Past Speakers

Michael Waldman

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Michael waldman

Constitutional lawyer, writer, President of the Brennan Center for Justice

Michael Waldman is President of the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law. He is a constitutional lawyer and writer, and is an expert on the presidency and American democracy. The Brennan Center is a leading national voice on voting rights, money in politics, criminal justice reform and constitutional law. Waldman has led the Center since 2005.

Waldman was Director of Speechwriting for President Bill Clinton from 1995-99, serving as Assistant to the President. He was responsible for writing or editing nearly 2,000 speeches, including four State of the Union and two Inaugural Addresses. He was Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination from 1993-95.

His books include The Fight to Vote (2016), The Second Amendment: A Biography (2014). My Fellow Americans: The Most Important Speeches of America’s Presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama (2003, 2010); A Return to Common Sense (2007); POTUS Speaks (2000); and Who Robbed America? A Citizens' Guide to the S&L Scandal (1990).

He appearances on television and radio include Good Morning America; The Colbert Report; Morning Joe; PBS Newshour, CBS Evening News; Meet the Press Daily; All In with Chris Hayes; the O'Reilly Factor; Nightline; 60 Minutes; Tavis Smiley; Hardball with Chris Matthews; The Rachel Maddow Show; NPR’s Morning Edition; All Things Considered; Fresh Air; and Diane Rehm. He writes for publications including The New York Times, Politico, The Washington Post, Daily Beast, Slate, Democracy, Reuters.com and Bloomberg.com.  

On May 26 2021, Michael Waldman participated in Voting Rights and American Democracy with Michael Waldman.

Twitter: @mawaldman

Tom Brokaw

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Tom Brokaw

American television journalist, author

Tom Brokaw served as Managing Editor and Anchor of NBC Nightly News from 1983 to 2004. Mr. Brokaw remained at NBC, where he continued to report and provide expertise as well as produce documentaries. He has covered every presidential election since 1968 and was NBC’s White House correspondent during Watergate. He began his journalism career in 1962 at KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska. He anchored the late evening news on Atlanta’s WSB-TV in 1965 before being hired by NBC News in 1966. Mr. Brokaw currently serves as Vice Chair of the Robin Hood Foundation and as Director of the Council on Foreign Relations, Inc.

Brokaw spoke on the panel “Journalism and Democracy” alongside Lesley Stahl and Sir Harry Evans at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019.

Twitter: @tombrokaw

Stephanie Ruhle

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Stephanie Ruhle

Correspondent

Stephanie Ruhle anchors MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle at 9 a.m. ET and MSNBC Live with Velshi & Ruhle at 1 p.m. ET on weekdays. Ruhle also appears across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, including NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, TODAY, and NBCNews.com. Since joining MSNBC, Ruhle has interviewed numerous high-profile newsmakers and influential politicians.

 Previously, Ruhle served as anchor and managing editor for Bloomberg Television and editor-at-large for Bloomberg News, where she co-hosted Bloomberg , Bloomberg TV’s flagship morning show featuring global thought leaders across business, tech and media.

In 2015, Ruhle produced and hosted the documentary Haiti: Open For Business?, which sheds light on the country five years after it was hit by a devastating earthquake and explores its viability as the next emerging market. Ruhle also participated in a short-form documentary, Sharkland: A Mission Blue & Fusion Expedition, which brings attention to the plight of sharks and the urgent needs to conserve our oceans.

Ruhle plays an active role in women’s leadership development, having founded the Corporate Investment Bank Women’s Network and co-chaired Women on Wall Street. Ruhle is a member of the board of trustees for Girls Inc. NYC and in 2016 was honored as one of their Women of the Year. Ruhle currently sits on the board and advises for React To Film, an issue-based documentary film series, and formerly served on the corporate councils of iMentor and The White House Project.

Ruhle was hosted by The Common Good in 2019: Screening and Discussion of The Panama Papers. She also spoke alongside Alan Schwartz in “Growing a Fair Economy” at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 on May 10th, 2019.

Twitter: @SRuhle

Sir Harold Evans

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Sir Harold Evans

Editor, award-winning journalist

Sir Harold Evans was the editor of The Sunday Times and The Times (and earlier of The Northern Echo and assistant editor of The Manchester Evening News) and has written a number of best selling books. During his 14-year career with The Sunday Times, Evans helped bring public attention to many stories and scandals that were officially denied or ignored, including: the British Thalidomide children who were never compensated for severe birth defects; the exposure of Kim Philby as a Soviet spy; and the publication of the diaries of former Labour Minister Richard Crossman. In 1984 he moved to the United States, where he had leading positions in journalism with U.S. News & World Report, The Atlantic Monthly, and the New York Daily News, and founded Condé Nast Traveler in 1986. He holds the British Press Awards’ Gold Award for Lifetime Achievement of Journalists. In 2001, British journalists voted him the all-time greatest British newspaper editor. and he was knighted in 2004. In 2011, Evans was appointed editor-at-large of Reuters news agency.

Evans was presented with the American Spirit Award for Courage in Journalism at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019, followed by a panel discussion titled “Journalism and Democracy” alongside Tom Brokaw and Lesley Stahl.

Twitter: @sirharryevans

Matt Bennett

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Matt Bennett

Third Way political activist

Matt Bennett is a Third Way political activist whose pursuit of center-left politics has taken him from the campaign trail to the White House, and from the pages of the New York Times to appearances on Meet the Press and 60 Minutes.

He worked on both of the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton and served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Clinton White House, where he was the principal White House liaison to governors and covered issues ranging from disaster response to Medicaid to immigration. Prior to that, Matt traveled with Vice President Al Gore on his White House staff. He was Director of Communications for Wesley Clark's presidential campaign in 2004, and from 2001-2004 he was Director of Public Affairs for Americans for Gun Safety.

In 2005, Matt joined his three fellow co-founders in establishing Third Way, believing that there is a tremendous need for fresh thinking and moderate ideas in a time of extreme political immoderation. He considers helping to extend marriage equality to gays and lesbians one of Third Way's proudest achievements so far.

Bennett participated at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards on May 10th, 2019. He spoke on “The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas” panel alongside former Senator Claire McCaskill, former Congressman Steve Israel, Margaret Hoover and Rick Tyler, moderated by Errol Louis.

Twitter: @ThirdWayMattB

Alessandra Stanley

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Alessandra Stanley

Journalist, editor

Alessandra Stanley is the co-editor of Air Mail, a digital weekly publication created by Graydon Carter. Previously, Alessandra was a foreign correspondent and television critic at The New York Times. In 1993, she received the Matrix Award from Women in Communications, and in 1998, she received the Weintal Prize for Diplomatic Reporting.

Stanley participated in The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 on May 10, 2019. She spoke on the “Women & Power” panel alongside former Congresswoman Mia Love, Sally Quinn, and Kay Koplovitz, moderated by Juju Chang.

Cohen Curtis

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Cohen Curtis

Advocate for criminal justice reform

Ellis Cohen Curtis was incarcerated for 25 years for involvement in the murder of Richard Harper. Having grown up in Sacramento with exposure to violence and crime from a young age, Curtis became embroiled in gangs as a young teenager. He was sentenced to life without parole as a juvenile - aged 17. Initially resentful, he found a path to reform while incarcerated. The Human Rights Watch took up his case and ultimately helped him to be released on parole.

Today, Curtis speaks out in favor of criminal justice reform and draws from his own personal experiences to evaluate the ways the system needs to change, and how we can prevent cases from his like occurring - both to prevent young individuals from joining gangs, and to allow them a chance to change. Curtis designs programs and processes for through networking in the south Los Angeles area to create dynamic resources for returning citizens.

Curtis detailed his experiences at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 on May 10, 2019, on the “Renewing Democracy” panel with Nicole Austin-Hillery, Max Boot, and Michael Waldman, moderated by Ari Melber.

Honorable Mia Love

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the Honorable Mia Love

Former U.S. House Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Utah

Ludmya "Mia" Love served as House Representative for the 4th congressional district of Utah from 2015 to early 2019. Prior to her election as House Representative, she was the Mayor of Saratoga Springs from 2010 to 2014. She graduated college with a degree in musical theater but became a community spokesperson due to her desire to make a change in the neighborhood she lived in. Love went on to continue her political career by winning a seat in the Saratoga Springs council and then went on to become mayor. She is the first black female Republican elected to Congress, and is currently a contributor at CNN.

Love participated in The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 on May 10, 2019. She spoke on the “Women & Power” panel alongside former Alessandra Stanley, Sally Quinn, and Kay Koplovitz, moderated by Juju Chang.

Twitter: @MiaBLove

Errol Louis

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Errol Louis

Broadcast journalist, television show host

Errol Louis is the Political Anchor of Spectrum News NY1, where he hosts Inside City Hall, a nightly primetime show about New York City politics. As part of the show, he interviews top political and cultural leaders, including an exclusive weekly one-on-one conversation with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Louis has also conducted interviews with ex-mayors David Dinkins, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg; Gov. Andrew Cuomo and ex-governors George Pataki, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson; dozens of city, state and federal officials, and presidential candidates including John Kasich, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Louis has moderated more than two dozen debates between candidates for mayor, public advocate, city and state comptroller, state Attorney General and U.S. Senate. In addition to political leaders, Louis has interviewed iconic cultural figures including filmmaker Ken Burns and activist Gloria Steinem.

Louis was recently ranked #40 on the list of the 100 most powerful people in New York City politics. He is an adjunct professor of Urban Reporting at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, where he has taught political and investigative reporting to more than 100 graduate students.

Louis participated at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards on May 10th, 2019. He moderated the “The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas” panel featuring former Senator Claire McCaskill, former Congressman Steve Israel, Matt Bennett, Margaret Hoover and Rick Tyler.

Twitter: @errollouis

Margaret Hoover

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Margaret Hoover

Political commentator, political strategist, media personality, author

Margaret Hoover is the host of PBS’ Firing Line with Margaret Hoover a revival of the television series hosted by William F. Buckley Jr. for 33 years. A CNN political commentator, Hoover has served in The White House under President George W. Bush, in the Department of Homeland Security, on Capitol Hill and in two presidential campaigns. She is the President of American Unity Fund, a political organization focused on achieving full freedom and equality for LGBT Americans, as well as the bestselling author of American Individualism: How a New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party in 2011. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News, The Daily Beast, CNN and FoxNews. Hoover serves on the boards of Stanford University's Hoover Institution, the Hoover Presidential Foundation, and the Belgian American Educational Foundation.

Hoover participated at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019, on May 10th, 2019. She spoke on “The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas” panel alongside former Senator Claire McCaskill, former Congressman Steve Israel, Matt Bennett and Rick Tyler, moderated by Errol Louis. She also participated at The Common Good Forum 2015, on the “Lead Up to 2016 and Beyond: US Politics Now” panel alongside Jim McLaughlin and Robert Zimmerman, moderated by Dana Bash.

Twitter: @MargaretHoover

Major General Dr. Robert Latiff

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Major General Dr. Robert Latiff

Retired Air Force Major General

Dr. Robert H. Latiff retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Major General in 2006. He is an Adjunct Faculty Member with the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values at the University of Notre Dame, and is a Research Professor at George Mason University. Major General Latiff is also a member of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Intelligence Community Studies Board.

Dr. Latiff spoke on “Artificial Intelligence & Warfare” at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019.

Ambassador Bill Burns

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Ambassador Bill Burns

President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former career Foreign Service Officer

Ambassador (ret.) William “Bill” Burns is currently president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the oldest international affairs think tank in the United States, after a thirty-three-year diplomatic career. He holds the highest rank in the Foreign Service, career ambassador, and is only the second serving career diplomat in history to become Deputy Secretary of State. Prior to his tenure as Deputy Secretary, Ambassador Burns was ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs from 2001 to 2005, and ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001. Ambassador Burns speaks Russian, Arabic, and French, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards. His memoir, The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal, was released in 2019.

Burns participated at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 on May 10th, 2019, on the “World View: Security Challenges & Opportunities” panel alongside Ambassador Nicholas Burns and Congresswoman Jane Harman, moderated by Edward Luce.

Senator Doug Jones

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Senator Doug Jones

U.S. Senator

Senator Doug Jones served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama beginning in 1997. It was while serving in this position that Senator Jones successfully prosecuted two of the four men responsible for the 16th street church bombings. Along with taking on the Ku Klux Klan, he prosecuted terrorists like Eric Rudolph, and many others who sought to use fear, hatred, and violence to inhibit the rights of others. Since his historic election, Senator Jones has brought that lifelong passion for justice and commitment to service to his role in the Senate.

Senator Jones gave a talk at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 entitled “Can’t We All Just Get Along? How Washington Can Best Serve the Nation,” emphasizing the importance of bipartisanship and consensus building.

Twitter: @SenDougJones

Congressman Steve Israel

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The Honorable Steve Israel

Politician, former Congressman for New York’s 2nd and 3rd districts, writer

Former Congressman Steve Israel left Capitol Hill in 2017 to pursue a career as a writer. Israel was a member of Congress for sixteen years and served as House Democrats chief political strategist between 2011-2015 and as Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

As chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for four years, Israel was the chief architect of House campaign strategies. He was responsible for overall development of competitive House campaigns across America. Israel was lauded for recruiting and electing the most diverse and entrepreneurial freshman congressional class in history. He developed a vast network of local, state and federal officials throughout the nation and is considered a leading expert in congressional dynamics.

Israel is a regular political commentator on MSNBC. His insights appear regularly in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs and on 60 Minutes, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, FoxNews, and elsewhere. His 2017 NY Times op-ed, “Nothing Will Change After The Las Vegas Shooting” went viral; his Mic.Com video on gun violence received nearly 3.5 million views. Israel is currently the Director of the new Institute of Politics and Global Affairs at Cornell University, the only academically-based institute of politics in the New York City metropolitan area. He also served as a Tisch College Visiting Fellow at Tufts University.

Israel participated at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, 2019 on May 10th, 2019. He spoke on “The Road to 2020: Leaders & Ideas” panel alongside former Senator Claire McCaskill, Matt Bennett, Margaret Hoover and Rick Tyler, moderated by Errol Louis.

Twitter: @RepSteveIsrael ‏

Former Ambassador Martin Indyk

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Martin Indyk

Diplomat, academic

Martin S. Indyk is distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he was the John C. Whitehead Distinguished Fellow in International Diplomacy in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Indyk served as the U.S. special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations from July 2013 to June 2014. Prior to his time as special envoy, he was vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program and a senior fellow and the founding director of the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.

Indyk was hosted by The Common Good in 2019: Discussion with Ambassador Martin Indyk.

Twitter: @Martin_Indyk

Vicky Ward

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Vicky Ward

Author, journalist

Vicky Ward is a New York Times Bestselling author, investigative reporter and author of the book, KUSHNER, INC., published March 19, 2019.

The author of two best-selling books, The Liar's Ball: The Extraordinary Saga of How One Building Broke the World's Toughest Tycoons, and The Devil's Casino: Friendship, Betrayal, and the High Stakes Games Played Inside Lehman Brothers. She is the editor at large of HuffPost and HuffPost’s long-form magazine, Highline, and Town & Country magazine. Previously, she was a contributor to Esquire and contributing editor to Vanity Fair for eleven years where her articles covered politics, finance, art and culture and society.

Ward discussed her book KUSHNER, INC. at The Common Good in 2019: Vicky Ward Investigative Reporter and New York Times bestselling author "Kushner, Inc.".

Twitter: @VickyPJWard

Guy Cecil

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Guy Cecil

Chair of Priorities USA

Guy Cecil is one of America’s leading political strategists. He is currently the Chairman of Priorities USA Action, an independent political action committee, and the Founder of Miles Strategies. Cecil has more than 15 years of experience managing high-profile political, non-profit, and corporate issue advocacy campaigns, including having served as Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He is recognized as a leading Democratic strategist with experience in every region of the country, including Senate races in 35 states.

The Common Good hosted Cecil on March 6th, 2019, for a discussion entitled Political Briefing - “Election 2020: Messaging & Strategy”.

Twitter: @GuyCecil

Fern Hurst

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Fern Hurst

Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of CLAL

Fern K. Hurst, a Jewish leader and champion for pluralism, was recently named the new Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. Ms. Hurst succeeds Thomas O. Katz, Esq. as Chairman of the organization.

Active in CLAL since the late 1980’s, Ms. Hurst has been a member of the Board for many years, most recently in the position of Associate Chair/Secretary. Long active in the work of the organization, she was a member of the delegation that went to the 2004 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Barcelona, the pre-eminent interfaith forum, and has been a key participant in CLAL’s annual workshops in Aspen, Colorado.

In addition to her participation at CLAL, Ms. Hurst is a member of the Executive Committee of AIPAC, and was the founding president of The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York. She is a member of the Business Council of the Democratic National Committee, and a member of the Democratic Leadership Council. She is also on the board of Goucher College, from which she holds a B.A, and is an overseer of the School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania, from which she holds a Masters of City Planning.

Fern co-hosted Rule of Law, Investigations, Testing the New Supremes in 2019 and hosted a Meet & Greet: The Right Honorable David Miliband in 2016 at The Common Good.

Laurence Tribe

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Laurence Tribe

Legal scholar

Laurence H. Tribe, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard, has taught at its Law School since 1968 and was voted the best professor by the graduating class of 2000. The title “University Professor” is Harvard’s highest academic honor, awarded to just a handful of professors at any given time and to just 68 professors in all of Harvard University’s history.

Born in China to Russian Jewish parents, Tribe entered Harvard in 1958 at 16; graduated summa cum laude in Mathematics (1962) and magna cum laude in Law (1966); clerked for the California and U.S. Supreme Courts (1966-68); received tenure at 30; was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at 38 and to the American Philosophical Society in 2010; helped write the constitutions of South Africa, the Czech Republic, and the Marshall Islands; has received eleven honorary degrees, most recently a degree honoris causa from the Government of Mexico in March 2011 that was never before awarded to an American and an honorary D. Litt. From Columbia University; has prevailed in three-fifths of the many appellate cases he has argued (including 35 in the U.S. Supreme Court); was appointed in 2010 by President Obama and Attorney General Holder to serve as the first Senior Counselor for Access to Justice; and has written 115 books and articles, including his treatise, American Constitutional Law, cited more than any other legal text since 1950.

Tribe spoke at The Common Good in 2019: Rule of Law, Investigations, Testing the New Supremes.

Twitter: @tribelaw

Bret Stephens

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Bret Stephens

Columnist, associate editor for the New York Times

Bret Stephens is an op-ed columnist and associate editor for the New York Times. He previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, where he served concurrently as foreign-affairs columnist, deputy editorial page editor and member of the editorial board. Prior to that he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, a position he assumed in 2002 at the age of 28. Mr. Stephens has degrees from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics, as well as three honorary doctorates.

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

Twitter: @BretStephensNYT