Past Speakers

Ian Kahn

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Ian Kahn

Actor

Ian Kahn recently starred as General George Washington in AMC’s critically acclaimed series Turn: Washington’s Spies, which recently completed its fourth and final season. Prior to landing the role of the nation’s first president, Kahn appeared in numerous high-profile television series, including Sex and the City, Suits, Law & Order, Castle, The Unusuals and Shameless. Kahn has been speaking about his experience playing General Washington and the role’s connection to our current political challenges in venues across the country.

Kahn was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens.

Twitter: @IanKahn


Philip Bobbitt

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Philip Bobbitt

Director for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School

Philip C. Bobbitt is the Herbert Wechsler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence and director for the Center for National Security at Columbia Law School. He is one of the nation’s leading constitutional theorists. Bobbitt’s interests include not only constitutional law but also international security and the history of strategy. He has served as a law clerk to the Honorable Henry J. Friendly, associate counsel to the president, the Counselor on International Law at the State Department, legal counsel to the Senate Iran-Contra Committee, and Senior Director for Critical Infrastructure and Senior Director for strategic planning at the National Security Council.

Mr. Bobbitt was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens - November 29, 2018.

Twitter: @PhilipBobbitt


Garry Kasparov

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Garry Kasparov

Chess Grandmaster

Garry Kasparov, one of the world’s greatest chess champions in history, fled Russia in 2013 after Putin’s crackdown on reform efforts led by Kasparov and others. Kasparov currently serves as chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, and has authored numerous works on the Putin regime and artificial intelligence.

Garry Kasparov joined The Common Good to discuss Russia and the dangers Vladimir Putin and his regime pose to the world in Defending Democracy: John Avlon, Philip Bobbitt, Ian Kahn, Garry Kasparov, and Bret Stephens. Kasparov also spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.

Twitter: @Kasparov63


John Berman

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John Berman

CNN Anchor

John Berman is the co-anchor of New Day on CNN. He was previously an anchor on CNN Newsroom, Early Start, and At This Hour. Prior to working at CNN, Berman worked at ABC News as a contributor to all of ABC’s broadcasts. He reported on the invasion of Iraq and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. He has also worked on Anderson Cooper 360 and Cuomo Prime Time. He has also appeared in Jeopardy as a celebrity contestant.

Mr. Berman was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: Facts and Fears: Hard Truths and Intelligence: James Clapper - November 7, 2018.

Twitter: @JohnBerman


Fareed Zakaria

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Fareed Zakaria

Thought leader and host of CNN’s Flagship International Affairs Program

Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN’s flagship international affairs program, Fareed Zakaria GPS, and columnist for the Washington Post, is one of the nation’s most influential thought leaders. He is widely heralded for his ability to pinpoint economic and political trends. Foreign Policy has named Zakaria one of the “Top 100 Global Thinkers,” and Esquire Magazine has called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.”

The Common Good honored Zakaria at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.

Twitter: @FareedZakaria


Michael Bloomberg

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Michael Bloomberg

American businessman, politician, author, philanthropist

Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder, Bloomberg LP, Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th Mayor of New York City. He is a media mogul, urban visionary, extraordinary philanthropist, and three-time Mayor of New York. He has shaped our city and the world with many forward-thinking efforts from climate change and gun safety reform, expanded green space, and started a worldwide revolution in tobacco control. In late 2019, Michael Bloomberg announced his 2020 Democratic presidential bid.

Mayor Bloomberg presented David Hogg with the American Spirit Award for Citizen Activism at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards – May 21, 2018.

Twitter: @mikebloomberg


Antony Blinken

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Antony Blinken

Retired Deputy Secretary of State

Antony Blinken is a retired American government official who served as United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017 and Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2015 under President Barack Obama. He previously served as a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Democratic Staff Director of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (2002–2008), and a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition, active from November 2008 to January 2009, among other positions. From 2009 to 2013 Blinken served as Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President. From 2002 to 2008 he served as the Democratic Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From 2001 to 2002, Blinken was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. During the Clinton Administration, Blinken served in the State Department and in senior positions on the National Security Council Staff. On November 7, 2014, President Obama announced that he would nominate Blinken for the Deputy Secretary post, replacing the retiring William Joseph Burns. On December 16, 2014 Blinken was confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State by the Senate by a vote of 55 to 38. He is now a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN and a foreign policy adviser for Joe Biden.

For three decades, Antony Blinken has held senior foreign policy positions and worked closely with two presidents. With greater belligerence from North Korea and Russia, heightened rivalry with China, growing nuclear arsenals, and a rapidly changing Middle East, his expertise is relevant more than ever. Currently, he is the managing director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. He is also the Herter/Nitze Distinguished Scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and an Opinion writer for The New York Times.

Mr. Blinken was hosted by the Common Good in 2018: The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards – May 21, 2018.

Twitter: @ABlinken


Ambassador Jan Kickert

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Jan Kickert

U.N. Representative of Austria

Ambassador Jan Kickert is the Permanent Representative of Austria at the United Nations. Prior to his appointment, he served in a number of governmental positions including Director General for Political Affairs of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Kickert spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.


Kerry Kennedy

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Kerry Kennedy

President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Kerry Kennedy is the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. For more than thirty years, Ms. Kennedy has devoted herself to the pursuit of equal justice, the promotion and protection of basic rights, and the preservation of the rule of law. She has concentrated specifically on women’s rights, exposing injustices and educating audiences about women’s issues. She has worked in over 60 countries and led hundreds of human rights delegations.

She is the author of Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World, which features interviews with human rights activists including Marian Wright Edelman, the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Ms. Kennedy is also the author of Being Catholic Now. She appears regularly on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and PBS as well as on networks in countries around the world, and her commentaries and articles have been published in The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times, L’Unita, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, Marie Claire, The New York Times, El Pais, and the Yale Journal of International Law, among others. 

Ms. Kennedy was honored with the American Spirit Award for Citizen Activism, given by Alec Baldwin, at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.

Twitter: @kerrykennedyRFK


Ret. Admiral James Winnefeld Jr.

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James Winnefeld Jr.

Retired Admiral for the U.S. Military

For 37 years, Admiral James Winnefeld served in the U.S. Army, and was Vice Chairmen of the Joint Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2015.

In 2017, Admiral Winnefeld lost his 17-year-old to the opioid epidemic. Following his loss, he turned tragedy into action and founded the Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic (SAFE) Project. Winnefeld continues to dedicate his time to pursuing means of cutting short the growing national catastrophe of opioid addiction and overdose.

Admiral Winnefeld spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018.


David Hogg

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David Hogg

Gun reform activist, Parkland shooting survivor

David Hogg is a survivor of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. At only 19 years old, he is part of a new generation of student activists and leaders who are fighting for gun reform and an end to senseless gun violence. Hogg, with his peers, is turning tragedy into a growing movement, inspiring millions across the country. He is one of 20 founding members of Never Again MSD, an organization focused on raising awareness about events such as the Stoneman Douglas shooting, genocide, and other civil and human rights issues in order to prevent such atrocities from occurring in the future.

Hogg was awarded the The Changemaker Scholarship for Citizen Activism at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards – May 21, 2018 by Michael Bloomberg,

Twitter: @davidhogg111


John Harwood

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John Harwood

American journalist

John Harwood is Chief Washington Correspondent for CNBC and a political writer for The New York Times. Harwood hosts the CNBC Digital original video series Speakeasy with John Harwood.

Harwood first joined The St. Petersburg Times, reporting on police, investigative projects, local government and politics. Later he became state capital correspondent in Tallahassee, Washington correspondent and political editor. While covering national politics, he also traveled extensively to South Africa, where he covered deepening unrest against the apartheid regime.

In 1989, Harwood was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where he spent the 1989-90 academic year. In 1991, he joined The Wall Street Journal as White House correspondent, covering the administration of the George H. W. Bush. Later Harwood reported on Congress. In 1997, he became The Wall Street Journal’s Political Editor and chief political correspondent. While at The Wall Street Journal, Harwood wrote the newspaper’s political column, Washington Wire, and oversaw the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. In March 2006, he joined CNBC as Chief Washington Correspondent.

In addition to CNBC, Harwood offers political analysis on NBC Nightly News and PBS’ Washington Week in Review, among other television and radio programs. Harwood has covered each of the last eight presidential elections.

Harwood was hosted by The Common Good at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2018 and moderated the Midterm Elections Panel at The Common Good in 2014.

Twitter: @JohnJHarwood


Steve Coll

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Steve Coll

Author, journalist

Steve Coll was appointed Dean of Columbia Journalism School in 2013 after serving as president of New America Foundation from 2007-2013. He joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2005 and continues to write for the publication covering topics such as intelligence, politics, national security, and the media. Coll, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is the author of eight nonfiction books, a former reporter, foreign correspondent, and senior editor at the Washington Post (1985-2005).

Coll was hosted by The Common Good in 2018: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Steve Coll.

Twitter: @SteveCollNY


Robert Hormats

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Robert Hormats

Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates

Robert D. ‘Bob’ Hormats was sworn in as Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs on September 23, 2009. Hormats was formerly Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs (International). He joined Goldman Sachs in 1982. He served as Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary, from 1977 to 1979, and Assistant Secretary of State, from 1981 to 1982, at the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (now Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs).

He was Ambassador and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative from 1979 to 1981. He served as a senior staff member for International Economic Affairs on the United States National Security Council from 1969 to 1977, where he was senior economic adviser to Henry Kissinger, General Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski. He helped to manage the Nixon administration’s opening of diplomatic relations with China’s communist government. He was a recipient of the French Legion of Honor in 1982 and the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 1974.

Hormats has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and served on the Board of Visitors of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the Dean’s Council of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Mr. Hormats was hosted by The Common Good in April of 2008: The State of the Economy and the Global Outlook, April 10, 2008.

Twitter: @BobHormats


Michael Morell

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Michael Morell

Former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the C.I.A.

Michael Joseph Morell is the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of the C.I.A. He worked in the C.I.A. for 33 years. Morell has received multiple awards including the CIA’s highest ranking award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. He is also a Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, West Point’s Center on Combating Terrorism, and the Madison Policy Forum. Morell has served as a member of President Obama’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology, and is currently Senior Counselor and the Global Chairman of the Geo-Political Risk Practice at Beacon Global Strategies LLC.

Morell was hosted by The Common Good alongside Jeh Johnson in a Special Discussion with Michael Morell - March 1, 2018.

Twitter: @MichaelJMorell


Alex Witt

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Alex Witt

Television news journalist

Alex Witt hosts the MSNBC show Weekends with Alex Witt on Saturdays and Sundays. Since joining the network in 1999, Alex has hosted across both dayside and primetime platforms, as well as reported from the field during Presidential election seasons and overseas. Alex contributes to NBC Nightly News, the Making a Difference series and Today.

In the wake of the September 11th terror attacks on America, Witt broadcasted from the World Trade Center and has continued to follow the war on terrorism in the Middle East and the War in Iraq. Alex is passionate about the issues of equality for women, education and gun control, and she welcomes those discussions on her broadcasts.

Witt moderated the discussion between Sabine Krayenbühl, Zeva Oelbaum, and Mohamad Bazzi in Special Screening of “Letters from Baghdad” and Panel Discussion at The Common Good in 2018, and a Screening and Discussion on "Best of Enemies" with Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville, and Dick Cavett at The Common Good in 2015. She also introduced Patricia Duff at The American Spirit Awards 2015.

Twitter: @AlexWitt


Rob Riemen

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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.


Edward Rollins

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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

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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


Ezra Levin & Leah Greenberg

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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