Honorary Advisory Board Member: Steven Brill

Steven Brill is an award-winning journalist, author, academic thought leader, and entrepreneur. He has founded a number of incredibly important and successful journalism ventures.

In 1979, Brill launched The American Lawyer, a magazine which covers the business of law firms and lawyers in the U.S. and around the world, and is highly regarded for its surveys, including the “Am Law 100”, an annual ranking of the 100 U.S. law firms. Brill went on to found Court TV (now TruTV), a channel focused on true crime documentaries and coverage of prominent criminal cases; Brill’s Content Magazine, a media watchdog publication; Journalism Online, which created a new, viable business model for journalism to flourish online; and NewsGuard which rates news sites as to how reliable and credible the news platforms and sites are..

 In support of future generations of journalism,  he and his wife Cynthia founded the Yale Journalism Initiative, which recruits and trains students to contribute to democracy in the United States and around the world by becoming journalists.

Brill, with fellow TCG Honorary Advisory Board Member Tom Rogers in 2001

Brill on Meet the Press

Brill’s most recent venture, NewsGuard, Inc, allows users to check the reliability of their online sources by reviewing the credibility of news and information websites and tracking online misinformation. NewsGuard recently launched a new “Responsible Advertising for News Segments” program which helps companies protect themselves from having their advertising unintentionally fund misinformation and hoax websites.

An exceptional author as well as a digital entrepreneur, Brill’s feature articles have appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, TIME, Esquire, New York Magazine, and Harpers. His 2013 TIME cover story, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” won the National Magazine Award for Public Service; he expanded the story into a best-selling book, America’s Bitter Pill. Brill’s other books include Tailspin, a cogent narrative describing how America’s core values have come to power the nation’s decline, The Teamsters, a New York Times best-seller on the lives and leaders of American teamsters, Class Warfare, a clear breakdown on the American education system and the adults fighting over it’s reform, and AFTER, a sweeping narrative of the first year after September 11th.  

A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Brill is also an adjunct professor at Yale Law School.

Brill spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017, and he currently serves as a member ofThe Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Twitter: @StevenBrill

Selected Media:

• New Tool Helps Ad Buyers Choose Sites That Reflect A Company's Values

• NewsGuard Launches "Responsible Advertising for News Segments" to Help Brands Stop Funding Misinformation

• Steven Brill is powering his newest company with humans, not computers

• NewGuard Co-founder Gordon Crovitz Op-Ed for Politico What I Learned on My Quest to Fix America’s Social Media Problem 

• Brill for Time Magazine, 2018 "Tailspin": How My Generation Broke America 

• Interview with Brill Combating Vaccine Misinformation 

• Interview with Brill on Law Talk podcast Steven Brill: Entrepreneur, Attorney, and Best-Selling Author  

Books:

• Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall—and Those Fighting to Reverse It. 2018

• America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Back-Room Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System 2015

• Class Warfare : Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools 2011

•  After : How America Confronted the September 12 Era 2003

• Trial By Jury 1990

The Teamsters 1978

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Ambassador Nicholas Burns

As a distinguished Foreign Service officer, Ambassador Nicholas Burns is recognized as one of the most effective and thoughtful diplomats of his generation.  He is also a renowned columnist, lecturer, professor, and foreign policy advisor, and has been associated with Harvard University for many years. 

Burns started his foreign service career in Egypt and Mauritania, before serving in the American Consulate General in Jerusalem, where he coordinated U.S. economic assistance to the Palestinian people in the West Bank. He went on to serve on the National Security Council, as Director for Soviet Affairs in the Administration of President George H.W. Bush and later as Senior Director for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Affairs and Special Assistant to President Clinton.  He capped his twenty-seven year career with the State Department for President George W. Bush as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, making him the third-ranking official at the State Department. He led negotiations on the U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement, a $30 billion long-term military assistance agreement with Israel, and served as the lead U.S. negotiator on Iran’s nuclear program. At the State Department, Burns also served as the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, the Ambassador to Greece, and as the State Department Spokesman. From 2014-2017, he was a member of Secretary of State John Kerry’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. 

Burns, center, with Lieutenant General D. Petraeus, left, and NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop de Scheffer.

President Bush, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Representative to NATO Burns, and Secretary Powell at the North Atlantic Council meeting in Istanbul.

Burns interviews Hillary Clinton at Harvard

A widely respected expert on foreign affairs and negotiation, he currently teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School as the Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, one of the world’s top university-affiliated think tanks which serves as the center of the Kennedy School’s research, teaching, and training in international security and diplomacy, environmental and resource issues, and science and technology policy. Burns is also the founder and Faculty Chair of the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project and Faculty Chair of the Center’s Project on Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship. At the university, he is a Faculty Affiliate of the Middle East Initiative, and is a Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. 

Former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright, left, and Condoleezza Rice, right, with Burns at the Aspen Institute 

In addition to his work at Harvard, Burns is Senior Counselor for the Cohen Group, serves on the Board of Directors of Entegris, Inc, the Executive Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and the Aspen Security Forum, and is Chairman of the Board of Our Generation Speaks, a start-up incubator which seeks to bring together young entrepreneurial Palestinians and Israelis in common purpose.  Burns is vice chairman of the American Ditchley Foundation and serves on the Panel of Senior Advisors at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council.

Burns with Chancellor Angela Merkel at Harvard’s 2019 Commencement.

He serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, Refugees International, and the NATO Cyber Center of Excellence. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Order of Saint John. He is a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a life-long member of Red Sox Nation.

In recognition for his work both in the foreign service and since his retirement, Burns has received fifteen honorary degrees, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the 2017 Ignatian Award from Boston College, 2016 New Englander of the Year from the New England Council, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Johns Hopkins University, the Boston College Alumni Achievement Award, and the Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from Tufts University. He has a BA in History from Boston College, an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, earned the Certificat Pratique de Langue Francaise at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, and, in 2020, was a Fulbright scholar at Queen Mary University of London.

The Common Good has been pleased to host Burns on several occasions, most recently for the The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 where he participated on the “World View: Security Challenges & Opportunities” panel alongside Ambassador Bill Burns and Congresswoman Jane Harman, moderated by Edward Luce.

Burns currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Twitter: @RNicholasBurns

Read More:

• Burns for Foreign Affairs The Diplomat as Gardener

• Burns for his column at The Boston Globe: Three myths about Putin's Russia

• Burns and Anja Manuel Op-Ed for The Hill: On India, the US must think bigger

• Burns and Frank Wisner Op-Ed for Washington Post: A planned Kosovo-Serbia meeting at the White House is falling apart. It was always a bad idea. 

• CNN on Burns’ potential appointment as Ambassador to China: Former top State Department official is Biden's leading contender to be US ambassador to China 

• Mediate article on Burns’ remarks: Nick Burns : 'Embarrassing' to Watch Trump's Trip in Britain

• The New York Times on Burns’ previous retirement from the Foreign Service No. 3 U.S. Diplomat, Lead Negotiator on Iran, Retires 

• Aspen Strategy Group publication on National Security:  Technology and National Security: Maintaining America's Edge

• Burns and Douglas Lute publication from Belfer Center: NATO at Seventy: An Alliance in Crisis

• Burns on The Guardian’s Politics Weekly Podcast: Biden makes friends with 'the west': Politics Weekly Extra 

CNN interview with Burns on the US-China Relationship, Biden’s foreign policy vision: U.S.-China Relationship Challenging, but Most Important

---

---

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Tom Rogers

A true innovator and a leader in the fields of television, news and entertainment, Tom Rogers has led a pioneering career at the nexus of media, technology, and public policy for more than three decades. He revolutionized the coverage of business news through the creation of CNBC and MSNBC during his tenure as the first President of NBC Cable, changed how we consume television as the CEO of TiVo, oversaw brands from New York magazine to the History Channel, and helped to draft many of the key laws which govern the development of today’s media industry. He is currently the Executive Chairman of Engine Media, broad based sports, esports, and news content & distribution company, as well as Chairman and CEO of TRget Media, a media investment and advisory firm.

In 1987, Rogers became the first President NBC Cable (now NBCUniversal Cable), Executive Vice President of NBC, and NBC’s chief strategist. In this role, he founded the nation’s leading business news channel CNBC and established the NBC/Microsoft joint venture, MSNBC. He was also instrumental in the establishment of many popular channels, including National Geographic Channel and Court TV (now truTV), and oversaw many more, including American Movie Classics and Bravo. He remains a contributor at CNBC today, with appearances including Squawk on the Street, Mad Money with Jim Cramer, and Fast Money.

Over his eleven years as Tivo’s longest serving President and CEO, Rogers led the company as it changed how consumers watched television through its invention of the DVR. Before TiVo, Rogers was Chairman and CEO of PRIMEDIA Inc., which at the time was the leading targeted media company in the United States. PRIMEDIA published over 200 magazines, and operated more than 400 websites.

Prior to entering the media industry, Rogers was Senior Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Telecommunications, Consumer Protection and Finance Subcommittee where he was responsible for overseeing the Federal Communications Commission, and drafted a variety of laws which shape communications today, such as the Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act of 1984, which established a national policy for the regulation of cable television communications. A graduate of Wesleyan University and Columbia Law School, he has been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame and has won an Emmy Award for contributions to the development of advanced television and advanced advertising. He is currently an Editor-at-Large for Newsweek. 

Rogers rings the bell at NASDAQ for TiVo

Rogers joined TCG on Wednesday October 28th, 2020 to moderate “The Election that Could Break America,”  a discussion about what to expect after the 2020 Biden-Trump election. He currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

DNI Director Jim Clapper, Tom Rogers, and CNN’s John Berman at the Common Good

Selected Media:

Closing Bell Interview: Netflix has pricing power: Fmr. NBC Cable President Tom Rogers

Rogers for Newsweek: Bringing Justice to Justice

 Riptide Interview Tom Rogers

Rogers on CNBC: Media mogul Tom Rogers reacts to Disney's quarterly results

Andy Serwer

Andy Serwer

American journalist

Andy Serwer is the editor in chief for Yahoo Finance, where he oversees all editorial content from breaking news to in-depth stories to original video programming. He was previously the managing editor of Fortune and worked at Time Inc. for 29 years. He has been a regular guest on MSNBC’S Morning Joe and CNBC’s Squawkbox and many other TV and radio programs.

Serwer's daily online musings have earned him a reputation as one of the sharpest and most entertaining market commentators anywhere. According to an article in the May 22, 2000, New Yorker, "Achaea had Homer, the Spanish Civil War had Hemingway, California had the Beach Boys, and now our hyperactive stock market has its own poet-singer--Andy Serwer." He was named 2000 Business Journalist of the Year by TJFR, who called him "perhaps the nation's top multimedia talent, successfully juggling the roles of serious journalist, astute commentator and occasional court jester."

Serwer has also written for Sports Illustrated, Politico, SLAM Magazine, and TIME. He has appeared on CNN’s In the Money, NBC’s The Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s American Morning, and CBS This Morning.

Serwer participated in "The Economy in Crisis -- When the Worst Is Yet to Come" event in company with Glenn Hutchins.

Glenn Hutchins

Glenn Hutchins

Businessman & Philanthropist

Hutchins has earned respect and success at the top of the business world, philanthropy, and public service. He is chairman of North Island, a co-founder of Silver Lake, and chairman of the board of both SunGard Data Systems, Inc. and Instinet, Inc. Additionally, he served as a director of Nasdaq, Inc.   Previously, Mr. Hutchins served President Clinton in the White House as a special advisor on both economic and health-care policy. 

Hutchins and his wife, Debbie, established the Hutchins Family Foundation. The foundation supports The Brookings Institution’s Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, and the Chronic Fatigue Initiative. 

Hutchins is a prolific essayist. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, Financial Times, Fortune, The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs. He was also a director of Harvard Management Company and co-chairman of Harvard University’s capital campaign.

Hutchins participated in The Common Good New York City Mayoral Series With Ray McGuire, on April 23, 2021.

Former Senator Jim Webb

Jim Webb

Politician

Jim Webb is the former Democratic Senator from Virginia. He wrote, introduced, and guided to passage the Post-9.11 GI Bill, the most significant veterans legislation since World War II, and co-authored legislation which exposed 60 billion dollars of waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan wartime-support contracts. A long-time advocate of fixing America’s broken criminal justice system, Mr. Webb was spotlighted in The Atlantic as one of the world’s “Brave Thinkers” for tackling prison reform and possessing “two things vanishingly rare in Congress: a conscience and a spine.” He went on to give a response to the State of the Union which has been regarded as one of the stronger State of the Union responses in recent memory. 

He previously served as Secretary of the Navy under President Reagan and is the recipient of the Purple Heart. Webb is also an Emmy Award winning journalist, a filmmaker, and the author of ten books. Since retiring, Webb has continued to be a prolific writer and has written for many national journals including USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Jim Webb participated in The White Working-Class Political Revolution with David Kuhn, Charlie Cook, and Moderator Clyde Haberman on January 7, 2021. Kuhn, Webb, Cook, and Haberman discussed how the white working-class was driven away from the Democratic party and towards Republicans and how that schism continues to drive class conflict and political polarization today. The discussion also broached the Democrats inability to make inroads with this demographic and if white working-class voters support Republicans in spite of their own policy preferences.

Chris Whipple

Chris Whipple

Journalist & Filmmaker

Chris Whipple is one of the most accomplished multimedia journalists of our era: a writer, documentary filmmaker, and speaker. He is a multiple Peabody and Emmy Award–winning producer at CBS’s 60 Minutes and ABC’s Primetime. He is currently the chief executive officer of CCWHIP Productions and is a frequent guest on MSNBC and CNN. Chris served as the executive producer and writer of Showtime’s 2015 documentary film The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Politico, the Daily Beast, and many other publications. His last book, Gatekeepers, on White House Chiefs of Staff was a NYTimes bestseller. Whipple recently published his book “The Spymasters” which provided a remarkable, behind-the-scenes look at the world’s most powerful intelligence agency.

Friend of The Common Good and titan of TV and journalism, Tom Brokaw, described Whipple’s book, The Spymasters, this way:  “Fascinating…Whipple parts the curtains on the dark arts to show the triumphs and failures, the personalities and rivalries of those who work in the shadows of espionage.”

The Spymasters resonates with themes from today’s headlines. It is the story of how CIA directors have stood up to rogue presidents, from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump. It was Director Richard Helms’s refusal to carry out the Watergate coverup that brought down Nixon; in the scandal over President Trump’s shakedown of Ukraine’s president, it was a CIA whistleblower who brought Trump to the verge of being removed from office. Most important, in times of national crisis, including deadly pandemics, the CIA director must be the president’s, and the nation’s, honest broker of information.

Chris Whipple participated in The Spymasters: How The CIA Directors Shaped History & the Future on December 17, 2020. Whipple and Bird discussed the CIA's innerworkings, successes and failures, role in American history, and ultimately its fundamental purpose.

Kai Bird

Kai Bird

Author & Columnist

Kai Bird is an author and columnist who has written on numerous topics and won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography on Robert Oppenheimer. His books have received critical acclaim and popular success, including The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames, which was a New York Times best-seller. His memoir, Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

In January 2017 he was appointed Executive Director and Distinguished Lecturer of CUNY Graduate Center's Leon Levy Center for Biography. He is also the recipient of the McArthur Genius Grant for research and writing. 

Kai Bird participated in The Spymasters: How The CIA Directors Shaped History & the Futureon December 17, 2020. Bird and Whipple discussed the CIA's innerworkings, successes and failures, role in American history, and ultimately its fundamental purpose.

Kurt Anderson

Kurt Anderson

Writer

Kurt Andersen is a remarkable writer who is known for his work as the host of the erstwhile Peabody-winning public radio program Studio 360. He regularly appears as a commentator on MSNBC, and has delivered TED talks. He served as a summer guest Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, and still contributes regularly to the Times. He has also been a regular columnist and critic for New York, The New Yorker and TIME.

As an editor, Kurt co-founded the transformative satirical magazine Spy and served as editor-in-chief of New York. He also co-founded Inside, a digital and print publication covering the media and entertainment industries, oversaw a relaunch of Colors magazine, co-founded the online newsletter Very Short List, and served as editor-at- large for Random House.

His writings have been praised with awards including forTurn of the Century which won the New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Heyday which won the Langum Prize for the best American historical fiction.

Kurt Anderson participated in Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History on November 18, 2020. Anderson and Hagan trace where America went wrong, what exactly happened and how we can get back to a more equitable, prosperous and ultimately more sane America.

Joe Hagan

Joe Hagan

Journalist

Joe Hagan is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair. He has written for New York, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Hagan recently interviewed author Kurt Anderson where they unpack his newest book Evil Geniuses  and unravels how the right helped create a wildly inequitable society—and how Americans could hold the government accountable for overlooking their economic interests.

His work includes long-form profiles and investigative exposés of some of the most significant figures and subjects of our time, including Beto O’Rourke, Hillary Clinton (her first post–secretary of state interview), Karl Rove, the Bush family, Henry Kissinger, Dan Rather, Goldman Sachs, The New York Times, and Twitter. In 2010, he discovered the diaries of singer Nina Simone and wrote about them for The Believer magazine. He lives with his family in Tivoli, New York.

Joe Hagan participated in Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History on November 18, 2020. Hagan and Anderson trace where America went wrong, what exactly happened and how we can get back to a more equitable, prosperous and ultimately more sane America.

Rick Wilson

Rick Wilson is a longtime Republican political strategist, infamous negative ad-maker, and commentator. He has successfully worked for numerous GOP campaigns including, presidential, senate, mayoral and gubernatorial. Since 2015, he's been a leading conservative critic of Donald Trump. He went on to co-found The Lincoln Project, a group of Republican and conservative leaders who are critical and oppose Donald Trump. 

A pioneer of and leader in the Never-Trump movement, Wilson released the best-selling Everything Trump Touches Dies in August 2018. In the book, Wilson brings his dark humor and biting analysis to confront the absurdity of American politics in the Age of Trump. He mercilessly takes down Trump and exposes the damage Trump has done to the country, to the Republican Party Wilson served for decades, and to the conservative movement that has abandoned its principles for the worst president in American history.

Wilson writes several opinions and columns for newspapers like The Daily Beast, Politico, and The Federalist. 

Rick Wilson participated in the 2020 Post-Election Roundup with Charlie Cook, Jonathan Capehart and Al Franken. After approximately two years, $14 billion and countless hours of attention, the 2020 campaign has finally come to a close. Rick Wilson was a part of the historic panel to discuss Joe Biden winning the presidency and President Trump is still contesting the results.

Al Franken

Al Franken

Politician & Comedian

Al Franken is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota. He gained notoriety for his work on Saturday Night Live.

After leaving SNL, Franken went on to become a political activist including hosting a radio show, offering commentary and insights and writing several books. He supported military members and often worked on entertaining soldiers. He decided to run for the Senate and win. While in the Senate he supported same-sex marriage, abortion rights, and gun control. In addition, Franken was active in health care reform and fought to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. 

After leaving the Senate, he now hosts his own radio program The Al Franken Show on SeriousXM which covers global affairs, politics, the 2020 presidential election, and entertainment. 

Al Franken participated in the 2020 Post-Election Roundup with Charlie Cook, Jonathan Capehart and Rick Wilson. After approximately two years, $14 billion and countless hours of attention, the 2020 campaign has finally come to a close. Al Franken was a part of the historic panel to discuss Joe Biden winning the presidency and President Trump is still contesting the results.

Barton Gellman

Barton Gellman is a highly respected and much-honored author and journalist, a staff writer at The Atlantic, and Senior Fellow at the Century Foundation in New York. His awards include the Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy for documentary filmmaking, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

His recent articles from The Atlantic have been widely praised for the cogent look at the turmoil and chaos that could erupt from the 2020 election. 

Gellman is responsible for many important stories. He led The Washington Post's coverage of the U.S. National Security Agency, which was based in large measure on top-secret documents provided to him by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden. He published a book for Penguin Press on the rise of the surveillance-industrial state in May 2020.

Gellman joined TCG on Wednesday October 28th, 2020 for “The Election that Could Break America”, a discussion about what to expect after the 2020 Biden-Trump election. The event was moderated by Tom Rogers, the founder of CNBC and a CNBC contributor. 

Hilary Rosen

Hilary Rosen

Strategist

Hilary Rosen is a well-known strategist who effectively navigates the worlds of media, communications, business and politics. She is Vice Chair of the award-winning public affairs agency SKDKnickerbocker and an on-air CNN analyst.

Hilary formerly served as chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the leading trade association of America’s record companies. She became the first Washington editor-at-large and political director of The Huffington Post.

Throughout her career, Hilary has regularly been featured on power lists in a variety of sectors, including The New York Post’s Ladies Who Launch Entertainment Trends, Entertainment Weekly’s Annual Power List, The Hollywood Reporter’s Power 50 Women, The Washington Post’s Power 20 and National Journal’s Power Women in Washington. Hilary previously worked as Chief of Staff for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, as an assistant to New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne has been an advisor to many elected officials over the years.

Hilary Rosen participated in the Post Vice Presidential Debate Panel on October 8, 2020. Rosen was joined by Greenberg, Setmayer and Percio to have an incredible conversation and to analyze the historic evening.

Tara Setmayer

Tara Setmayer

Political Commentator

Tara Setmayer is a CNN Political Commentator, Contributor to ABC News and former GOP Communications Director on Capitol Hill. She is currently the host of the "Honestly Speaking with Tara" podcast. Tara regularly appears on CNN's prime time programs and contributes to ABC's The View, Good Morning America, and Nightline.

In 2017, Tara was named as a Board Director for Stand Up Republic, a non profit organization formed in the wake of the 2016 election of Donald Trump to unite Americans behind the defense of democratic norms, ideals and institutions.

During her time as a senior congressional staffer, Tara successfully led the national effort to free unjustly imprisoned Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean through a presidential commutation issued by President George W. Bush on his last working day in office.  In addition to her communications duties, Setmayer handled policy issues on immigration and federal law enforcement.

Tara Setmayer participated in the Post Vice Presidential Debate Panel on October 8, 2020. Setmayer was joined by Greenberg, Rosen and Percio to have an incredible conversation and to analyze the historic evening.

Stanley Greenberg

Stanley Greenberg

Political Strategist

Stanley Greenberg is a New York Times best-selling author and polling adviser to presidents, prime ministers and CEOs globally and right now, is conducting deep research in multiple countries. He was the senior pollster for President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and President Nelson Mandela. Greenberg's corporate clients include Boeing, BP, Microsoft, and other global companies.

He has been described as "the father of modern polling techniques," "the De Niro of all political consultants," and "an unrivaled international 'guru.'" Esquire Magazine named him one of the most important people of the 21st century. Republican pollster Frank Luntz says, "Stan Greenberg scares the hell out of me. He doesn't just have a finger on the people's pulse; he's got an IV injected into it. He's the best."

Greenger participated in the Post Vice Presidential Debate Panel on October 8, 2020. Greenberg was joined by Setmayer, Rosen and Percio to have an incredible conversation and to analyze the historic evening.

Ret. Colonel Christopher Kolenda

Christopher Kolenda

Retired Army Colonel

Ret. Colonel Christopher Kolenda recently served as the Senior Advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan to Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, and three 4* Generals in Afghanistan. He was decorated with the Department of Defense’s highest civilian award for his work on strategy. In 2007-08, he commanded an 800-soldier task force in Kunar and Nuristan provinces where he pioneered an innovative approach to counterinsurgency in one of the most violent areas of the country. His unit is the only one in the history of the war to have motivated a large insurgent group to stop fighting and join the government. His advice has been adopted by three Secretaries of Defense and the President of the United States. He was selected to be the Secretary of Defense’s representative in exploratory talks with the Taliban from 2010-2013. He is the only American to have fought the Taliban in combat and engaged them in high-level diplomacy.

He is the founder of the Strategic Leaders Academy, which helps nonprofits and small businesses maximize their impact by developing their Leadership, Culture, and Strategy. He is the editor and coauthor of Leadership: The Warrior's Art, which has appeared on the professional reading lists of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. His most recent book, The Counterinsurgency Challenge, maps the journey of a leader in a difficult and dangerous conflict.

On September 16, 2020 Ret. Colonel Christopher Koldenda participated in “Longest War - How Do We End It? Koldenda and Johnson discuss the impact of the war, how it can be ended, and recent events with our military that have made headlines.

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Jeh Johnson

Secretary Jen Johnson

Jeh Johnson’s distinguished career has included both private corporate law practice and top-level public service for two Presidents.  

In his public career, he has served in President Obama’s Cabinet as Secretary of Homeland Security, and in senior positions in the Department of Defense, the Air Force, and the US Attorney’s office.  Johnson was drawn to public service by his belief in government as a source of good, by his faith in the character and people of the nation, and by his family’s strong history of community leadership. 

In the private sector, Johnson is a trial lawyer who has tried some of the highest stakes commercial cases of recent decades. He is a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

“A straightforward, plain-speaking man of great integrity” - Robert Gates

President Barack Obama and Secretary Jeh Johnson 

Johnson was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by President Obama in 2013 and served through 2017. In this role, he led one of the largest and most complex agencies in the U.S. government with a workforce of over 200,000 employees and responsibilities including counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, border, aviation, port, and maritime security, the protection of national leaders and critical infrastructure, national response to disasters, and the detection of chemical, biological and nuclear threats to the United States. 

Johnson speaks at his Alma Mater, Morehouse College

He is credited with management reform of the Department which brought a centralized approach to decision making, and for raising employee morale across the agency.  During his tenure Johnson oversaw the DHS response to such challenges as the Ebola crisis in West Africa; the huge influx of immigrants and asylum seekers from Central America; and the Obama Administration's executive actions affecting undocumented individuals living in the U.S.

When Johnson testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security in 2014, he did so in the same room on Capitol Hill where his grandfather was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1949. Accused of being a member of the Communist party, the prominent black sociologist Dr. Charles Johnson told Congress “wanting the elimination of inequalities and racial discrimination is not wanting to subvert the government.” 

Prior to his appointment to the DHS, Johnson served as General Counsel of the Department of Defense from 2009 to 2012, where he was the legal architect for the military’s counterterrorism efforts in the Obama Administration and was responsible for the legal approval for every military operation authorized by the President and the Secretary of Defense.  He was also heavily involved in the reform of military commissions, and shaped the administration’s polices on the detention of terrorism suspects. 

In 2010, he co-authored a 250-page report that paved the way for the repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell law which had prevented members of the LGBT+ community from serving openly in the military. In 2012, he delivered an internationally acclaimed address at the Oxford Union, entitled “How Will the War Against al Qaeda End?”, in which he looked ahead to a moment when the terrorist organization was so diminished that the United States could relax its military posture.

Johnson speaking at the Islamic Society of North America convention in Chicago in September 2016

Johnson began his public career as the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he prosecuted public corruption cases. He tried 12 cases and argued 11 appeals in three years. President Clinton appointed Johnson to be General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force in 1998, where his tenure coincided with Operation Allied Force, NATO’s air strikes during the Kosovo War. He was awarded the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service for his efforts, one of three medals awarded to him by the Department of Defense.

Johnson with two members of the TSA

In private practice, Johnson is a partner in the Litigation Department of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, having become the firm’s first African American partner in 1994. Johnson previously chaired the Judiciary Committee of the New York City Bar Association, which rates and approves federal, state, and local judges in New York City. In 2020, New York State’s Chief Judge appointed Johnson to assess equal justice in the state court system; Johnson issued a 100-page public report on the issue, with the Chief Judge adopting all of his proposed changes.

Johnson received his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, and his law degree from Columbia Law School.  He has received eleven honorary degrees.  

He is a member of the board of directors of Lockheed Martin and U.S. Steel, a trustee of Columbia University, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Law Institute.

Johnson is a regular commentator on national issues on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, PBS, FOX, and numerous other outlets. His op-eds have been published in op-eds the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Hill.  Since leaving government, he has also been called to testify before Congress five times on the subjects of cybersecurity, homeland security and national security

Johnson in his high school yearbook

TCG is thrilled to have been able to show Johnson’s terrific campaign bumper sticker collection on our Zooms. We’re hoping to catch a glimpse of his extensive train set collection.

Johnson, John Kerry, and TCG’s Patricia Duff at The Common Good Forum 2017

Johnson participated at The Common Good Forum 2017 on May 12, 2017, speaking on “Homeland Security in the Trump Years”. He also spoke alongside Representative Adam Schiff in The Russia Investigation with Congressman Adam Schiff and Secretary Jeh Johnson, and moderated a conversation at The Common Good with Michael Morell in 2018: Special Discussion with Michael Morell - March 1, 2018.

On September 16, 2020 Secretary Jeh Johnson participated in “Longest War - How Do We End It? Chris Kolenda and Johnson discuss the impact of the war, how it can be ended, and recent events with our military that have made headlines.

Johnson currently serves as a member ofThe Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Selected Media:

• Letter From Former Senior National Security, Military, and Elected Officials Calling On Congress To Create A Bipartisan 1/6 Commission

• Johnson for The Hill Stop the political blame game, so we can solve our crisis first 

• Johnson for The Hill Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was one of many warnings — but are we listening now? 

• New York Times on Johnson’s 2020 report: ‘Vile, Racist Postings’ by N.Y. Court Officers Included Obama in a Noose

• Johnson for The Washington Post: Trump-era politics are drowning out consensus on immigration. It’s time for some straight talk.

• Johnson for The Washington Post: Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance’ border policy is immoral, un-American — and ineffective

• My American Story: Secretary Jeh Johnson — The Common Good

• A Conversation with Jeh Johnson (2019 NPR interview)

• The Frontline Interview: Jeh Johnson 2018 interview on Frontline

Future of Risk: Jeh Johnson - Podcast on the Future of Risk with Johnson

Johnson with Representative Adam Schiff and Patricia Duff at The Common Good, 

Johnson with former Deputy Director of the CIA, Michael J. Morell at The Common Good

Tom Frieden

Tom Frieden

Infectious Disease Expert & Public Health Physician

Dr. Tom Frieden, MD, MPH served as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Commissioner of the New York City Health Department.

As Director, he led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) work that ended the Ebola epidemic, launched initiative that will prevent 500,000 heart attacks and strokes, sounded the alarm and accelerated progress addressing the epidemic of opioid use, and increased effective action on the front lines to find and fight winnable battles and protect and improve health in the United States and around the world. 

As Health Commissioner, he led health transformation in New York City which increased life expectancy by 3 years. He created plans to combat HIV and increased tobacco control resulting in the saving of countless lives.

He currently serves as President and CEO of Resolve To Save Lives which aims to prevent epidemics and save 100 million people from cardiovascular disease. 

Frieden participated in the event COVID-19: Then, Now and What’s To Come moderated by HHS Deputy Asst Secretary for Health Rear Admiral (ret) Susan Blumenthal, MD on Oct. 14, 2020.

Articles by Frieden:

How to Defeat Trump's Plan to Overturn the Election

Amid Trump's Post-Election Chaos, Hold Lawyers to Account

How Trump Could Lose the Election — And Still Remain President

Daniel Lucey

Daniel Lucey

American physician & researcher

Daniel Lucey MD, MPH graduated from Dartmouth College and Medical School, completed Internal Medicine Residency at UC San Francisco 1982-1985, and an Infectious Disease Fellowship and Masters in Public Health (MPH) in 1988 at Harvard. 

He worked in the US Public Health Service for five years at the NIH and FDA. Since 2003 he has travelled overseas every year, mostly to Asia and Africa, to meet with colleagues involved with outbreaks of infectious diseases e.g., SARS, H5N1 avian flu, pandemic H1N1 human flu, Nipah virus, anthrax, MERS, H7N9 avian flu, and Ebola (in Sierra Leone and Liberia). 

In 2014 he joined the O’Neill Institute as a Senior Scholar. Since 2004 he has taught a course on Global Emerging Infectious Diseases at GUMC and organized cross-campus symposia on infectious diseases at the Medical Center and School of Foreign Service. His proposal to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History was recently approved for development of an exhibition on Global Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Lucey participated in the event COVID-19: Then, Now and What’s To Comemoderated by HHS Deputy Asst Secretary for Health Rear Admiral (ret) Susan Blumenthal, MD on Oct. 14, 2020.