Brenda Fulton
Brenda s. Fulton
Board member of OutServe-SLDN, Co-founder of Knights Out
Brenda S. “Sue” Fulton is a Board member of OutServe-SLDN, the national organization supporting LGBT members of the Armed Forces. A Florida native, Fulton graduated West Point in 1980, part of the first class to include women, and was commissioned in the Army. She served as a platoon leader, staff officer, and company commander in Germany, and was honorably discharged as a Captain.
In 2009, she co-founded Knights Out, an organization of LGBT West Point graduates and allies, and later helped Josh Seefried and Ty Walrod launch OutServe, the association of actively-serving LGBT military personnel. She served both organizations as Communications Director and later became Executive Director of Knights Out. A key player in the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Fulton was appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Military Academy Board of Visitors in 2011 – the first openly gay member of the Board.
Governor Murphy appointed Chief Fulton as one of three State government appointees to the State Ethics Commission, which administers and enforces State conflicts of interest law in July of 2018.
Fulton spoke as part of the panel Women in the Military: US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and others – March 15, 2013 alongside Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Anu Bhagwati, and Molly O’Toole, moderated by MSNBC contributor Krystal Ball at The Common Good.
Twitter: @suefulton
Anuradha Bhagwati
Anuradha Bhagwati
Service Women’s Action Network’s First Executive Director
Anuradha Bhagwati is the Service Women’s Action Network’s (SWAN) first Executive Director. A former Captain and Company Commander, Anu served as a Marine officer from 1999-2004. Under Anu’s leadership, SWAN has spearheaded legislative reform and litigation to end military rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence, and to eliminate all barriers to equal opportunity for service women.
Anu has testified before Congress, advised the White House and the United Nations, and has spoken to countless audiences on challenges faced by military women, including the Combat Exclusion policy, Military Sexual Trauma, the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, and the VA health care and benefits system. A regular contributor to the media, Anu has been featured on Piers Morgan Tonight, the CNN Situation Room, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, NPR, the BBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Newsweek. Anu is the author of “UNBECOMING: A Memoir of Disobedience”, published in March 2019.
Bhagwati spoke as part of the panel Women in the Military: US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and others – March 15, 2013 alongside Molly O’Toole, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and Brenda S. Fulton, moderated by MSNBC contributor Krystal Ball at The Common Good.
Twitter: @AnuBhagwati
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Jeanne Shaheen
American Politician
The first woman in history to be elected a Governor and a United States Senator, Jeanne Shaheen has been involved in all levels of New Hampshire life. She became the first woman elected Governor of New Hampshire, serving three terms from 1997-2003. In 2008 Shaheen became the first woman elected to the United States Senate from New Hampshire. She chairs the Committee on Foreign Relations’ Subcommittee on European Affairs, and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Water and Power. Shaheen is also a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Shaheen spoke as part of the panel Women in the Military: US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and others – March 15, 2013 alongside Molly O’Toole, Anu Bhagwati, and Brenda S. Fulton, moderated by MSNBC contributor Krystal Ball at The Common Good.
Twitter: @SenatorShaheen
Mark Kelly
Mark Kelly
American astronaut, engineer, and U.S. Navy Captain
Mark Kelly, husband of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, is a retired astronaut and US Navy Captain with 6,000 flight hours in more than 50 different aircraft, 375 aircraft carrier landings, 39 combat missions and more than 50 days in space.
As a Naval Aviator, Kelly flew combat missions during the Gulf War. He received initial training on the A-6E Intruder attack aircraft. He was then assigned to Attack Squadron 115 (VA-115) in Atsugi, Japan, and made two deployments to the Persian Gulf on the aircraft carrier USS Midway, flying 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. Kelly has won many awards, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was selected as an astronaut in 1996 and flew his first of four missions in 2001 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, the same space shuttle that he commanded on its final flight in May 2011. He is one of only two individuals who has visited the International Space Station on four different occasions.
Kelly was thrust into the national spotlight in January 2011 after his wife, U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in an assassination attempt in Arizona.
He spoke at The Common Good in 2013: Astronaut Mark Kelly “Reducing Gun Violence Responsibly”.
Twitter: @ShuttleCDRKelly
Alan Blinder
Alan Blinder
American economist, journalist
Alan S. Blinder has been on the Princeton faculty since 1971, taking time off from January 1993 through January 1996 for service in the U.S. government—first as a member of President Clinton’s original Council of Economic Advisers, and then as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In addition to his academic writings (books, academic articles) and his best-selling introductory textbook, he has written many op-eds and columns, and, in recent years, has been a regular columnist for The Wall Street Journal.
He also appears frequently on television on PBS, CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, and others. Dr. Blinder is a Distinguished Fellow and past vice president of the American Economic Association, a past president of the Eastern Economic Association, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Alan Blinder spoke at The Common Good in 2013: Alan Blinder: The Economic Crisis and Response - January 24, 2013.
Representative Joaquin Castro
Representative Joaquin Castro
Democratic Member of the U.S. House representing Texas’ 20th Congressional District
Joaquin Castro is a Democratic member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 20th Congressional District. Castro began his political career in the Texas House of Representatives, where he represented district 125 from 2003 to 2013. Castro won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. He ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on March 4, 2014, and defeated Jeffrey Blunt (L) in the general election on November 4, 2014.
He created the Trailblazers College Tour, personally raising money to send underprivileged students on college visits. He also created SA READS, San Antonio’s largest literacy campaign and book drive. Over 200,000 books have been distributed to more than 150 schools and shelters across the city. He has also taught as a visiting professor of law at St. Mary’s University and as an adjunct professor at Trinity University.
Joaquin is active on several boards of education-related, non-profit organizations, including the National College Advising Corps, and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials’ (NALEO) Taskforce on Education.
Twitter: @JoaquinCastrotx
Secretary Julián Castro
Secretary Julián Castro
Former Mayor of San Antonio and former Secretary for Housing and Urban Development
Julián Castro was the youngest member of President Obama’s cabinet, serving as Secretary for Housing and Urban Development.
Upon his graduation from Harvard law school, Castro ran for a seat on the San Antonio City Council and won, making history as the youngest councilman in the city’s history. He served for several years and then ran for the mayoral seat, which he lost. He ran again for the mayoral seat in 2009 and won, becoming the fifth Hispanic mayor in San Antonio’s history. Under his leadership, the city established Café College, a one-stop center offering high-quality guidance on college admissions, financial aid and standardized test preparation to any student in the San Antonio area. Since opening in 2010, Café College has served more than 25,000 area students.
In March 2010, Castro joined Twitter and Google executives in being named to the World Economic Forum’s list of Young Global Leaders. Soon after, Time magazine placed him on its “40 Under 40” list of rising stars in American politics.
Castro served as the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017.
Castro announced that he was running for president of the United States on January 12, 2019. He said he achieved universal preschool in San Antonio during his time as mayor and would do the same nationally. Castro has also promoted Medicare for All and housing affordability.
Prior to serving in the Obama administration, Castro was the mayor of San Antonio for five years. He also served on the San Antonio City Council, representing District 7.
Twitter: @JulianCastro
Senator Alan Simpson
the honorable Alan Simpson
American politician
Alan Simpson served as a Senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997. He was an opponent of government regulation, as well as an outspoken advocate for access to abortion, gay and lesbian rights, and equality for all persons regardless of race, color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. He was Republican whip from 1985 to 1995 and chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee from 1981 to 1987 and from 1995 to 1997. During his tenure, Simpson also chaired the Immigration and Refugee Subcommittee of Judiciary, the Nuclear Regulation Subcommittee, the Social Security Subcommittee and the Committee on Aging.
After his retirement from politics, Simpson taught at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, serving two years as Director of the Institute of Politics. In 2000, he returned to Wyoming to practice law with his two sons, William and Colin. Alan Simpson occasionally teaches at the University of Wyoming, and serves as co-chair of Americans for Campaign Reform.
Simpson was hosted by The Common Good in 2012: Senator Alan Simpson “The Fiscal Cliff: Go Big or Go Home” – December 3, 2012.
Neil Barofsky
Neil Barofsky
Senior Fellow at New York University School of Law
Neil Barofsky is currently a senior fellow at New York University School of Law. From December 2008 until March 2011, he served as the special inspector general in charge of oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Before that he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for more than eight years. During this time he headed the Mortgage Fraud Group and prosecuted some of the most significant cases in the United States, including the conviction of the former CEO and president of Refco. He also led the investigation that resulted in the indictment of the top fifty leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) on narcotics charges, a case described by then-U.S. attorney general as the largest narcotics indictment filed in U.S. history.
Barofsky was hosted by The Common Good in 2011: Former TARP Special Inspector Neil Barofsky, “Another Crisis is Coming” – November 28, 2011, and in 2012: Neil Barofsky on the “Broken Promises” of the Bank Bailouts – November 28, 2012.
Twitter: @neilbarofsky
Steve Hildebrand
Steve Hildebrand
Democratic political strategist
Steve Hildebrand is a Democratic political strategist, and was the deputy national campaign director of Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. In 2005, Hildebrand joined with Paul Tewes to form Hildebrand Tewes Consulting, a campaign consulting firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and Sioux Falls. In 2004, he was the campaign manager for U.S. Senator Tom Daschle’s (D-SD) losing re-election effort against U.S. Representative John Thune (R-SD). He was also campaign manager in U.S. Senator Tim Johnson’s (D-SD) winning re-election campaign in 2002 and Al Gore’s 2000 Iowa Caucus victory. He has served as Executive Director of the South Dakota and Minnesota Democratic Parties and Political Director of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He returned to his private consulting firm following Obama’s victory in the 2008 presidential election.
The Common Good hosted Hildebrand in 2010: Election Insurrection: The Mid-Term Elections 2010.
Twitter: @cooper834
Grover Norquist
Grover Norquist
Political activist
Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at President Reagan’s request.
A native of Massachusetts, Grover Norquist has been one of most effective issues management strategists in Washington for three decades. Norquist is famous for saying he wanted to make government “small enough to drown in a bathtub.” Norquist chairs the Washington, D.C.-based “Wednesday Meeting,” a weekly gathering of more than 150 elected officials, political activists, and movement leaders.
The Common Good hosted Norquist on October 25th, 2012, for a Power Lunch.
Twitter: @GroverNorquist
Colin Kahl
dr. Colin Kahl
American political adviser, former White House staff member
Colin Kahl was the Deputy Assistant to President Obama and National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden.
In addition to teaching at Georgetown, Dr. Kahl served as Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. From 2009-2011, Dr. Kahl served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East. In that position, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in June 2011. Dr. Kahl served at the Pentagon from 2005-2006, where he was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations. Dr. Kahl is the author of a number of reports and publications on far-ranging issues in the Middle East.
The Common Good hosted Dr. Kahl in 2012: Col. Jack Jacobs & Colin Kahl, Middle East Hot Topics.
Twitter: @ColinKahl
Colonel Jack Jacobs
Colonel Jack Jacobs
Ret. Colonel in the U.S. Army
Jack Howard Jacobs is a retired colonel in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Vietnam War. He currently serves as a military analyst for MSNBC and NBC News, and previously worked as an investment manager.
Jack Jacobs fought in Vietnam where he was promoted to captain and awarded the Medal of Honor. In addition to the Medal of Honor, Jacobs received two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. Jacobs was a faculty member at the United States Military Academy in West Point, teaching international relations and comparative politics for three years, and at the National War College in Washington, D.C. He retired from the Army in 1987 as a colonel, and began a career in investment banking. Jacobs maintains involvement in several military-related organizations. He is vice chairman of the Medal of Honor Foundation, a member of the board of trustees for the National World War II Museum, and holds the McDermott Chair of Politics at the U.S. Military Academy.
In October 2008, the Penguin Group published Jacobs’ memoir, If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice In America’s Time of Need, coauthored with New York Times best-selling author, Douglas Century. In May 2012, Thomas Dunne Books published Basic: Surviving Boot Camp and Basic Training, co-written with David Fisher.
Jacobs was hosted by The Common Good alongside Colin Kahl in 2012: Col. Jack Jacobs & Colin Kahl, Middle East Hot Topics.
Twitter: @ColJackJacobs
Jodi Kantor
Jodi Kantor
Journalist, The New York Times correspondent
Jodi Kantor is a prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and a best-selling author. (1)
Ms. Kantor specializes in long-form, deeply reported stories. Before she and Megan Twohey broke the story of Harvey Weinstein’s decades of alleged abuse towards women, Ms. Kantor’s investigations into conditions at Starbucks and Amazon prompted national debates and policy changes at both companies. Along with colleagues who exposed harassment across industries, they were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, journalism's highest honor. Before becoming a reporter, Ms. Kantor was the New York editor of Slate magazine and The Times’s Arts & Leisure editor. (1)
Kantor was hosted by The Common Good in 2012 to discuss her book The Obamas: Jodi Kantor on her new book “The Obamas”.
Twitter: @jodikantor
(1) Material from the She Said (the book) website.
Susan Blumenthal
Dr.Susan Blumenthal
American physician, global health expert, psychiatrist, public health advocate
Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. served as U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and Senior Global Health Advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Dr. Blumenthal has been involved in the national public health response to terrorism, emergency preparedness, biotechnology issues, and emerging disease threats including pandemic flu and AIDS. She was a pioneer in applying information technology to improve health and was among the first in the government to use the Internet for health education.
Dr. Blumenthal currently serves as the Director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), where she co-chairs the Center’s Commission on Future Directions in Health Care. She also directs its health diplomacy programs including a Palestinian/Israeli Health Initiative supported by USAID that has convened experts, developed recommendations for cooperative programs and used information technology to help foster information exchange. Additionally, Dr. Blumenthal serves as Senior Policy and Medical Advisor to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and is Chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center. Dr. Blumenthal is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown and Tufts School of Medicine.
Dr. Blumenthal was recently decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service, its highest honor, “for distinguished and pioneering leadership, groundbreaking contributions and dedicated public service that has improved the health of women, our Nation, and the world.”
Dr. Blumenthal has also been involved in the national public health response to terrorism, emergency pandemic preparedness, biotechnology issues, and emerging disease threats including AIDS and COVID-19. She is currently a Senior Fellow in Health Policy at New America where she is focused on a broad range of issues including the COVID-19 pandemic, applying technology to advance public health, health reform implementation, food insecurity, women’s health, and global health. Additionally, Dr. Blumenthal serves as Senior Policy and Medical Advisor to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research and is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts and Georgetown Schools of Medicine.
Dr. Blumenthal was hosted by The Common Good in 2012: Aftermath: Supreme Court & Health Care with Carl Bernstein, Jeffrey Toobin & Susan Blumenthal – July 19, 2012.
Dr. Blumenthal returned to moderated the event COVID-19: Then, Now and What’s To Come with Dr. Daniel R. Lucey from Georgetown University and a leading scholar in infectious diseases, and former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden as we learn about the origins, the spread and what the future will be like as a result of Covid-19.
Leslie Gelb
Leslie Gelb
Author, former correspondent for The New York Times
Leslie Gelb is a former correspondent for The New York Times and is currently President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is author of the 2009 book, Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Policy.
Gelb was diplomatic correspondent at The New York Times from 1973 to 1977. He served as an Assistant Secretary of State in the Carter Administration from 1977 to 1979, winning the Distinguished Honor Award, the highest award of the US State Department. He returned to the Times in 1981; from then until 1993, he was in turn its national security correspondent, deputy editorial page editor, editor of the Op-Ed Page, and columnist. This period included his leading role on the Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1986 for a six-part comprehensive series on the “Star Wars” Strategic Defense Initiative.
He serves as the chairman of the advisory board for the progressive foreign policy think tank, National Security Network, on the board of directors of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, member of the board of directors of the Truman Project, board of directors of the the Center for the National Interest and the advisory board of United Against Nuclear Iran.
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
American lobbyist, businessman, movie producer, writer
Abramoff started his political career at Brandeis University as head of the College Republicans. After becoming national chairman of that group, Abramoff was soon named head of President Ronald Reagan’s grassroots lobbying organization on Capitol Hill. He held that position while attending Georgetown Law Center at night, and obtained his JD in 1986. After a detour into motion picture production, Abramoff returned to the nation’s capital to build one of the most successful lobbying practices in history. He spent a lengthy term in federal prison on corruption charges.
His downfall caused Abramoff to reassess his past, and his book Capitol Punishment is designed to alert our nation about what goes on behind the guarded doors of power in Washington, DC. Since his release from prison, Abramoff has appeared on hundreds of television and radio networks and programs, including CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, “60 Minutes” and “The Colbert Report”.
Mr. Abramoff was hosted by The Common Good for a discussion about his book “Capitol Punishment,” which talks about reforming lobbying practices in U.S. national politics, in 2012: Jack Abramoff on Lobby Reform – June 20, 2012.
Twitter: @jackabramoff
Todd Gitlin
Todd Gitlin
Author, political activist
Todd Gitlin is an author and political activist. His latest book is Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit, and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street, published in April 2012. Gitlin’s two previous books are The Chosen Peoples: America, Israel, and the Ordeals of Divine Election (with Liel Leibovitz) and Undying. He has written 12 books, chiefly on media and contemporary America. He has also published a book of poetry, Busy Being Born, and his book Sacrifice won the Harold U. Ribalow Prize for novels on Jewish themes.
He contributes to many newspapers and magazines, lectures frequently in the United States and abroad, is a member of the editorial board of Dissent.
Gitlin spoke at The Common Good on June 20th, 2012, alongside Jesse LaGreca: The Power of Protest: Todd Gitlin & Jesse LaGreca.
Twitter: @toddgitlin
Senator Tim Kaine
Senator Tim Kaine
American lawyer, politician
Tim Kaine has served people throughout his adult life as a missionary, fair housing attorney, teacher and elected official. He is the current junior Senator from Virginia.
Tim entered political life in 1994, running for the Richmond City Council. He served until 2001 as a Councilman and Mayor. Richmond saw an economic renaissance that led to increasing population, a bond rating upgrade and recognition by Forbes Magazine as one of America’s ten best cities for doing business. In 2001, Tim was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. He worked to reform Virginia’s budget and improve Virginia’s education system. In 2005, Tim was elected Virginia’s 70th Governor. Virginia was honored as the Best Managed State in America (Governing Magazine), the Best State for Business (Forbes.com—four years in a row) and the Best State to Raise a Child (Education Week). Virginia maintained its Triple A bond rating for fiscal management—an honor shared by only 7 states—and had one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates and highest median incomes.
Tim was the Chairman of the Southern Governor’s Association in 2008-09 and served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 through 2011. He has received numerous awards and honorary degrees from organizations such as the Richmond Bar Association, Virginia Military Institute, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Virginia Holocaust Museum and the Virginia Council of Churches.
In 2016, Senator Kaine ran for Vice President on the democratic ticket with Hilary Clinton unsuccessfully.
Senator Kaine was hosted by The Common Good in 2012: Governor Tim Kaine on the Election Cycle.
Twitter: @timkaine
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Political scientist
Thomas E. Mann is a political scientist, author, and pundit who works at the Brookings Institution. He primarily studies and speaks on elections in the United States, especially campaign finance reform.
He first went to Washington D.C. in 1969, where he worked as a Congressional Fellow in the offices of Senator Philip A. Hart and Representative James G. O’Hara. Mann is a member of the Advisory Board of the Future of American Democracy Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation in partnership with Yale University Press and the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, “dedicated to research and education aimed at renewing and sustaining the historic vision of American democracy”.
Mann was hosted alongside Norman Ornstein by The Common Good in 2012 to discuss their book It's Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.