Jesse Wegman
JESSE WEGMAN
Journalist and Member of the New York Times Editorial Board
Jesse Wegman serves on the editorial board for The New York Times where he has written about the Supreme Court and legal affairs since 2013. He was previously a senior editor at The Daily Beast and Newsweek, a legal news editor at Reuters, and the managing editor of The New York Observer.
His recent book has been heavily praised with Publishers Weekly saying "Wegman combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates America’s ‘core democratic principles’ and should be done away with…" The New York Times wrote, "People have been arguing against the Electoral College from the beginning. But no one… has laid out the case as comprehensively and as readably as Jesse Wegman does.”
Jesse Wegman participated in Should the People Pick Our President? With Jesse Wegman and Rick Hertzberg, on January 25, 2021.
Jeanni Gersen
JEANNIE SUK GERSEN
Professor at Harvard Law School
Jeannie Suk Gersen is a professor at Harvard Law School and is known for her specialty in a large range of topics (including constitutional law, criminal law and procedure). She has written countless articles and three books, one of which, At Home in the Law, was awarded the Law and Society Association's Herbert Jacob Prize for the best law and society book of the year.
In 2010, she became the first Asian American woman to receive tenure at Harvard Law School.
She is a longtime contributor to The New Yorker, focusing on legal and policy issues. She served as a law clerk to Justice David Souter on the United States Supreme Court, and to Judge Harry Edwards on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Jeanni Suk Gersen participated in The Presidential Pardon with Joyce Vance and Jeanni Suk Gersen, on January 16, 2021.
Joyce Vance
JOYCE VANCE
Former United States Attorney for Alabama
Joyce Vance served as the U.S. Attorney for North Alabama and was one of the first women nominated to the role of U.S. Attorney under President Obama. Her career has made her name be credited with pursuing public corruption prosecutions with integrity. Vance adopted a "smart on crime" approach to violent and recidivist crime, intending to prosecute the most significant cases facing the district so that communities would be safer. As U.S. Attorney, she was responsible for overseeing all federal criminal investigations and prosecutions in north Alabama, including matters involving civil rights, national security, cybercrime, public corruption, health care and corporate fraud, violent crime and drug trafficking.
She has gone on to join MSNBC as a contributor and frequently provides on-air commentary regarding developments in legal issues that involve the Trump administration, including the ability to self-pardon. Administration.
Joyce Vance participated in The Presidential Pardon with Joyce Vance and Jeanni Suk Gersen, on January 16, 2021.
Steve Hawkins
STEVE HAWKINS
Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project
Steve Hawkins has been at the forefront of the movement to advance criminal justice reform, working to advance civil and human rights as an advocate, policy strategist, nonprofit leader, and foundation executive.
Steve began his career as an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund challenging racial disparities in the criminal justice system, particularly where the prosecution sought to impose the death penalty on indigent African Americans. He then served as executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, where he led a bipartisan campaign to end capital punishment for juveniles, leading to repeal in several conservative states and ultimately a historic victory in the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 2008, Steve was named executive vice president of the NAACP, where he spearheaded efforts to end the New York City police practice of “stop and frisk,” worked with leading corporations to remove obstacles to employment for formerly incarcerated persons, and engaged elected officials to restore voting rights to former felons. He also successfully encouraged the NAACP board of directors to adopt its policy in support of marijuana decriminalization. Steve continued working to address civil and human rights abuses in the United States as executive director of the American section of Amnesty International, the world’s largest human rights organization. Under his leadership, the organization confronted police abuse in Ferguson, Baltimore, and other cities, and it spotlighted prolonged solitary confinement and other human rights violations occurring in U.S. prisons and jails.
Most recently, Steve was the president of the Coalition for Public Safety, the largest national bipartisan effort to reform the justice system at the state and federal levels. In this role, he oversaw campaigns to advance policy change through public education, engagement with government officials, and mobilizing stakeholders. He also fostered development of strategic alliances involving business leaders, law enforcement officials, scholars, faith leaders, victims’ advocates and other key voices.
Steve Hawkins participated in Marijuana Legalization with Dr. Mitch Rosenthal and Steve Hawkins, on April 1st 2021.
Mitch Rosenthal
MITCH ROSENTHAL
President of the Rosenthal Center for Addiction Studies
Mitchell S. “Mitch” Rosenthal, M.D. is president of the Rosenthal Center for Addiction Studies a nonprofit institution designed to meet the informational needs of healthcare professionals, policy makers, and members of the public confronting issues of drug use and addiction.
A pioneer in the treatment of substance abuse, Dr. Rosenthal was founder of Phoenix House, the nation's leading private, non-profit provider of substance abuse services. He began work in the field in 1965 as a psychiatrist at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Oakland, California (1965-1967), where he established the first service-sponsored therapeutic community, successfully treating both alcoholics and drug addicts.
As a leading advocate for the treatment community, Dr. Rosenthal chaired the New York State Advisory Council on Substance Abuse from 1985 to 1997. He has been a White House advisor on drug abuse and a special consultant to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. A graduate of Lafayette College, Dr. Rosenthal earned his medical degree at the State University of New York's (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center. He served his residencies - in adult, child, and community psychiatry at Kings County Psychiatric Hospital, and the Staten Island Mental Health Society. He is a lecturer in psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of Humane Letters) by SUNY Downstate Medical Center in 2002.
Mitchell S. Rosenthal participated in Marijuana Legalization with Dr. Mitch Rosenthal and Steve Hawkins, on April 1st 2021. He has one book from 1972, Drugs, Parents, and Children: The Three-way Connection.
Tom Rogers
TOM ROGERS
Founder of CNBC and MSNBC
Tom Rogers, a true innovator and leader in the field of television, news and entertainment, Tom Rogers is the founder of CNBC and a CNBC contributor, as well as the founder of MSNBC. He also served as the first President of NBC cable. He is the former CEO of TiVo and is currently Chairman of Engine Media, a broad based sports, esports, and news content & distribution company. He can also be credited for bringing Netflix and Amazon to the TV screen. He is the former Senior Counsel to the House Telecommunications Committee where he oversaw the FCC and media industry. He is also an Editor-at-Large for Newsweek.
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.
Tom Rogers was the moderator in The Common Good New York City Mayoral Candidate Speaker Series With Maya Wiley on March 25 2021.
Maya Wiley
MAYA WILEY
American lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist
Maya Wiley is a nationally recognized racial justice and equity advocate. She is a leader in city government and in spurring democratic change. As Counsel to the Mayor, she delivered for New York City on civil and immigrant rights, women and minority owned business contracts, universal broadband access and more. After leaving City Hall, she held police accountable as Chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board, and worked to improve public education as a Co-Chair of the School Diversity Task Force. At the New School, where she served as a University Professor, she founded the Digital Equity Laboratory on universal and inclusive broadband.
Maya is a veteran of both the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the ACLU, was a former Legal Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC — where she argued against Trump’s attacks on our civil liberties and democratic norms — and was the founder and president of the Center for Social Inclusion. Maya was also Senior Advisor on Race and Poverty at the Open Society Foundations, the largest funder of human rights work the world over.
Maya Wiley participated in The Common Good New York City Mayoral Candidate Speaker Series With Maya Wiley, on March 25 2021.
Al Sharpton
AL SHARPTON
American Civil Rights Activist
Reverend Al Sharpton, is an internationally renowned civil rights leader, Baptist minister, politician, talk show host, and founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), which has more than 100 chapters across the country. Reverend Sharpton is also the host of “PoliticsNation” on MSNBC; a nationally syndicated daily radio show “Keepin’ It Real”; and a nationally broadcast radio show on Sunday titled, “The Hour of Power.”
A disciple of the teachings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Reverend Sharpton has been at the forefront of the modern civil rights movement for nearly half of a century. He has championed police reform and accountability, calling for the elimination of unjust policies like “Stop-and-Frisk.” Reverend Sharpton also has a brief history of advocating for voting rights, equity in education and healthcare, LGBTQ rights. Sharpton’s advocacy efforts and “tell it like it is” personality led to him being hailed as a “champion for the downtrodden" by former and first African American President Barack Obama.
Reverend Al Sharpton participated in The Civil Rights Movement with Reverend Al Sharpton, on March 18 2021.
Moderated by past speaker Jill Iscol and, new to The Common Good, Ralph Dawson.
Philippe Etienne
PHILIPPE ETIENNE
French Ambassador to the United States
Philippe Etienne is the Ambassador of France to the United States. He previously held numerous posts within the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, notably including Ambassador of France to Romania (2002-2005), Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs (2007-2009), Permanent Representative of France to the European Union (2009-2014), Ambassador of France to Germany (2014-2017) and most recently, Diplomatic Adviser to the President (2017-2019).
Philippe Etienne is an expert on the European Union and continental Europe. He has held posts in Moscow, Belgrade, Bucharest, Bonn, Berlin and Brussels. He has also served as an adviser in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on several occasions.
A graduate of the École Normale Supérieure and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (“Voltaire” Class, 1980), Philippe Etienne also holds the Agrégation (teaching diploma) in Mathematics, has a degree in Economics and is a graduate of the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations (Serbo-Croatian).
He speaks English, German, Spanish, Russian and Romanian.
He is an Officer of the Legion of Honor and a Commander of the National Order of Merit.
Philippe Etienne participated in U.S. - French Relations, on March 10 2021.
Oren Segal
OREN SEGAL
Vice President of the Center of Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League
Oren Segal is the Vice President of the Center of Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League. Oren Segal and the ADL fight against extremism, terrorism, and all other forms of hate in the real world and on social media. Recognized as the foremost authority on extremism, the Center provides resources, expertise and training which enables law enforcement, public officials and internet and technology companies to identify and counter emerging threats.
Oren joined the ADL in 1998 after working for the New York Times and the Jewish Community Federation in San Francisco. Most of Oren’s 21 years at the ADL has been directed towards evaluating the activity and tactics of extremist groups and movements from across the political spectrum, training law enforcement, and publishing reports and articles on a wide range of extremist topics. In 2006, Oren was recognized by the FBI for his exceptional service in the public interest. He was named to the Forward’s list of 50 influential, intriguing, and inspiring American Jews in 2019.
Additionally, Oren Segal is an expert on Muslim extremism overseeing the ADL’s Islamic Affairs department. In a presentation titled “Muslim Extremism: A Growing Domestic and International Threat,” Mr. Segal provides an overview of the radicalization process and criminal activity associated with those motivated by radical Islamic interpretations.
Oren Segal has been interviewed by national and international media outlets such as: ABC World News Tonight, FOX News, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and the National Geographic Channel.
Oren is a graduate from Wheaton College in Massachusetts.
Oren Segal participated in The Rise and Threat of Right Wing Domestic Terrorism. Along with Jeh Johnson, Michael German and Robert Pape he discussed the rise of right wing terrorism, and what can be done to fight it.
Robert Pape
ROBERT PAPE
Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago
Robert Pape is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago specializing in international security affairs, as well as, a successful publicist. His commentary on international security policy has appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, as well as on Nightline, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and National Public Radio.
Before coming to Chicago in 1999, he taught international relations at Dartmouth College for five years and air power strategy for the USAF's School of Advanced Airpower Studies for three years.
His current work focuses on the causes of suicide terrorism and the politics of unipolarity. He is the director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats.
Robert Pape participated in The Rise and Threat of Right Wing Domestic Terrorism. Along with Jeh Johnson, Michael German and Oren Segal he discussed the rise of right wing terrorism, and what can be done to fight it.
Michael German
MICHAEL GERMAN
Fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program and former FBI Agent
Michael German is a retired FBI agent, scholar, and writer. German is a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty & National Security Program, which seeks to ensure that the U.S. government respects human rights and fundamental freedoms in conducting the fight against terrorism. A former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, his work focuses on law enforcement and intelligence oversight and reform. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, German served as the policy counsel for national security and privacy for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington legislative office.
German is the author of Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy. The book chronicles how the FBI transformed itself after the 9/11 attacks from a law enforcement agency famous for prosecuting organized crime and corruption to arguably the most secretive domestic intelligence agency the country has ever seen. A 16-year veteran of federal law enforcement, German served as an FBI special agent, where he specialized in domestic terrorism and covert operations. He left the FBI in 2004 after reporting continuing deficiencies in FBI counterterrorism operations to Congress. German served as an adjunct professor of law enforcement and terrorism at National Defense University. He joined the ACLU’s Washington legislative office in 2006 and the Brennan Center in 2014. His first book, Thinking Like a Terrorist: Insights of a Former FBI Undercover Agent, was published in 2007.
Michael German also participated in The Rise and Threat of Right Wing Domestic Terrorism. Along with Jeh Johnson, Robert Pape and Oren Segal he discussed the rise of right wing terrorism, and what can be done to fight it.
Honorary Advisory Board Member: Bernard Schwartz
Bernard L. Schwartz is a visionary industrialist and a giant in the aerospace industry, as well as a private investor, a progressive public policy advocate, and a philanthropist. A renowned international dealmaker with a reputation for honesty and fairness, he is currently chairman and CEO of BLS Investments, LLC, a private investment firm he founded in 2006.
Prior to establishing BLS Investments, Schwartz served for 34 years as chairman of the board and CEO of Loral Corporation and its successor, Loral Space & Communications, a satellite communications company formed in 1996. He is well known in the business world for his forthright style, his integrity, and his consistent advocacy for his workers, emphasising people over profits at his highly successful companies. Loral Corporation, a Fortune 200 defense electronics firm, employed as many as 38,000 employees at its 25 locations. At its height, Loral attained annual revenues of nearly $7.5 billion and had a market value of $13 billion.
In addition, from 1989 to 2005, Schwartz was chairman of the board of K&F Industries, a worldwide leader in the manufacture of wheels, brakes and brake control systems for the aviation industry. He also served as chairman and CEO of Globalstar Telecommunications Limited until 2001, a low-Earth orbit global mobile satellite telecommunications network launched under his leadership in 1991.
Deeply troubled by the growing economic disparity in America, Schwartz also manages the investments of the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Foundation, which supports think tanks and economic policy advocacy organizations that focus on developing policies that promote U.S. economic growth and job creation initiatives. It also supports universities, medical research centers and New York City-based cultural organizations. Schwartz is a life-long Democrat and an active supporter of the Democratic Party.
Schwartz is often called upon to express his views or provide counsel on matters ranging from U.S. economic growth and competitiveness to job creation, investment in infrastructure, innovation, technology, and research and development. He has established programs at numerous organizations that examine current U.S. economic policy and competitiveness, and consistently challenge current orthodoxy to develop policy proposals that will further U.S. economic and technological success and create jobs. These organizations include: Third Way, The New School, Council on Foreign Relations, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Century Foundation, Roosevelt Institute, and the Center for American Progress. He is publisher of Democracy: a Journal of Ideas, a quarterly publication that spurs debate on economic and foreign policy issues.
A lifelong New Yorker, Mr. Schwartz also actively supports New York University Langone Medical Center, New-York Historical Society, Thirteen/WNET Educational Broadcasting Corporation, Baruch College and the New York Film Society. Schwartz serves as a trustee or board member of several of these organizations, most recently joining the Honorary Advisory Board of The Common Good.
Schwartz graduated from City College of New York with a Bachelor of Science degree and holds an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from the college. His book, JUST SAY YES: What I've Learned About Life, Luck, and the Pursuit of Opportunity, was published in 2014.
Selected Media:
What the Democrats Need Now - 2018 piece by Schwartz Democracy Journal
Billionaire Bernard Schwartz describes Biden as ‘pro-business’ leader; predicts boon to economy
My American Story: Bernard Schwartz — The Common Good
Honorary Advisory Board Member: Alan Patricof
Alan Patricof is a legendary venture capital investor who has founded multiple leading firms in the arena, including Apax Partners, Greycroft LLC, and Primetime Partners.
One of the first leaders in the industry, he has become one of the country’s pre-eminent authorities on public and private venture capital. A longtime innovator and advocate for venture capital, Patricof entered the venture capital industry in its formative days with the creation of Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc. in 1969. Patricof & Co. was a predecessor to Apax Partners which today is one of the world’s foremost private equity firms with $41 billion under management. His most recent venture, Primetime Partners, is focused on backing technology designed for people in their later stages of life, and investing in mature entrepreneurs.
Patricof has been instrumental in facilitating the seed funding of many major global companies, including Apple Computer, America Online, Office Depot, and Audible. After many years of large-scale investing, in 2004 he stepped back from the daily administration and operational aspects of Apax Partners, LP to concentrate on a smaller investment business model, focusing on a group of small venture deals. In 2006, he founded Greycroft Partners, a venture capital firm, to invest in early and expansion stage investments in digital media. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Greycroft is currently investing from its fifth Fund as well as its second Growth Fund, and has over $1 billion under management.
With a 40-plus year career in venture capital, Patricof has been instrumental in growing the venture capital field from a base of high net-worth individuals to its position today with broad institutional backing, as well as playing a key role in the essential legislative initiatives that have guided its evolution. He was also a founder and chairman of the board of New York magazine, which later acquired the Village Voice and New West magazine.
Patricof graduated from Ohio State University and received his MBA from Columbia University School of Business.
He serves on a number of boards including Columbia Graduate School of Business, and Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem, and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has previously served as a member of the President’s Global Development Council, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, TechnoServe, Trickle Up Program, Global Advisory Board of Endeavor, and the World Bank.
Patricof has participated in many TCG programs and events, including Social Impact - Change and Investing in the Wake of the Coronavirus with Sir Ronald Cohen, and most recently First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (and Unelected) People Who Shaped Our President's on October 21, 2021.
He currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.
Twitter: @alanjpatricof
Selected Media:
Latest appearance on CNBC: Greycroft's Alan Patricof: Social media companies have effectively become utilities
Patricof, New York Times Op-Ed Stopping Start-Ups
Patricof for Business Insider Confessions Of A VC Raising Money During Financial Armageddon
Patricof for The Hill: Say what you will about the presidential candidates, as long as it isn't 'They're too old'
Honorary Advisory Board Member: Jon Meacham
Jon Meacham is a much lauded and widely renowned historian with a concentration on American historical subjects who is also a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University.
He is revered for his insightful presidential biographies . Meacham was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling book on Andrew Jackson’s presidency, American Lion in 2009. His 2015 book His Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush was a #1 New York Times bestseller.
Meacham’s other New York Times best sellers include: The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, published in 2018, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power published 2012, Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship, published 2003, American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation published 2006, and most recently His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope; and The Hope of Glory, published in 2020.
Originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, he began his journalistic career at The Chattanooga Times, and was the editor of The Washington Monthly before moving to Newsweek in 1995. After serving as Managing Editor of that magazine for eight years, Meacham was Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2010. He is a former Executive Editor at Random House, where he published the letters of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., and books of many highly regarded authors including Al Gore, John Danforth, Clara Bingham, Mary Soames, and Charles Peters.
Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University, presents the 2009 Biography prize to Meacham.
He is a contributing writer to the New York Times Book Review and a contributing editor of Time. He has written for such varied periodicals as the New York Times op-ed page, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and Garden & Gun. In addition to his written work, Meacham is also a regular guest on “Morning Joe'' and other broadcasts for his sought after commentary on history, politics, and religion in America.
Meacham is a fellow of the Society of American Historians and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, The McCallie School, and The Harpeth Hall School. Meacham chairs the National Advisory Council of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. He has served on the vestries of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and of Trinity Church Wall Street as well as the Board of Regents of The University of the South.
The Anti-Defamation League awarded Meacham its Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Prize. In 2013 the Historical Society of Pennsylvania presented him with its Founder’s Award; in 2016 he was honored with the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute’s Spirit of Democracy Award. Meacham also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University in 2005 and holds honorary doctorates from Middlebury College, Wake Forest University, the University of Tennessee, Dickinson College, Sewanee, and several other institutions.
A summa cum laude graduate of the University of the South, he lives in Nashville and in Sewanee with his wife and children.
Meacham spoke about The Role of Religion in the 2008 Campaign at The Common Good alongside Amy Sullivan and Steven Waldman, and at The Common Good American Spirit Awards and Forum 2021 where he received The Common Good American Spirit Award for Thought Leadership in 2021.
He is currently a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.
Selected Media:
Meacham’s Podcasts: “Hope Through History”, a documentary style podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hope-through-history/id1507276251, “It Was Said”, which analyzes important speeches of the past: https://www.history.com/it-was-said-podcast
Alex Henderson, ‘Jon Meacham: How the Founding Fathers anticipated Donald Trump’, Salon, 5 July 2019
‘“Songs of America”: Tim McGraw & Jon Meacham trace history through music’, MSNBC, 16 June 2019
Twitter: @jmeacham
Honorary Advisory Board Member: Stanley Shuman
Stanley Shuman is a titan of venture capital and private equity who has been a leader in the investment industry for over 45 years. He has been associated with the high-level investment bank Allen & Company since 1961, as Executive Vice President, Managing Director, and now as Senior Advisor. He has also worked extensively in the media industry, serving as a Director of the multinational media powerhouse News Corporation for 23 years.
Shuman’s expertise is also highly sought after on matters of national and international policy. He was appointed by President Clinton to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, was the Chair of the National Law Project on Community Economic Development, and served on the Financial Control Board for the City of New York for nineteen years. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York.
Shuman has led and continues to lead and serve on the boards of many New York institutions including Carnegie Hall; New York Law School; the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation; the Wiltwyck School residential treatment center for disadvantaged, emotionally disturbed children; and Channel 13/WNet. He is a long standing member of several corporate boards in addition to News Corp, including SESAC for 20 years and Palamon Capital Partners for 15 years.
Stan Shuman with fellow TCG Honorary Board Member Bernard Schwartz and Denise Schwartz at the Stage of Legends at Carnegie Hall.
Shuman as the StoryCorps honoree, 2013.
He is Trustee Emeritus at Phillips Academy, Andover, the Vail Valley Foundation, and The National Public Radio Foundation. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Harvard Board of Overseers Committee on University Resources and as Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University.
Shuman with wife Sydney Roberts Gould, 2013
Shuman is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Born in Boston, he remains a lifelong Red Sox fan. He is married to Sydney Roberts Gould and has two sons, David and Michael; two stepsons, Gordon and Howard Gould, and six grandchildren.
He currently serves on The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.
Selected Media:
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
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: Byron Wien
Byron Wien has been consistently ranked as one of the most widely recognized market analysts and strategists, but he is perhaps best known for the ‘Ten Surprises’ list he has been publishing for over 30 years. At the beginning of each year, Wien gives his views and predictions on the upcoming economic, financial market, and political surprises which the average investor might overlook. He is known and widely respected for his shrewd readings and broad-reaching analysis of economic developments.
Currently, Wien is the Vice Chairman of Private Wealth Solutions group at Blackstone where he acts as a senior adviser to the firm and its clients. Prior to joining Blackstone, Wien was Chief Investment Strategist for Pequot Capital and before that served for 21 years as Chief, and later Senior, U.S. Investment Strategist at Morgan Stanley.
Wien has received many accolades over the course of more than 50 years on Wall Street. In 1998, First Call named him the most widely read analyst on Wall Street, and in 2000, he was ranked the No. 1 strategist by SmartMoney.com based on his market calls during that year. Wien was named to the 2004 Smart Money Power 30 list of Wall Street’s most influential investors, thinkers, enforcers, policy makers, players and market movers in the “Thinker” category. In 2006, he was named by New York magazine as one of the sixteen most influential people in Wall Street. The New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) presented him with a lifetime achievement award in 2008.
In 1995, Wien co-authored a book with George Soros on the legendary investor’s life and philosophy, Soros on Soros - Staying Ahead of the Curve.
Wien received an AB with honors from Harvard College and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Investment Committees of Lincoln Center and The Pritzker Foundation. He is a trustee of the New York Historical Society and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the JPB Foundation.
The Common Good was proud to present a very important discussion with Byron Wien of Blackstone Private Wealth Solutions in January of 2019: Economic Perils, Reeling Markets, Fed Action, Tariff Wars.
He currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.
Selected Media:
20 Life Lessons from Byron Wien That Will Make You a Better Person
Why Investors Should Know Byron Wien
Top three surprises to expect in 2021: Blacksone Byron Wien, CNBC
Byron Wien and Joe Zidle Announce the Ten Surprises of 2021
’Byron Wien-Vice Chairman’, Blackstone, 2019
‘Byron Wien Announces Ten Surprises for 2019’, MarketWatch, 3 January 2019
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: Ambassador Christopher Hill
Ambassador Christopher Robert Hill has been at the forefront of American diplomacy for more than three decades. He is an author, a news analyst, foreign policy expert, and a professor, in addition to being a highly distinguished career diplomat.
During his career in the foreign service Hill was nominated by three presidents to serve as U.S. Ambassador. His post included Iraq, South Korea, Poland, and Macedonia. Among his many positions as a Foreign Service officer, he has also served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Southeast European Affairs in the National Security Council.
A strong believer in the use of multi-party talks to bring about diplomatic change, he has helped negotiate several peace treaties and deals, particularly as Special Envoy to Kosovo, and the Head of the U.S. delegation to the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear program. Hill has received several State Department Awards, including the Department’s Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the Bosnian Peace Settlement and the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work during the Kosovo Crisis. He has also received honorary citizenship from Macedonia and was appointed to the New Zealand Order of Merit.
After retiring from the foreign service, Hill served as Dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, and then as the university’s Head of Global Engagement and Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy. Hill is currently the George W. Ball Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and serves as the Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group.
Ambassador Hill published his highly regarded memoir, Outpost: Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy in 2014. He currently writes as a monthly columnist for Project Syndicate, and remains a sought-after voice in the media for his insights on international affairs.
Ambassador Hill graduated from Bowdoin College and received a Master’s degree from the Naval War College. He began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon.
He previously spoke at The Common Good on February 3, 2015, and he currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.
Read more:
What Does Washington Want From China? (Foreign Affairs Article)
Christopher R. Hill, Project Syndicate Column
Book: Outpost: A Diplomat at Work
Twitter:@ambchrishill
(1) Material from the Albright Stonebridge Group website.