Security Threats event alongside Jane Harman.
Willem Hendrik Buiter
Willem Hendrik Buiter
Chief Economist of Citigroup
Willem Buiter is Chief Economist of Citigroup. Prior to his appointment at Citigroup, he was professor of European Political Economy at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England (1997-2000) and Chief Economist and Special Adviser to the President at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (2000-2005). He has held academic appointments at Princeton University, the University of Bristol, Yale University and the University of Cambridge and has been a consultant and advisor to the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, The Inter-American Development Bank, the EBRD, the European Communities and a number of national governments and government agencies. Since 2005, he is an Advisor to Goldman Sachs International. He has published widely on subjects such as open economy macroeconomics, monetary and exchange rate theory, fiscal policy, social security, economic development and transition economies. He obtained his PhD in Economics from Yale in 1975. He is a CEPR Research Fellow.
Website: http://www.willembuiter.com/
Jane Buchan
Jane Buchan
Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PAAMCO
Jane Buchan is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of PAAMCO, a global institutional investment firm based in Irvine, California, with offices in London and Singapore.
Since its founding in 2000, PAAMCO has focused on investing in hedge funds on behalf of institutional investors, and currently manages $9.5 billion on behalf of public and private pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, endowments and financial institutions.
Buchan is actively involved in initiatives to increase research and knowledge, and further the careers of women in the hedge fund industry. She currently serves as Chairwoman of the Board for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA), where she launched a CAIA Scholars Program for women interested in hedge fund portfolio management. Buchan is a founding Angel for 100 Women in Hedge Funds and also serves as a trustee for the Hedge Fund Standards Board. She also serves as a trustee and member of the investment committees for Reed College and the University of California Irvine Foundation, a member of the Advisory Board for the Master of Financial Engineering Program at University of California Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, and an Associate Editor for The Journal of Alternative Investments.
Buchan spoke at The Common Good Forum 2015 on the panel “Investing the People’s Money” alongside Janet Cowell, Thomas DiNapoli, moderated by Omeed Malik.
Bernard Kerik
Bernard Kerik
40th Police Commissioner of the City of New York
Bernard B. Kerik is one of the most controversial and accomplished leaders in law enforcement, correction, and national security in the United States. He served as the 40th Police Commissioner of the City of New York.
A high school dropout, he later volunteered for the U.S. Army, earned his GED, and served in the Military Police Corps in Korea and at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. There he taught defensive tactics at the John F. Kennedy Unconventional Warfare Center to U.S. Special Forces and special operations personnel. After his military service, he spent four years in various security assignments in Saudi Arabia. In 1981, he joined the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department in New Jersey, where he served as the Commander of Special Weapons and Operations and as Warden of the Passaic County Jail. He then became the Police Commissioner of the City of New York. His term was marked by dramatic reductions in crime, enhanced community relations, and his unflinching leadership and oversight, as he led New York City through the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11, overseeing the rescue, recovery and investigation. In 2001, he was one of the founding members of the Board of Trustees of the Twin Towers Fund, which raised and distributed $216 million to over 600 families related the emergency service workers killed on 9/11.
In March 2014, Kerik published his second book, From Jailer to Jailed: My Journey from Correction and Police Commissioner to Inmate 84888-054, documenting the 13 prior years of his life including his incarceration and personal observations of the U.S. criminal justice system. He has spoken adamantly about prison reform since his release.
Kerik was hosted by The Common Good in 2015: Law Enforcement, Corrections and Prison Reform with Former NYC Police Commissioner, Bernard Kerik.
Twitter: @BernardKerik
Danny Glover
Danny Glover
American actor, film director, political activist
Daniel Lebern “Danny” Glover is an American actor, film director and political activist. Glover is well known for his roles as Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film series, Mr. Albert Johnson in The Color Purple, cowboy Mal Johnson in Silverado, Michael Harrigan in Predator 2, corrupt cop James McFee in Witness, Colonel Isaac Johnson in Shooter, Detective David Tapp in Saw, and George Knox in Angels in the Outfield. He has also appeared in many other movies, television shows, and theatrical productions. He is an active supporter of various humanitarian and political causes.
While attending San Francisco State University (SFSU), Glover was a member of the Black Students Union, which, along with the Third World Liberation Front and the American Federation of Teachers, collaborated in a five-month student-led strike to establish a Department of Black Studies. It helped create not only the first Department of Black Studies but also the first School of Ethnic Studies in the United States. Glover was charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly after being arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington during a protest over Sudan’s humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Glover’s long history of union activism includes support for the United Farm Workers, UNITE HERE, and numerous service unions. In January 2006, Harry Belafonte led a delegation of activists, including Glover and activist/professor Cornel West, in a meeting with President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez.
Glover is a board member of The Algebra Project, The Black AIDS Institute, Walden House, Cheryl Byron’s Something Positive Dance Group, and is a member of the board of directors of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank led by economist Dean Baker. Glover is also an active board member of the TransAfrica Forum.
The Common Good hosted Glover in March of 2015; The Common Good Trip to Selma, Alabama.
Twitter: @mrdannyglover
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
American Civil Rights Activist
Jesse Jackson is a civil rights leader, Baptist minister, and politician who ran for U.S. president twice. In 1965, he went to Selma, Alabama to march with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the 1980’s, he became a leading national spokesman for African-Americans. After being appointed special envoy to Africa, he was awarded the 2000 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Reverend Jackson began his activism as a student in the summer of 1960 seeking to desegregate the local public library in Greenville, and then as a leader in the sit-in movement. In 1965, he became a full-time organizer for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He was soon appointed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to direct the Operation Breadbasket program. In December of 1971, Reverend Jackson founded Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) in Chicago, IL. The goals of Operation PUSH were economic empowerment and expanding educational, business and employment opportunities for the disadvantaged and people of color. In 1991, Reverend Jesse Jackson was elected Senator of Washington, D.C., advocating for statehood for the nation’s capital, and advancing the “rainbow” agenda at the national and international levels. Since then, he has continued to promote voter registration and lead get-out-the-vote campaigns, believing that everyone should be encouraged to be a responsible, informed and active voter.
From 1992 to 2000, Reverend Jackson hosted Both Sides With Jesse Jackson on CNN. He continues to write a weekly column of analysis which is syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/Los Angles Times. He is the author of two books: Keep Hope Alive and Straight From the Heart. In 1996, Reverend Jackson co-authored the books Legal Lynching: Racism, Injustice, and the Death Penalty and It’s About The Money with his son, U.S. Representative Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. The U.S. Post Office put his likeness on a pictorial postal cancellation, only the second living person to receive such an honor. He has been on the Gallup List of the Ten Most Respected Americans for more than a dozen years. He has received the prestigious NAACP Spingarn Award in addition to honors from hundreds of grassroots, civic and community organizations from coast to coast.
Jackson was honored by The Common Good in Selma, Alabama in 2015: The Common Good Trip to Selma, Alabama.
Twitter: @RevJJackson
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Rep. Steny Hoyer
Rep. Steny Hoyer
U.S. Representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district
Congressman Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland is a strong advocate of Democrats’ policies to strengthen America’s middle class, its economy, and its national security.
In response to the recession, Congressman Hoyer helped lead House passage of investments and tax cuts that non-partisan experts say are responsible for 3 million jobs. He is also spearheading the Make It In America agenda, a plan to rebuild American manufacturing and its well-paying jobs. Representative Hoyer made crucial contributions to the passage of legislation to expand access to affordable health care to all Americans.
As an advocate of equal opportunity, Congressman Hoyer guided the historic Americans with Disabilities Act to passage in 1990, as well as the ADA Amendments Act in 2008 which strengthened the law. He was a lead sponsor of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, which was hailed as the most important voting rights legislation since the 1960’s. And in 2010, he was a leader in successfully ending the outdated and discriminatory policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. Congressman Hoyer also served as Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, fighting for political and religious freedom during the last years of the Soviet Union. He led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to Darfur in 2007 to call greater attention to the recent genocide and has continued to support a strong American role in defense of human rights.
Congressman Hoyer spoke at a Breakfast and Discussion with: Majority Leader Steny Hoyer at The Common Good in 2009 and at The Common Good Trip to Selma, Alabama in 2015.
Twitter: @leaderhoyer
Peter Yarrow
Peter Yarrow
Artist, activist
As an artist and activist, Peter Yarrow has produced many noteworthy songs, including. “Puff, The Magic Dragon”, “Day Is Done”, “The Great Mandala” and “Light One Candle”. His musical creativity has always gone hand in hand with his commitment to social justice and equity in society.
Yarrow has been on the front lines ever since the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960’s. Over the years, many issues have moved Peter to commit his time and talent: equal rights, peace, the environment, gender equality, homelessness, hospice care and education. All have utilized his skills as both a performer and an organizer. Along with his singing partners, Noel “Paul” Stookey and Mary Travers, Peter participated in the Civil Rights Movement, which brought them to Washington in 1963 to sing for the historic march led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the equally historic Selma-Montgomery march in 1965. He went on to produce and coordinate numerous events for the Peace/anti-Vietnam War movement, including festivals at Madison Square Garden and Shea Stadium. These efforts culminated in his co-organizing the 1969 Celebration of Life, the famous march on Washington, in which some half-million people participated.
Yarrow’s most recent efforts are focused on a non-profit he founded in 1999 called Operation Respect, which disseminates a free program utilizing music and video along with curricular materials designed to establish a safe, compassionate and nurturing environment in schools and summer camps across America. Some of his other recent work involves advocacy and fund-raising for Mercy Corps.
Yarrow gave a moving tribute to Congressman John Lewis at The American Spirit Awards 2015 and spoke at The Common Good in 2015: Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.
Twitter: @PeterYarrowPPM
Admiral William Fallon
Admiral William Fallon
Four-star Admiral, Chairman of Cyber security Company CounterTack
Four-star Admiral and Chairman of cybersecurity company CounterTack, William “Fox” Fallon was the first Navy officer to head US Central Command. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called him “one of the best strategic thinkers in uniform.”
Adm. Fallon led U.S. and Allied forces in eight separate commands at the highest levels of American government before retiring after 41 years of leadership. As Commander of US Central Command from 2007 to 2008, Adm. Fallon led U.S. military forces in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa and was instrumental in the turnaround of the ground situation in Iraq. He promoted active communication between governments while in command of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. During his tenure as Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, he promoted stronger military-to-military relations between the U.S. and China.
He applies his experience in international security, political, and commercial affairs to his current role as chairman of CounterTack, Inc., a cybersecurity company. His years in the military helped shape his understanding of the rising need for cybersecurity to protect sensitive communications and critical assets and reinforced his commitment to an active response to cyber threats.
Adm. Fallon was hosted by The Common Good in 2015: Meet & Greet: Admiral William Fallon on U.S. Security.
Jeremy Ben-Ami
Jeremy Ben-Ami
Founder and President of J Street
Jeremy Ben-Ami is the founder and President of J Street, bringing to the role both deep experience in American politics and government and a passionate commitment to the state of Israel.
For nearly three years in the late 90s, Jeremy lived in Israel, where he started a consulting firm working with Israeli non-profit organizations and politicians. In the mid-1990s he moved back to the U.S. and served as the Deputy Domestic Policy Advisor in the White House to President Bill Clinton. Ben-Ami also worked on seven Presidential and numerous state and local campaigns. He was Howard Dean’s National Policy Director in 2004 and helped manage a Mayoral campaign in New York City in 2001.
He was chosen by America’s weekly Jewish newspaper, the Forward, for three years as part of the Forward 50, their compilation of the most influential Jewish Americans. He was one of 50 “People of the Decade” selected by Ha’aretz, the influential Israeli daily newspaper, and the Jerusalem Post included him in its list of the 50 Most Influential Jews in the world.
The Common Good hosted J Street’s President and Founder, Jeremy Ben-Ami, in 2014, to discuss his analysis of their poll of Jewish Americans and what their findings mean for the President’s Middle East policies going forward: Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street on Israel post U.S. MidTerm Elections - November 17, 2014.
Twitter: @JeremyBenAmi
Read more:
‘About JStreetPac’, JStreet, 2019
Rabbi Uri Pilichowski, ‘I’m an Israeli settler. This is why I spoke with J Street’s first ‘alternative Birthright’ group.’ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 25 July 2019
Many Katz, ‘The Man on J Street: The Story of Jeremy Ben-Ami’, Moment, 4 October 2011
Patrick Caddell ✝
Patrick Caddell ✝
Democratic pollster, Fox News contributor
Patrick Caddell was a Democratic pollster and Fox News contributor. He served as pollster for President Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Joe Biden and others. He is a Fox News political analyst and co-host of Political Insiders Sundays on Fox News Channel and Mondays at 10:30 am ET on FoxNews.com Live. He acted as an informal adviser to Donald Trump during the 2016 election.
Caddell passed away on February 16th, 2019, at age 68.
He was hosted by The Common Good as part of the Midterm Elections Panel - October 23, 2014 alongside Anna Greenberg, Carol E. Lee, Steve Kornacki, Jim McLaughlin, and Jefrey Pollock, moderated by John Harwood.
Twitter: @patrick_caddell
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Anna Greenberg
Anna Greenberg
Pollster
Anna Greenberg has over 15 years of experience polling in the political, non-profit and academic sectors. She joined GQRR in 2001, after teaching public opinion and survey research methodology at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. She was the lead pollster in many successful campaigns including for Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Tom Wolf, Governor Mark Dayton, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Congressman Ron Barber and Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham.
In 2014, Greenberg won the “Pollster of the Year” award from the AAPC for her work with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign for Mayor of New York City.
A sought after commentator, Greenberg has appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation, NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition, and BBC’s World News America. She regularly provides commentary on politics to publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico.
Greenberg spoke on the Midterm Elections Panel alongside Patrick Caddell, Carol E. Lee, Steve Kornacki, Jim McLaughlin, and Jefrey Pollock, moderated by John Harwood, at The Common Good in 2014.
Twitter: @Anna_Greenberg
Evan Osnos
Evan Osnos
Journalist, author
Evan Osnos is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a fellow at the Brookings Institution. Based in Washington D.C., he writes about foreign affairs and politics.
He is the author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China, which won the 2014 National Book award. Based on eight years of living in Beijing, the book traces the rise of the individual in China, and the clash between aspiration and authoritarianism. He was the China Correspondent at The New Yorker magazine from 2008 to 2013. He is a contributor to This American Life on public radio, and Frontline, the PBS series.
Prior to The New Yorker, he worked as the Beijing bureau chief of the Chicago Tribune, where he contributed to a series that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He has received the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia, the Livingston Award for Young Journalists, and a Mirror Award for profile-writing. Before his appointment in China, he worked in the Middle East, reporting mostly from Iraq.
The Common Good hosted Osnos on August 27th, 2014, as part of the TCG Leadership series: Evan Osnos On The New China. He discussed China’s 35-year political and cultural transformation, drawing on ideas authored in his book Age of Ambition.
Twitter: @eosnos
Jill Abramson
Jill Abramson
American author, journalist
Jill Abramson is an American author and journalist. She is best known as the former executive editor of The New York Times; Abramson held that position from September 2011 to May 2014. She was the first female executive editor in the paper’s 160-year history. Abramson joined the New York Times in 1997, working as the Washington bureau chief and managing editor before being named as executive editor. She previously worked for The Wall Street Journal as an investigative reporter and a deputy bureau chief.
In 2012, she was ranked number five on Forbes list of most powerful women. She was also named as one of the 500 most powerful people in the world by Foreign Policy.
In March 2016, she was hired as a political columnist for Guardian US.
In addition to her current position as a senior lecturer in Harvard’s English Department, Ms. Abramson has taught at both Princeton and Yale, where she led undergraduate writing seminars for five years. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
Abramson was hosted by The Common Good in 2014: Political Journalism with Jill Abramson - July 15, 2014.
Twitter: @JillAbramson
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky
American filmmaker, screenwriter
Aronofsky is a screenwriter, director and producer of many critically acclaimed films. Aronofsky grew up in Brooklyn, New York with two parents as school teachers. Before attending Harvard in 1987 where he studied anthropology, film and animation, he trained with The School of Field Studies as a research biologist in Kenya and Alaska. He graduated from Harvard with honors in 1991 and went on to accrue similar high esteem from AFI Conservatory, as he was not only awarded his M.F.A. in directing, but the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal.
His films include the sports drama The Wrestler, which received Academy Award nominations, The Fighter, Black Swan, and the biblically inspired epic Noah. Aronofsky himself received nominations for Best Director at the Golden Globes, and a Directors Guild of America Award nomination.
Aronofsky spoke at The Common Good Forum & The American Spirit Awards - June 2, 2014.
Twitter: @DarrenAronofsky
