Congressman Steve Israel
The Honorable Steve Israel
Politician, former Congressman for New York’s 2nd and 3rd districts, writer
Former Congressman Steve Israel left Capitol Hill in 2017 to pursue a career as a writer. Israel was a member of Congress for sixteen years and served as House Democrats chief political strategist between 2011-2015 and as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for four years, Israel was the chief architect of House campaign strategies. He was responsible for overall development of competitive House campaigns across America. Israel was lauded for recruiting and electing the most diverse and entrepreneurial freshman congressional class in history. He developed a vast network of local, state and federal officials throughout the nation and is considered a leading expert in congressional dynamics.
Israel is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. His insights appear regularly in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs and on 60 Minutes, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, FoxNews, and elsewhere. His 2017 NY Times op-ed, “Nothing Will Change After The Las Vegas Shooting” went viral; his Mic.Com video on gun violence received nearly 3.5 million views. Israel is currently the Director of the new Institute of Politics and Global Affairs at Cornell University, the only academically-based institute of politics in the New York City metropolitan area. He also served as a Tisch College Visiting Fellow at Tufts University.
Israel participated at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 on May 10th, 2019. He spoke on “The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas” panel alongside former Senator Claire McCaskill, Matt Bennett, Margaret Hoover and Rick Tyler, moderated by Errol Louis.
Twitter: @RepSteveIsrael
Former Ambassador Martin Indyk
Martin Indyk
Diplomat, academic
Martin S. Indyk is distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he was the John C. Whitehead Distinguished Fellow in International Diplomacy in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Indyk served as the U.S. special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations from July 2013 to June 2014. Prior to his time as special envoy, he was vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program and a senior fellow and the founding director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.
Indyk was hosted by The Common Good in 2019: Discussion with Ambassador Martin Indyk.
Twitter: @Martin_Indyk
Vicky Ward
Vicky Ward
Author, journalist
Vicky Ward is a New York Times Bestselling author, investigative reporter and author of the book, KUSHNER, INC., published March 19, 2019.
The author of two best-selling books, The Liar's Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How One Building Broke the World's Toughest Tycoons, and The Devil's Casino: Friendship, Betrayal, and the High Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers. She is the editor at large of HuffPost and HuffPost’s long-form magazine, Highline, and Town & Country magazine. Previously, she was a contributor to Esquire and contributing editor to Vanity Fair for eleven years where her articles covered politics, finance, art and culture and society.
Ward discussed her book KUSHNER, INC. at The Common Good in 2019: Vicky Ward Investigative Reporter and New York Times bestselling author "Kushner, Inc.".
Twitter: @VickyPJWard
Guy Cecil
Guy Cecil
Chair of Priorities USA
Guy Cecil is one of America’s leading political strategists. He is currently the Chairman of Priorities USA Action, an independent political action committee, and the Founder of Miles Strategies. Cecil 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.
The Common Good hosted Cecil on March 6th, 2019, for a discussion entitled Political Briefing - “Election 2020: Messaging & Strategy”.
Twitter: @GuyCecil
Fern Hurst
Fern Hurst
Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of CLAL
Fern K. Hurst, a Jewish leader and champion for pluralism, was recently named the new Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Ms. Hurst succeeds Thomas O. Katz, Esq. as Chairman of the organization.
Active in CLAL since the late 1980’s, Ms. Hurst has been a member of the Board for many years, most recently in the position of Associate Chair/Secretary. Long active in the work of the organization, she was a member of the delegation that went to the 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, the pre-eminent interfaith forum, and has been a key participant in CLAL’s annual workshops in Aspen, Colorado.
In addition to her participation at CLAL, Ms. Hurst is a member of the Executive Committee of AIPAC, and was the founding president of The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York. She is a member of the Business Council of the Democratic National Committee, and a member of the Democratic Leadership Council. She is also on the board of Goucher College, from which she holds a B.A, and is an overseer of the School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania, from which she holds a Masters of City Planning.
Fern co-hosted Rule of Law, Investigations, Testing the New Supremes in 2019 and hosted a Meet & Greet: The Right Honorable David Miliband in 2016 at The Common Good.
Laurence Tribe
Laurence Tribe
Legal scholar
Laurence H. Tribe, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard, has taught at its Law School since 1968 and was voted the best professor by the graduating class of 2000. The title “University Professor” is Harvard’s highest academic honor, awarded to just a handful of professors at any given time and to just 68 professors in all of Harvard University’s history.
Born in China to Russian Jewish parents, Tribe entered Harvard in 1958 at 16; graduated summa cum laude in Mathematics (1962) and magna cum laude in Law (1966); clerked for the California and U.S. Supreme Courts (1966-68); received tenure at 30; was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at 38 and to the American Philosophical Society in 2010; helped write the constitutions of South Africa, the Czech Republic, and the Marshall Islands; has received eleven honorary degrees, most recently a degree honoris causa from the Government of Mexico in March 2011 that was never before awarded to an American and an honorary D. Litt. From Columbia University; has prevailed in three-fifths of the many appellate cases he has argued (including 35 in the U.S. Supreme Court); was appointed in 2010 by President Obama and Attorney General Holder to serve as the first Senior Counselor for Access to Justice; and has written 115 books and articles, including his treatise, American Constitutional Law, cited more than any other legal text since 1950.
Tribe spoke at The Common Good in 2019: Rule of Law, Investigations, Testing the New Supremes.
Twitter: @tribelaw
Bret Stephens
Bret Stephens
Columnist, associate editor for the New York Times
Bret Stephens is an op-ed columnist and associate editor for the New York Times. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, where he served concurrently as foreign-affairs columnist, deputy editorial page editor and member of the editorial board. Prior to that he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, a position he assumed in 2002 at the age of 28. Mr. Stephens has degrees from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics, as well as three honorary doctorates.
Stephens was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens.
Twitter: @BretStephensNYT
Ian Kahn
Ian Kahn
Actor
Ian Kahn recently starred as General George Washington in AMC’s critically acclaimed series Turn: Washington’s Spies, which recently completed its fourth and final season. Prior to landing the role of the nation’s first president, Kahn appeared in numerous high-profile television series, including Sex and the City, Suits, Law & Order, Castle, The Unusuals and Shameless. Kahn has been speaking about his experience playing General Washington and the role’s connection to our current political challenges in venues across the country.
Kahn was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens.
Twitter: @IanKahn
Philip Bobbitt
Philip Bobbitt
Director for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School
Philip C. Bobbitt is the Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence and director for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School. He is one of the nation’s leading constitutional theorists. Bobbitt’s interests include not only constitutional law but also international security and the history of strategy. He has served as a law clerk to the Honorable Henry J. Friendly, associate counsel to the president, the Counselor on International Law at the State Department, legal counsel to the Senate Iran-Contra Committee, and Senior Director for Critical Infrastructure and Senior Director for strategic planning at the National Security Council.
Mr. Bobbitt was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens - November 29, 2018.
Twitter: @PhilipBobbitt
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Chess Grandmaster
Garry Kasparov, one of the world’s greatest chess champions in history, fled Russia in 2013 after Putin’s crackdown on reform efforts led by Kasparov and others. Kasparov currently serves as chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, and has authored numerous works on the Putin regime and artificial intelligence.
Garry Kasparov joined The Common Good to discuss Russia and the dangers Vladimir Putin and his regime pose to the world in Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens. Kasparov also spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.
Twitter: @Kasparov63
John Berman
John Berman
CNN Anchor
John Berman is the co-anchor of New Day on CNN. He was previously an anchor on CNN Newsroom, Early Start, and At This Hour. Prior to working at CNN, Berman worked at ABC News as a contributor to all of ABC’s broadcasts. He reported on the invasion of Iraq and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He has also worked on Anderson Cooper 360 and Cuomo Prime Time. He has also appeared in Jeopardy as a celebrity contestant.
Mr. Berman was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: Facts and Fears: Hard Truths and Intelligence: James Clapper - November 7, 2018.
Twitter: @JohnBerman
Fareed Zakaria
Fareed Zakaria
Thought leader and host of CNN’s Flagship International Affairs Program
Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s flagship international affairs program, Fareed Zakaria GPS, and columnist for the Washington Post, is one of the nation’s most influential thought leaders. He is widely heralded for his ability to pinpoint economic and political trends. Foreign Policy has named Zakaria one of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers,” and Esquire Magazine has called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.”
The Common Good honored Zakaria at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.
Twitter: @FareedZakaria
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
American businessman, politician, author, philanthropist
Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder, Bloomberg LP, Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th Mayor of New York City. He is a media mogul, urban visionary, extraordinary philanthropist, and three-time Mayor of New York. He has shaped our city and the world with many forward-thinking efforts from climate change and gun safety reform, expanded green space, and started a worldwide revolution in tobacco control. In late 2019, Michael Bloomberg announced his 2020 Democratic presidential bid.
Mayor Bloomberg presented David Hogg with the American Spirit Award for Citizen Activism at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards – May 21, 2018.
Twitter: @mikebloomberg
Read more:
Brittany De Lea, ‘Michael Bloomberg lists philanthropic priorities, slams Trump, Congress’, Fox Business, 13 June 2019
Michael Bloomberg, ‘Our Next Moonshot: Saving Earth’s Climate’, Bloomberg, 7 June 2019
Lisa Friedman, ‘Michael Bloomberg Promises $500 Million to Help End Coal’, New York Times, 6 June 2019
Antony Blinken
Antony Blinken
Retired Deputy Secretary of State
Antony Blinken is a retired American government official who served as United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017 and Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2015 under President Barack Obama. He previously served as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Democratic Staff Director of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (2002–2008), and a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition, active from November 2008 to January 2009, among other positions. From 2009 to 2013 Blinken served as Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President. From 2002 to 2008 he served as the Democratic Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From 2001 to 2002, Blinken was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. During the Clinton Administration, Blinken served in the State Department and in senior positions on the National Security Council Staff. On November 7, 2014, President Obama announced that he would nominate Blinken for the Deputy Secretary post, replacing the retiring William Joseph Burns. On December 16, 2014 Blinken was confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State by the Senate by a vote of 55 to 38. He is now a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN and a foreign policy adviser for Joe Biden.
For three decades, Antony Blinken has held senior foreign policy positions and worked closely with two presidents. With greater belligerence from North Korea and Russia, heightened rivalry with China, growing nuclear arsenals, and a rapidly changing Middle East, his expertise is relevant more than ever. Currently, he is the managing director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. He is also the Herter/Nitze Distinguished Scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and an Opinion writer for The New York Times.
Mr. Blinken was hosted by the Common Good in 2018: The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards – May 21, 2018.
Twitter: @ABlinken
Ambassador Jan Kickert
Jan Kickert
U.N. Representative of Austria
Ambassador Jan Kickert is the Permanent Representative of Austria at the United Nations. Prior to his appointment, he served in a number of governmental positions including Director General for Political Affairs of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Kickert spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.
Kerry Kennedy
Kerry Kennedy
President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Kerry Kennedy is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. For more than thirty years, Ms. Kennedy has devoted herself to the pursuit of equal justice, the promotion and protection of basic rights, and the preservation of the rule of law. She has concentrated specifically on women’s rights, exposing injustices and educating audiences about women’s issues. She has worked in over 60 countries and led hundreds of human rights delegations.
She is the author of Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World, which features interviews with human rights activists including Marian Wright Edelman, the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Ms. Kennedy is also the author of Being Catholic Now. She appears regularly on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and PBS as well as on networks in countries around the world, and her commentaries and articles have been published in The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times, L’Unita, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, Marie Claire, The New York Times, El Pais, and the Yale Journal of International Law, among others.
Ms. Kennedy was honored with the American Spirit Award for Citizen Activism, given by Alec Baldwin, at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.
Twitter: @kerrykennedyRFK
Ret. Admiral James Winnefeld Jr.
James Winnefeld Jr.
Retired Admiral for the U.S. Military
For 37 years, Admiral James Winnefeld served in the U.S. Army, and was Vice Chairmen of the Joint Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2015.
In 2017, Admiral Winnefeld lost his 17-year-old to the opioid epidemic. Following his loss, he turned tragedy into action and founded the Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic (SAFE) Project. Winnefeld continues to dedicate his time to pursuing means of cutting short the growing national catastrophe of opioid addiction and overdose.
Admiral Winnefeld spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.
David Hogg
David Hogg
Gun reform activist, Parkland shooting survivor
David Hogg is a survivor of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. At only 19 years old, he is part of a new generation of student activists and leaders who are fighting for gun reform and an end to senseless gun violence. Hogg, with his peers, is turning tragedy into a growing movement, inspiring millions across the country. He is one of 20 founding members of Never Again MSD, an organization focused on raising awareness about events such as the Stoneman Douglas shooting, genocide, and other civil and human rights issues in order to prevent such atrocities from occurring in the future.
Hogg was awarded the The Changemaker Scholarship for Citizen Activism at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards – May 21, 2018 by Michael Bloomberg,
Twitter: @davidhogg111
John Harwood
John Harwood
American journalist
John Harwood is Chief Washington Correspondent for CNBC and a political writer for The New York Times. Harwood hosts the CNBC Digital original video series Speakeasy with John Harwood.
Harwood first joined The St. Petersburg Times, reporting on police, investigative projects, local government and politics. Later he became state capital correspondent in Tallahassee, Washington correspondent and political editor. While covering national politics, he also traveled extensively to South Africa, where he covered deepening unrest against the apartheid regime.
In 1989, Harwood was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where he spent the 1989-90 academic year. In 1991, he joined The Wall Street Journal as White House correspondent, covering the administration of the George H. W. Bush. Later Harwood reported on Congress. In 1997, he became The Wall Street Journal’s Political Editor and chief political correspondent. While at The Wall Street Journal, Harwood wrote the newspaper’s political column, Washington Wire, and oversaw the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. In March 2006, he joined CNBC as Chief Washington Correspondent.
In addition to CNBC, Harwood offers political analysis on NBC Nightly News and PBS’ Washington Week in Review, among other television and radio programs. Harwood has covered each of the last eight presidential elections.
Harwood was hosted by The Common Good at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018 and moderated the Midterm Elections Panel at The Common Good in 2014.
Twitter: @JohnJHarwood
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