Steve Coll
Steve Coll
Author, journalist
Steve Coll was appointed Dean of Columbia Journalism School in 2013 after serving as president of New America Foundation from 2007-2013. He joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2005 and continues to write for the publication covering topics such as intelligence, politics, national security, and the media. Coll, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is the author of eight nonfiction books, a former reporter, foreign correspondent, and senior editor at the Washington Post (1985-2005).
Coll was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Steve Coll.
Twitter: @SteveCollNY
Robert Hormats
Robert Hormats
Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates
Robert D. ‘Bob’ Hormats was sworn in as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs on September 23, 2009. Hormats was formerly Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs (International). He joined Goldman Sachs in 1982. He served as Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary, from 1977 to 1979, and Assistant Secretary of State, from 1981 to 1982, at the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (now Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs).
He was Ambassador and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 1979 to 1981. He served as a senior staff member for International Economic Affairs on the United States National Security Council from 1969 to 1977, where he was senior economic adviser to Henry Kissinger, General Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski. He helped to manage the Nixon administration’s opening of diplomatic relations with China’s communist government. He was a recipient of the French Legion of Honor in 1982 and the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 1974.
Hormats has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and served on the Board of Visitors of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the Dean’s Council of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Mr. Hormats was hosted by The Common Good in April of 2008: The State of the Economy and the Global Outlook, April 10, 2008.
Twitter: @BobHormats
Michael Morell
Michael Morell
Former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the C.I.A.
Michael Joseph Morell is the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the C.I.A. He worked in the C.I.A. for 33 years. Morell has received multiple awards including the CIA’s highest ranking award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. He is also a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, West Point’s Center on Combating Terrorism, and the Madison Policy Forum. Morell has served as a member of President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology, and is currently Senior Counselor and the Global Chairman of the Geo-Political Risk Practice at Beacon Global Strategies LLC.
Morell was hosted by The Common Good alongside Jeh Johnson in a Special Discussion with Michael Morell - March 1, 2018.
Twitter: @MichaelJMorell
Alex Witt
Alex Witt
Television news journalist
Alex Witt hosts the MSNBC show Weekends with Alex Witt on Saturdays and Sundays. Since joining the network in 1999, Alex has hosted across both dayside and primetime platforms, as well as reported from the field during Presidential election seasons and overseas. Alex contributes to NBC Nightly News, the Making a Difference series and Today.
In the wake of the September 11th terror attacks on America, Witt broadcasted from the World Trade Center and has continued to follow the war on terrorism in the Middle East and the War in Iraq. Alex is passionate about the issues of equality for women, education and gun control, and she welcomes those discussions on her broadcasts.
Witt moderated the discussion between Sabine Krayenbühl, Zeva Oelbaum, and Mohamad Bazzi in Special Screening of “Letters from Baghdad” and Panel Discussion at The Common Good in 2018, and a Screening and Discussion on "Best of Enemies" with Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville, and Dick Cavett at The Common Good in 2015. She also introduced Patricia Duff at The American Spirit Awards 2015.
Twitter: @AlexWitt
Rob Riemen
Rob Riemen
Founder, President and CEO of the Nexus Institute and Author
Rob Riemen, a European public intellectual and cultural critic, is the founder, president and CEO of the Nexus Institute, a leading international center for philosophical debate and and intellectual discourse. The Nexus Institute was founded in 1994 by Riemen to stimulate intellectual debate in the European tradition of humanism. The Nexus Institute is widely acknowledged for the quality of its insight into contemporary issues and an approach that offers the appreciation of the humanistic culture and philosophy as a counterweight to the dominance of commercial values in today’s society. Riemen has lectured around the world and is also an international best-selling author with a number of critically acclaimed publications.
Riemen spoke at The Common Good in 2018: A Conversation with Rob Riemen, “To Fight Against This Age: On Fascism and Humanism, and partnered with The Common Good in hosting a conversation on Art and Activism in Amsterdam with Ai Weiwei.
Edward Rollins
Edward Rollins
Political Advisor
Ed Rollins is a giant in the political world, having served as campaign consultant and advisor for numerous congressional, senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential campaigns and victories.
Mr. Rollins has served in the administrations and advised four United States Presidents. He was in charge of the White House Office of Political Affairs and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, and was Deputy Chief of Staff during the Reagan administration.
In 1984, he managed President Ronald Reagan’s reelection campaign, winning 49 of 50 states. He was the first non-member of Congress to serve as the Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Chief Political Advisor to the House Republican Leadership. He also served as the Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Republican National Committee for four years. During the more than four decades Mr. Rollins has been in politics, he has counseled Cabinet officers, U.S. Senators, governors, members of Congress, state legislators and city officials. In addition to managing President Reagan’s campaign, Mr. Rollins has had major roles in 9 other Presidential campaigns. He has also had involvement in hundreds of campaigns at the state, congressional and local level. Prior to his Washington service, Mr. Rollins was the Republican Chief of Staff and Assistant to the Speaker of the California Assembly. He was inducted into the Political Consultants Hall of Fame in 2011, and was the 2010 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Rollins has appeared regularly on television for over 30 years on shows such as Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation, Nightline, The Today Show, The CBS Early Show, Hardball, Crossfire, Larry King Live, CNN News Makers, and many other talk shows. His memoir, Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms, was the number-one selling political book in America in 1996 and made the top of The New York Times best-seller list.
Edward Rollins spoke at The Common Good in 2010: Election Insurrection: The Mid-Term Elections 2010, and in 2013: Assessing the Presidency with Lesley Stahl, Douglas Brinkley, Jonathan Alter and Ed Rollins – April 11th, 2013. Rollins was also part of the “Trump – Year One” Panel - January 17, 2018, along with Roger Cohen, David Frum, Dana Perino, and Douglas Brinkley.
Rollins joined TCG again on September 30 for The First Presidential Debate Panel alongside John Avlon and Doug Sosnick
Twitter: @EdRollins
Lawrence Rocks
dr. Lawrence Rocks
Chemist, author
Lawrence Rocks is a world renowned chemist, energy expert, and author, and he was instrumental in the creation of the US Department of Energy during the Carter administration.
Dr. Rocks has been featured in Time Magazine, and National Review. He has addressed the United Nations, appeared on the Today Show, To Tell The Truth, The Mike Douglas Show and the column in King Features Syndicate.
Dr. Rock’s book, The Energy Crisis, was widely acclaimed by both television and print media, and he was featured as an energy expert in the New York Times. His work has been cited by the Environmental Protection Agency, The Transportation Research Board, and academic journals, such as Ecology Law Quarterly. The Energy Crisis has been translated into French, Spanish, and Japanese. Recently, Dr. Rock’s was honored by Topps baseball cards with a 2019 official Lawrence Rocks Topps baseball card.
Dr, Rock spoke at The Common Good on Hurricanes, Climate, and Responsible Energy Policies for the Future in 2017.
Twitter: @LawrenceRocks1
Read more:
Ezra Levin & Leah Greenberg
Ezra Levin & Leah Greenberg
Co-founders of INDIVISIBLE
Ezra Levin is co-founder and co-Executive Director of the Indivisible Project. Previously, Ezra worked as a poverty policy wonk and advocate. He most recently served as the Associate Director of Federal Policy at Prosperity Now, and was Deputy Policy Director for Congressman Lloyd Doggett and an AmeriCorps VISTA in the Homeless Services Division of the San Jose Housing Department.
Leah Greenberg is co-founder and co-Executive Director of the Indivisible Project. She most recently served as Policy Director for the Tom Perriello for Governor of Virginia campaign. Previously, she managed the Partnership for Freedom, a $6 million public-private partnership on human trafficking, served as an Advisor to the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review process, coordinated interagency engagement for the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and worked on the Hill for Congressman Tom Perriello.
Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg gave a joint presentation at The Common Good in 2017: Citizen Action Sweeping the Country: INDIVISIBLE.
Twitter: @ezralevin and @Leahgreenb
Mary Boies
Mary Boies
Lawyer
Mary Boies is Counsel to Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP where she specializes in antitrust and corporate commercial litigation. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and chairs its Committee on Nominations and Governance. She has served on the Board of MIT’s Center for International Studies and the Board of Visitors that oversees the U.S. Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies; the Air Force Research Institute, the Air War College, the National Security Space Institute and the Air Force Institute of Technology. She is Vice Chairman of Business Executives for National Security, a private sector group that connects best business practices to government agencies in the national security space. She is on the Board of Directors of the International Rescue Committee and has served on the Board of the International Center for Journalists.
Previously, she was founder and managing partner at Boies & McInnis LLP. She has served as Vice President at CBS Inc., General Counsel of the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board, Assistant Director of the Domestic Policy Staff at the White House, and Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce.
Mrs. Boies was hosted by The Common Good in 2017: The Common Good Forum - May 12, 2017.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
US. Senator for New York
Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand is an American attorney and politician serving as the junior United States Senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009. On March 17th, 2019 Senator Gillibrand announced her candidacy for the 2020 Presidential race. She withdrew her candidacy in August of 2019 after failing to qualify for the third presidential debate.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand became the first member of Congress to post her official public schedule, personal financial disclosure, and federal earmark requests online. Senator Gillibrand’s number one priority in the U.S. Senate is to rebuild the American economy by creating good-paying jobs, helping small businesses get loans, and partnering with the private sector to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
Throughout her time in the Senate, Senator Gillibrand has championed a range of issues, from the fight to repeal the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” that prevented homosexuals from serving openly in the military; to the passage of the STOCK Act, which made it illegal for members of Congress to financially benefit from inside information; to providing permanent health care and compensation to the 9/11 first responders and community survivors who are sick with diseases caused by toxins at Ground Zero. Senator Gillibrand worked to bring Democrats and Republicans together to win these legislative victories.
Senator Gillibrand spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017, and co-hosted The American Spirit Awards 2011.
Twitter: @SenGillibrand
Secretary John Kerry
John Kerry
Former U.S. Secretary of State
On February 1, 2013, John Forbes Kerry was sworn in as the 68th Secretary of State of the United States, becoming the first sitting Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman to become Secretary in over a century. Secretary Kerry joined the State Department after 28 years in the United States Senate, the last four as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He retired in 2017 after President Obama left office.
Shortly before he graduated from Yale University, Secretary Kerry enlisted to serve in the United States Navy, and went on to serve two tours of duty. He returned home from Vietnam with a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts. Back in the United States, Secretary Kerry began lifelong fight for his fellow veterans as a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans of America, and later as a United States Senator who fought to secure veterans’ benefits, the extension of the G.I. Bill for Higher Education, and improved treatment for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
Kerry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1982, and 2 years later, he was elected to the United States Senate where he served for 28 years. In 2009, Secretary Kerry became Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. In 2010, as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary Kerry was instrumental in the ratification of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) Treaty, a vital nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia that helps steer both countries away from dangerous nuclear confrontations. He also held senior positions on the Finance, Commerce, and Small Business committees, as well as served as a member of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, where he worked across party lines to try and reduce the country’s debt and strengthen our economy.
Kerry was awarded the American Spirit Award for Distinguished Public Service at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017.
Twitter: @JohnKerry
John McCain ✝
John McCain ✝
Former U.S. Senator from Arizona
John Sidney McCain III was a senator, soldier, and 2008 presidential nominee. As a young man in his twenties, he enlisted in the US Navy to follow in the footsteps of his father. He was deployed in Vietnam and ended his military service with the rank of Captain. During his tour in Vietnam, he was captured and was a prisoner of war for five and a half years.
McCain went on to become a House Representative for Arizona’s 1st congressional district in 1982 and was re-elected in 1984. McCain began his first term in the Senate in 1987. He went on to win five more terms all the way until 2018. McCain was the Republican nominee for the 2008 election running against Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
Senator McCain was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017 and passed away on August 25th, 2018.
Senator John McCain was awarded the American Spirit Award for Distinguished Public Service by Chele Chiavacci Farley at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017.
Chele Chiavacci Farley
Chele chiavacci farley
Investment banker, private sector adviser
Chele Farley is Managing Director of Mistral Capital International, which has invested over $1.6 billion in equity since inception in 1991. Her past Mistral transactions include deals with Goldman, Sachs (GSEMREF), Starwood Capital (Star Resorts), and Royal Dutch Shell. Farley sits on the Management Committee and Board of Palmilla San Jose Inmobiliaria (a real estate resort development in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico). She formerly was with UBS Capital and Goldman, Sachs & Co. (Investment Banking Division).
Farley received both a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and sits on Stanford’s New York Alumni Board as well as the Archeology Center Advisory Board of the University. Along with former Senator Bill Bradley, she is Co-Chair of the East Coast Advisory Board of QuestBridge, the leading conduit for students with a family income below $60,000 annually to attend a university. She is also active with the Alzheimer’s Association and Co-Chaired the Association’s Rita Hayworth Gala in New York in October 2010 which raised over $1.7 million.
Farley ran as a Republican candidate against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in 2018, and has now announced her 2020 campaign against Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.
She hosted events at The Common Good in 2016: Commentary on the 2016 Presidential Election with Bill Kristol - September 22, 2016 and 2017: Rethinking the Afghanistan War with Erik Prince - October 3, 2017. She also presented the American Spirit Award for Distinguished Public Service to Senator John McCain at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017.
Twitter: @CheleFarley
Marc Busch
Marc Busch
Writer
Marc L. Busch is an expert on international trade policy and law. He serves as a member of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Standards and Technical Trade Barriers, a public-private group reporting to the U.S. Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative. He has addressed a wide variety of governments and international institutions, including the Advisory Center on WTO Law, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the World Bank and the United Nations. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on Airbus-Boeing litigation, and before the Canadian Senate on softwood lumber litigation. In 1999 he published his first and only book, Trade Warriors: States, Firms, and Strategic-Trade Policy in High-Technology Competition.
Busch spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017 on the “New Era of Global Trade”.
David Burstein
David Burstein
CEO and Founder of Run for America
David Burstein is the CEO and Founder of Run for America, a citizen-powered movement to re-imagine politics, reinvigorate government, and restore the promise of America for the 21st century. Run for America strategically recruits, trains, and works to elect a new generation of leaders to Congress who are committed to a solutions-first, future-focused, and innovative approach to tackling our major national challenges. RFA Candidates serve their communities by ending gridlock, increasing participation and bringing citizens together, expanding the electorate to win elections and build a lasting grassroots network of supporters across the country and political spectrum. David is also the author of Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation Is Shaping Our World and the founder and former Executive Director of Generation18, a nonpartisan young voter engagement organization.
Burstein spoke at both The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017 and The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2016.
Twitter: @davidburstein
Read more:
‘Rep. Emmer: Democrats will lose House majority over impeachment’ Fox News, 2 October 2019
‘Former Vice President Biden and his wife made $15 million in the two years after leaving office’, Yahoo! News, 10 July 2019
Logan McIntosh, ‘David Burstein, Founder of Run for America’, Purpose Generation, 28 October 2016
Rep. Joe Kennedy III
Rep. Joe Kennedy III
Politician
Elected in November of 2012, Congressman Joe Kennedy III represents Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District.
Prior to seeking office, Kennedy served the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an Assistant District Attorney in both the Middlesex County, Cape and Island’s District Attorneys’ Offices. A graduate of Harvard Law, he was an active member of the school’s Legal Aid Bureau – a pro-bono law firm that provided legal services to low-income families around Boston. During that time he also co-founded an after school program for at-risk youth in the Boston area with his wife, Lauren.
Earlier in his career Joe served as a member of the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. He has also worked as an international development analyst for the United Nations’ Millennium Project and as an anti-poverty consultant abroad.
He spoke at The Common Good in 2013: Rising Leaders: Power Breakfast with Congressman Joseph Kennedy III, in 2015: Meet & Greet: Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, and in 2017: Discussion on Challenges and Opportunity in Congress.
Twitter: @RepJoeKennedy
Yusuf Ziya Irbeç
Dr. Yusuf Ziya Irbeç ✝
Economist
Dr. Yusuf Ziya İrbeç was born in Kas, Antalya in 1959. He was an economist, foreign policy specialist and academician, and he served as a Member of the Turkish Parliament for Antalya and an Executive Board Member of the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) in which he was the Deputy Convenor of Peace and Democracy Program. Dr. Yusuf Ziya İrbeç was also a member of Turkish Parliament, and was Clerk Member and Vice-Chairman of the European Union Harmonization Commission. He also served as a Member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of the European Union.
His experiences within the private sector and international institutions include the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK), Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC), Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Ankara Chamber of Commerce, and Institute for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin.
Dr. Yusuf Ziya İrbeç passed away on June 19th, 2017.
He was hosted by The Common Good in 2013: Briefing on Turkey with Dr. Yusuf Ziya İrbeç – March 29, 2013, and in 2017: Special Meeting with Prof. Dr. Yusuf Ziya Irbec M.P. - January 30, 2017.
Carl Bernstein
Carl Bernstein
Journalist
Carl Bernstein is an American investigative journalist and author.
In 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward at The Washington Post, and the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. He shared a Pulitzer Prize with Bob Woodward as a result of this work.
Bernstein's career since Watergate has continued to focus on the theme of the use and abuse of power through books and magazine articles, and has done reporting for television and opinion commentary. He is the author or co-author of six books: All the President's Men, The Final Days, and The Secret Man with Bob Woodward, His Holiness: John Paul II and the History of Our Time, with Marco Politi, Loyalties; and A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Additionally, he is a regular political commentator on CNN. He has written for Vanity Fair, where he is a contributing editor, Time, USA Today, Rolling Stone, and The New Republic.
Bernstein was hosted by The Common Good in 2010: Election Insurrection: The Mid-Term Elections 2010, in 2012: Aftermath: Supreme Court & Health Care with Carl Bernstein, Jeffrey Toobin & Susan Blumenthal – July 19, 2012, in 2016: Post-Election Panel 2016 - December 7, 2016, and in 2017: History in the Making: Post-Election Panel 2016 - March 17, 2017.
Twitter: @carlbernstein
Kellyanne Conway
Kellyanne Conway
American pollster, political consultant, pundit
Kellyanne Conway is an American pollster, political consultant, and pundit. Previously she held roles as campaign manager and strategist in the Republican Party and was former president and CEO of The Polling Company, Inc./Woman Trend. In 2016, she was appointed as Trump’s campaign manager and now serves as a counselor in his presidential administration .
Within polling, Conway is one of the most quoted and noted pollsters on the national scene, having provided commentary on over 1,200 television shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, HBO, Comedy Central, MTV and the Fox News Channel, and numerous radio shows and print stories. Throughout her two decades in market research, Conway has provided primary research and advice for clients in 46 of the 50 states and has directed hundreds of demographic and attitudinal survey projects for statewide and congressional political races, trade associations, and Fortune 100 companies. She is also co-author of What Women Really Want: How American Women Are Quietly Erasing Political, Racial, Class, and Religious Lines to Change the Way We Live.
Within the Republican Party, Conway has worked for leaders such as the late Congressman Jack Kemp, former Vice President Dan Quayle, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Senator Fred Thompson and Congressman Mike Pence, Vice President in Trump’s administration.
Conway spoke at The Common Good in 2017: History in the Making: Post-Election Panel 2016 alongside Carl Bernstein and Governor William Weld, with moderator Alan Schwartz.
Twitter: @KellyannePolls
Bill Kristol
Bill Kristol
Founder and Editor of The Weekly Standard
Bill Kristol is a political analyst and the Founder and Editor of the political magazine The Weekly Standard. He is known for his neo-conservatism and frank approach to issues.
Kristol taught political philosophy and American politics at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government before joining the Reagan administration. He eventually became Chief of Staff to the Vice President in the George H. W. Bush administration. Kristol has played a major role in the debate on American foreign policy since September 11th, and served as a foreign policy advisor for Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign.
Kristol is associated with a number of prominent conservative think tanks. He co-founded the Project for the New American Century and is a member of the board of trustees for the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, the Policy Advisory Board for the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and a director of the Foreign Policy Initiative.
Kristol was hosted by The Common Good for a Commentary on the 2016 Presidential Election with Bill Kristol.
Twitter: @BillKristol