John Kasich
69th Governor of Ohio
Author, Two Paths: America Divided or United
 
David Gergen (Moderator)
Professor of Public Service and Co-Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School

***THIS EVENT IS TICKETED***
To enter the lottery, go HERE before Wednesday, April 19th at midnight.  Winners will be notified by email Thursday, April 20th via email.  Winners must pick up their tickets at the Institute of Politics on Friday, April 21st between 9:00 and 5:00 PM or Monday, April 24th, between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM; a valid ID must be presented to pick up a ticket.  No Exceptions.

Governor of Ohio John Kasich addressed the forum on political issues from his current tenure as Governor of Ohio, as well as his past roles at the state and federal level of Ohio. Governor Kasich spoke on issues such as community policing, balancing the budget, and personal stories of faith and his path into politics. Harvard professor David Gergen moderated the forum. 

Nicholas Eberstadt
Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy, American Enterprise Institute
Author, Men Without Work: America's Invisible Crisis
Jason Furman
Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Chair, Council of Economic Advisers (2013-2017)
Lawrence H. Summers (Moderator)
Charles W. Eliot University Professor of Harvard University
Co-Director, Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard Kennedy School

Panelists Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute and author of Men Without Work: America's Invisible Crisis, Jason Furman, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (2013-2017), joined moderator Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor of Harvard University and Co-Director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, for a panel discussion to reflect on employment crisis amongst "prime-age" men twenty-five to fifty-four. The panelists defined the exact problem as they saw it and discussed their differing opinions on its causes and possible remedies. 

His Excellency Ban Ki-moon
Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School
Eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations
Edward S. Mason Fellow and MPA 1984, Harvard Kennedy School
Joseph S. Nye Jr.
Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
Former Dean of Harvard Kennedy School
Graham Allison (Moderator)
Douglas Dillon Professor of Government and Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

***HARVARD ID REQUIRED***

The Eighth Secretary General of the United Nations, His Excellency Ban Ki-moon addressed the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on the major international events of the past decade while he served as UN Secretary General. He recounted his efforts to steer the nations of the UN toward ambitious commitments to fight poverty and save the environment. He also warned against nuclear proliferation, emphasizing the importance of economic sanctions as strategy to reduce North Korean aggression. Graham Allison moderated the Forum.

Arthur Brooks
President, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
Beth and Ravenel Curry Scholar in Free Enterprise, AEI
Leah Wright Rigueur (Moderator)
Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Welcome by
Douglas Elmendorf
Dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute, spoke at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on entrepreneurship and creative solutions that work at the margins of society. After delivering an address, Brooks was joined onstage by moderator Leah Wright Rigueur, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. The panelists expanded upon the work of AEI and Brooks that explore the origins of "living life like a startup," and also took questions from the audience on the future of the American labor force, the effect of class on social innovation, and psychological determinants of entrepreneurs. 

Douglas W. Elmendorf, Dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Drew Gilpin Faust, President and Lincoln Professor of History, Harvard University

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Opening Forum | American Power and Global Security: An Altered Landscape

Nicholas Burns (moderator), Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
Graham T. Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Caroline Kennedy, Honorary Chair, Senior Advisory Committee, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School; U.S. Ambassador to Japan (2013–2017)
Joseph S. Nye Jr., University Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard Kennedy School
Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs; Director, Geopolitics of Energy Project, Harvard Kennedy School

Introduction by Jack Schlossberg, grandson of President John. F. Kennedy

David Gergen (moderator), Public Service Professor of Public Leadership; Co-director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School
Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Joe Kennedy III, Member, U.S. House of Representatives, Massachusetts (4th District)
Maria Shriver, Journalist, Author, and Founder of Shriver Media
Elise Stefanik, Member, U.S. House of Representatives, New York (21st District)

2017 Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award

A Conversation with
Congressman John Lewis
Member, U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia's 5th district
Nancy F. Koehn (Co-moderator)
Historian and James B. Robison Chair of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
ImeIme Umana (Co-moderator)
Editor, Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School '18
Sheila C. Johnson Fellow, Center for Public Leadership
President, Student Advisory Committee, Institute of Politics 2013

***THIS EVENT WILL BE TICKETED***
To enter the lottery, go HERE before Wednesday, April 12th at midnight.  Winners will be notified by email Thursday, April 13th.  Winners must pick up their tickets at the Institute of Politics on Friday, April 14th between 9:00 and 5:00 PM or Monday, April 17th, between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM; a valid ID must be presented to pick up a ticket.  No Exceptions.

Congressman John Lewis was presented the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award, which serves "to honor exceptional leaders and innovators who have sparked positive social change and inspired others to do the same." After Dean of the Kennedy School Douglas Elmendorf presented the award to Congressman Lewis, the Congressman was joined onstage by co-moderators Nancy F. Koehn, Historian and James B. Robison Chair of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and ImeIme Umana, Editor, Harvard Law Review, Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School '18. Congressman Lewis discussed his struggle for Civil Rights in a personal sense, and took questions from the audience regarding the current state of Civil Rights activism, his experiences in the U.S. Congress, and the future of social activism and reform.  

Kelly Ayotte
Spring 2017 Joint Visiting Fellow, Institute of Politics and Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
United States Senator from New Hampshire (2011-2017)
Attorney General of New Hampshire (2004-2009)
Trey Grayson (Moderator)
President and CEO, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Director, Institute of Politics (2011-2014)
74th Secretary of State of Kentucky (2004-2011)
Harvard College '94

Moderator Trey Grayson, President and CEO, Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, former Director of the Institute of Politics, former Secretary of State of Kentucky (2004-2011), and Harvard College graduate Class of '94, and Kelly Ayotte, former senator, former attorney general of New Hampshire, and Spring 2017 Joint Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Politics and Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School discuss Senator Ayotte’s time as attorney general of New Hampshire, running her first campaign, her experience working with Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham as a member of the “Three Amigos,” her endorsement of Mitt Romney, the community of women in the senate, and the usage of data in campaigns. During the Q&A session, Sen. Ayotte discussed her views on bipartisanship in the Senate, the US’s security policy in Afghanistan, and the recent elimination of the filibuster in the Senate.

Sarah Hurwitz
Senior Speechwriter for President Barack Obama and Chief Speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama
Cody Keenan
Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama
John McConnell
Senior Speechwriter for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
Ann Compton (Moderator)
Fall 2016 Resident Fellow, Institute of Politics
White House Correspondent, ABC News (1973-2014)

Moderator Ann Compton, ABC New White House Correspondent and Fall 2016 Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics; Cody Keenan, Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama; Sarah Hurwitz, Senior Speechwriter for President Barack Obama and Chief Speechwriter for First Lady Michelle Obama; and John McConnel, Senior Speechwriter for President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney discuss how they got started in speechwriting and the stories behind some of the prominent speeches they wrote, including President George W. Bush’s address to Congress following the September 11 terrorist attacks and President Barack Obama’s farewell speech. During the Q&A session, they discussed the mistakes they made and the lessons they learned, how they worked with their speakers to make them better speakers, Donald Trump’s speaking style, and much more.

The 2017 Pollak Lecture by:
General Stanley McChrystal
Founder,  McChrystal Group
Retired Four-Star General, United States Army
Douglas Elmendorf (Moderator)
Dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Moderator Douglas Elmendorf, Dean and Don K. Price Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, was joined by Retired Four Star General Stanley McChrystal, founder of the McChrystal Group for the 2017 Pollak Lecture. In his lecture, General McChrystal discussed an array of issues relating to the road to citizenship in the United States, including the promise of the youngest generation of Americans and the difficulties that come along with redefining citizenship. General McChrystal also took questions from the audience on barriers to transformative change and how his military experience has contributed to his worldview.

Featured Keynote for the 2017 Black Policy conference
Loretta E. Lynch
83rd Attorney General of the United States
Harvard College '81 and Harvard Law School '84
Christopher Robichaud (Moderator)
Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

***THIS EVENT WILL BE TICKETED***
To enter the lottery, go HERE before Tuesday, April 4th at noon. Winners will be notified by email the evening of Tuesday, April 4th.  Winners must pick up their tickets at the Institute of Politics on Wednesday, April 5 between 9:00 and 5:00 PM or Thursday, April 6, between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM; a valid ID must be presented to pick up a ticket.  No Exceptions.

Moderator Christopher Robichaud, Lecturer in Ethics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and former Attorney General of the United States, Harvard College graduate of the class of ’81 and Harvard Law School graduate of the class of ’84, Loretta E. Lynch, discuss the leadership lessons Attorney General Lynch took away from her positions in office, the need for communication and transparency between law enforcement and the judiciary and local citizens, the War on Drugs, the dynamic between the Trump Administration and the judiciary, and civil rights issues.

A Public Address by
Her Excellency Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
President of the Republic of Mauritius

Archon Fung (Moderator)
Academic Dean and Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship, Harvard Kennedy School

President of the Republic of Mauritius Ameenah Gurib-Fakim joined moderator Archon Fung, Academic Dean and Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship, Harvard Kennedy School, to discuss the goals and challenges facing the Republic of Mauritius. President Gurib-Fakim also discussed her personal and political life in Mauritius and took questions from the audience regarding Africa, the United States, and women in politics.