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.
Dana Perino
Dana Perino
Political commentator
Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino is anchor of The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino and a co-host of The Five on Fox News Channel. She also appears as part of the political and election coverage teams on the Fox News Channel, and has a weekly political podcast, I'll Tell You What with Chris Stirewalt. Prior to this, Dana served for seven years in the administration of President George W. Bush and became the first Republican woman to be named as the White House Press Secretary. Dana joined the Bush Administration following the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 as a spokesperson at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Perino had her first experience in Washington working for Congressman Scott McInnis (R-CO). She later served as the press secretary for Congressman Dan Schaefer (R-CO). Dana also spent time working at a public relations firm in San Diego.
Her first book, And the Good News Is…, was published in 2015.
The Common Good hosted Dana Perino along with a panel of specialists in January of 2018: “Trump – Year One” Panel.
Twitter: @DanaPerino
Honorary Advisory Board Member: David Frum
David Frum is a writer for The Atlantic, a former speechwriter for George W. Bush, and the author or co-author of now ten books. He has begun work on an eleventh, a history of the United States since the end of the Cold War.
Frum has been active in Republican politics since the first Reagan campaign of 1980. From 2001-2002, he served as a speechwriter and special assistant to President George W. Bush. He is credited with helping to create the phrase "axis of evil” in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address. In recent years, Frum has been one of many prominent Republicans to openly criticize Donald Trump as not representing Republican or foundational democracy values.
Frum’s first book, Dead Right, won praise from William F. Buckley as “the most refreshing intellectual experience in a generation” and from Frank Rich in the New York Times as “the smartest book written from the inside about the American conservative movement.” In National Review, John Podhoretz hailed Frum’s history of the 1970s, How We Got Here, as “an audacious act of revisionism, written in a voice and style so original it deserves to be called revolutionary.” Frum’s memoir of his service in the George W. Bush administration, The Right Man, was a New York Times bestseller, as was his 2018 book, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. His more recent book, Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy looks at the causes of America’s national fragmentation and lays out a plan to restore democracy. Frum has also penned political novels. Arianna Huffington said of Frum’s 2012 novel, Patriots, “Frum is someone who fearlessly speaks his mind, regardless of where the chips may fall, so it’s no surprise he’s able to convey so much truth in his fiction
He is a frequent commentator on MSNBC, CNN, and BBC. From 2014 through 2017, Frum served as chairman of the board of trustees of the leading UK center-right think tank, Policy Exchange.
Frum is the son of prominent Canadian journalist Barabra Frum and of the Canadian businessman and philanthropist, Murray Frum. David Frum holds both BA and MA degrees in history from Yale and a law degree from Harvard, where he served as President of the Federalist Society. He and his wife Danielle Crittenden Frum live in Washington DC and Wellington, Ontario. Danielle is the author of four books and now hosts the popular Femsplainers podcast. They have three adult children.
The Common Good was proud to host Frum as a member in January of 2018 as a participant in our Town Hall at Hunter College, “Trump – Year One” Panel, alongside historian Douglas Brinkley, New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, and political strategist Edward Rollins. Frum currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board,
Twitter: @DavidFrum
Selected Media:
China Is a Paper Dragon, Frum, The Atlantic, 2021
The Quiet End of Kazakhstan's Denuclearization Program, Frum, The Atlantic, 2021
America Must Become a Democracy, Frum, The Atlantic, 2021
David Frum Rethinks Conservatism The New York Times, 2020
The turning of David Frum: Why a neoconservative pundit has become a relentless Trump critic National Post, 2018
David Frum Fights the Right The Walrus, 2021
David Frum on The Phoniness of Tucker Carlson on The Bulwark Podcast, with Charlie Sykes, 2021
Roger Cohen
Roger Cohen
New York Times columnist
Roger Cohen joined The New York Times in 1990. He was a foreign correspondent for more than a decade before becoming acting foreign editor on Sept. 11, 2001, and foreign editor six months later.
Since 2004, he has written a column for The International New York Times, formerly known as The International Herald Tribune. In 2009 he was named a columnist of The New York Times.
Mr. Cohen has written Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo, an account of the wars of Yugoslavia’s destruction, and Soldiers and Slaves: American POWs Trapped by the Nazis’ Final Gamble. He has also co-written a biography of Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, In the Eye of the Storm. His family memoir, The Girl From Human Street: Ghosts of Memory in a Jewish Family, was published in January 2015.
He spoke at The Common Good in January of 2018: “Trump – Year One” Panel and we are excited to have him back at our upcoming event: Athens Democracy Forum.
Twitter: @NYTimesCohen
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
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Peter Maroney
Peter Maroney
Financial advisor
Peter Maroney has served in senior strategic and advisory roles in the financial industry since 2005. He began his financial services career in institutional hedge fund and private equity sales at Avenue Capital focusing on the global debt markets. From Avenue, Peter joined Concordia Advisors, a quantitative hedge fund, where he headed business development for North America. He then joined PennantPark, a middle-market investment management company, where he created and funded the firm's first private investment fund. And before UBS, Maroney was an investment adviser at AllianceBernstein.
Prior to his experience in financial services, Maroney spent over a decade in national politics. After directing national finances for U.S. Sen. John Kerry's re-election campaigns, Maroney was appointed by Sen. Kerry as National Finance Chairman for his 2004 presidential campaign, directing national fundraising at the Democratic National Committee. Prior to this, and at the age of 23, he led national campaign finance efforts for then-Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy II.
Peter currently serves on the non-profit advisory boards of The Common Good and Run For America.
Maroney was has hosted many events with The Common Good, including: Discussion on Challenges and Opportunity in Congress in April of 2017, in September of 2017: The Russia Investigation with Congressman Adam Schiff and Secretary Jeh Johnson, and in October of 2017: The Press, Fake News and Politics: Chris Ruddy.
Mike Mullen
Admiral
Michael Mullen
Former Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff
Admiral Michael Mullen is a retired United States Navy admiral, who served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2011.
Mullen was only the third officer in the Navy’s history to be appointed to four different four-star assignments, including the Chief of Naval Operations; Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe; Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples;, and Vice Chief of Naval Operation. He retired from the Navy after over 43 years of service. He serves on many boards and is now a Professor at Princeton University.
Admiral Mullen spoke at The Common Good in 2017: Conversation with Admiral (Ret.) Mike Mullen.
Mark Green
Mark J. Green
Author
Mark Green currently hosts the nationally syndicated weekend radio program, Both Sides Now, and writes a weekly column for the Huffington Post. He was previously a public interest lawyer, working with Ralph Nader from 1970 to 1980, ultimately as director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch. He founded and ran The Democracy Project in NYC from 1981 to 2014. Green served for 11 years in citywide offices, first as the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs under Mayor David Dinkins (1990 to 1993); then as the twice-elected Public Advocate (1993 and 1997), before narrowly losing the mayorality to Michael Bloomberg in 2001. (1)
Green co-hosted an event at The Common Good on Citizen Action Sweeping the Country: INDIVISIBLE with Gail Furman and Richard Farley, and spoke at The Common Good on the The Primaries and the Presidential Election panel alongside Jonathan Alter, Kellyanne Conway, and Joel Benson, moderated by Cynthia McFadden.
Twitter: @markjgreen
(1) Material from the Bright Infinite Future website.
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
Brian Knappenberger
Brian Knappenberger
Filmmaker, director
Brian Knappenberger is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, best known for The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists, and his work on Bloomberg Game Changers.
Knappenberger spoke at The Common Good at a Special Screening and Conversation on “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press”, on July 11, 2017, alongside James Goodale.
Twitter: @knappB
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Jim Hoge
James Hoge Jr.
Editor
James Fulton Hoge Jr. was the editor of Foreign Affairs and was the Peter G. Peterson Chair at the Council on Foreign Relations. Hoge is currently a senior advisor in Teneo's intelligence division. (1)
Hoge was editor in chief of the Chicago Sun-Times and served concurrently as editor in chief of the Sun-Times's sister publication, the Chicago Daily News. He was later appointed president and publisher of the New York Daily News. The Sun-Times won six Pulitzer Prizes during his tenure there, and the Daily News won one during his presidency. (1)
He has previously served as the chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, Human Rights Watch and the Foundation for a Civil Society, and is the vice chair of the International Center for Journalists. (1)
Hoge was the moderator of the Global Threats & Opportunities portion of The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017.
(1) Material from Wikipedia.
Max Read
Max Read
Senior editor for New York Magazine
Max Read is a writer and editor at New York magazine, where he writes Life in Pixels, a column about the internet and other signs of the apocalypse. He also writes and edits feature stories and packages about the culture of technology for print and web. He was previously editor-in-chief at Gawker, and is a founder of IRL Club. (1)
Read spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017 on the panel “Protests, Populism, & New Political Landscape” alongside Ari Melber, David Burstein, and Shauna Thomas.
Twitter: @max_read
(1) Material from Max Read’s website.
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.
Shaunna Thomas
ShaunNa Thomas
Co-founder, Executive Director of UltraVoilet
Shaunna Thomas is co-founder and Executive Director of UltraViolet. Shaunna has had a fifteen year career in progressive organizing, building progressive infrastructure projects and winning critical policy fights at the national level. Shaunna has appeared numerous times on network and cable TV including NBC, MSNBC, CNN, and CNBC as a political commentator. (1)
Before founding UltraViolet, Shaunna was the Executive Director of the P Street Project, a 501c4 nonprofit dedicated to organizing progressive members of Congress and connecting federal legislative strategy with online grassroots mobilization efforts. Prior to that, Shaunna was the COO of Progressive Congress, a nonprofit supporting the policy and organizing work of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. (1)
Thomas spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017 on the panel “Protests, Populism, & New Political Landscape” alongside Ari Melber, David Burstein, and Max Read.
Twitter: @SLThomas
(1) Material from the UltraViolet website.
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
John Podhoretz
John Podhoretz
Writer, editor, columnist
John Mordecai Podhoretz is an American writer. He is the editor of Commentary magazine, a columnist for the New York Post, the author of several books on politics, including Bush Country and Can She Be Stopped?: Hillary Clinton Will Be the Next President of the United States Unless..., and a former speechwriter for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. (1)
Podhoretz spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017 on the panel “Press Under Fire”, alongside Steven Brill, Floyd Abrams, and Elizabeth Spayd.
Twitter: @jpodhoretz
(1) Material from Wikipedia.
Elizabeth Spayd
Elizabeth Spayd
The New York Times public editor
Elizabeth Spayd is currently the public editor at The New York Times. Previously, she was editor in chief and publisher at The Columbia Journalism Review and a longtime editor at The Washington Post. (1)
Spayd spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017 on the panel “Press Under Fire”, alongside Steven Brill, Floyd Abrams, and John Podhoretz.
Twitter: @spaydl
(1) Material from The New York Times. (Author: Sydney Ember)
Floyd Abrams
Floyd Abrams
American attorney
Floyd Abrams is Senior Counsel in Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP's litigation practice group. Floyd has a national trial and appellate practice and extensive experience in high-visibility matters, often involving First Amendment, securities litigation, intellectual property, public policy and regulatory issues. He has argued frequently in the Supreme Court. Floyd's clients have included The New York Times in the Pentagon Papers case and others, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Time Magazine, Business Week, The Nation, Reader's Digest, Hearst, AIG, and others in trials, appeals and investigations. (1)
Floyd, who served as chairman of Mayor Edward Koch's Committee on Appointments, New York City, served as the Chairman of the New York State Zenger Commemoration Planning Committee. Previously, he served as the Chairman of the Communications Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, as well as Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of Speech and of the Press of the Individual Rights Section of the American Bar Association and of the Committee on Freedom of Expression of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. Floyd served on the Technology and Privacy Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Defense in 2003-4 and as the Chair of the New York State Commission on Public Access to Court Records in 2004. For fifteen years, Floyd was the William J. Brennan, Jr. Visiting Professor of First Amendment Law at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. (1)
Abrams spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017 on the panel “Press Under Fire”, alongside Steven Brill, John Podhoretz, and Elizabeth Spayd.
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(1) Material from the Cahill website.
Seth Masters
Seth Masters
Investor, advisor
Seth J. Masters currently serves as a member of the Strategic Advisory Board at Wealthtechs Inc. Masters served as Chief Investment Officer of Bernstein Global Wealth Management and Executive Vice President of Alliance Bernstein Holding L.P. from 2013-2017. Masters was also the Chief Investment Officer at Blend Strategies & Defined Contribution Investments, and has published numerous articles and appeared on many television programs dealing with investment strategy
Master spoke on the “Economic Investment Environment” at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017.
Read more:
‘Seth Masters Says Spotify's IPO Process Is Not New’, Bloomberg News, 3 April 2018
Tina Wadhwa, ‘The chief investment officer of a $490 billion fund manager on Trump, Dow 20K, and big data’, Markets Insider, 9 January 2017
Sonia Talati, ‘Wealth Advisor Backs an Active Strategy for Tough Times’, Penta, 13 February 2016