The Honorable Susan Collins
United States Senator, Maine 
Douglas W. Elmendorf (moderator)
Dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Maine senator Susan Collins joined Dean of Harvard Kennedy School Douglas Elmendorf in conversation at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum. Senator Collins discussed the current state of the republican party, bipartisanship in the Senate, and the future of the Supreme Court. She also fielded questions from the audience on a variety of topics ranging from her thoughts on hospice care and assisted suicide to increasing the presence of women in the Senate.

Douglas Elmendorf (Opening Remarks)
Dean, Harvard Kennedy School
Paul Monteiro
Acting Director, Community Relations Service at U.S. Department of Justice
Brittany Packnett
Vice President of National Communities Alliances, Teach for America
Co-founder of Campaign Zero
Avik Roy
President, The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity and Editor, Forbes Opinion
Leah Wright Rigueur
Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Panelists Paul Monteiro, Acting Director of Community Relations Service at the U.S. Department of Justice; Brittany Packnett, Vice President of National Communities Alliances, Teach for America and Co-founder of Campaign Zero; and Avik Roy, President of The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity and Editor of Forbes Opinion joined moderator Leah Wright Rigueur, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, for a panel discussion to reflect on the race and justice in the Obama Era. The panelists discussed the way in which President Obama has shaped national movements in race and justice over the past eight years. In particular, they focused on his unique voice as the first black president, successfully balancing all concerns in the national discussion on racially tense issues, such as Ferguson and Dallas.

The panel was co-sponsored by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance & Innovation, the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy.

Michael S. Rogers
Commander, U.S. Cyber Command
Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service

Graham Allison (moderator)
Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School

Admiral Michael Rogers, Director of the National Security Agency and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, joined Professor Graham Allison, for a discussion on the role of America’s intelligence community in ensuring the country’s safety. Admiral Rogers stressed the strong legal framework within which the NSA operates and the necessity of maintaining the integrity of its activities. He also addressed the challenges we face in defending America’s critical infrastructure from foreign cyber attacks. At the conclusion of the Forum, Admiral Rogers addressed the audience, thanking them for the open and civil discussion related to often-contentious matters of national security.

The Edwin L. Godkin Lecture by
The Honorable Jeb Bush
Founder and Chairman, Foundation for Excellence in Education
Governor of Florida (1999 - 2007)

Roland Fryer (Co-Moderator)
Henry Lee Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Faculty Director, Education Innovation Laboratory, Harvard University

Paul Peterson (Co-Moderator)
Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government, Harvard University
Director, Program on Education Policy and Governance, Harvard University
 

Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush, joined by Harvard professors Roland Fryer and Paul Peterson, addressed the Forum Thursday night discussing a range of political events with a focus on education policy and the implications of Florida’s experiment with education reform. Governor Bush spoke about income inequality and policy solutions to end the cycle of poverty in conjunction with the successes and failures of the United States education system. Governor Bush also fielded questions from the audience concerning the current state of American politics, the future of the American presidency, and the challenges facing the next President in uniting the country.

A Public Address by His Excellency Dr. Hage Geingob
President of the Republic of Namibia

His Excellency Dr. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia addressed the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on the current political and economic state of Namibia. He spoke about a new Africa and the rise of democratic elections throughout the continent, emphasizing that a combination of transparency and accountability leads to trust in a respected government. He also praised the African Union as a transformational body that has helped to heal the wounds of the past, to break down barriers, and to change perspectives on long-held narratives. The forum was introduced by Douglas Elmendorf and moderated by Harvard Kennedy School Professor of the Practice of International Development, Calestous Juma.

Iris Bohnet
Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Author, What Works: Gender Equality by Design

Meghna Chakrabarti
Host of Radio Boston, WBUR
Host, Modern Love: The Podcast, Digital Production with WBUR and The New York Times

Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School, Iris Bohmet joined Radio Boston host, Meghna Chakrabarti for a conversation on creating inclusive organizations. Professor Bohmet spoke about indicators of job performance, citing unstructured interviews as the worst predictor due to their vulnerability to interviewer bias in determining applicant potential. She called on the audience to challenge and assess the inclusivity of norms and culture within organizations. Douglas Elmendorf introduced the program.

The 2016 Lamont Lecture by:
Ehud Barak
Prime Minister of Israel (1999-2001)
Minister of Defense (2007-2013)
Graham Allison (Moderator)
Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, HKS

Former Prime Minister of Israel and Minister of Defense, Ehud Barak, joined Graham Allison, professor of Government at the Harvard Kennedy School, for a conversation about global politics and the role of Israel and the United States within it. Barak captivated the audience with his personal military stories, opinions on the turbulent Middle East, and optimistic views for relations with the future President of the United States. He offered insight on American foreign diplomacy and the important role of energy in global politics. While answering questions from the audience, Barak spoke about the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, nuclear weapons, and his views on the dynamic region of the Middle East. 

Bob Schieffer
Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow
Former Reporter & Anchor for CBS News 
Former Moderator of “Face the Nation”
Ann Compton
Fall 2016 Resident Fellow, Institute of Politics
ABC News, White House Correspondent (1973-2014)
Nicco Mele (Moderator)
Director, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

Panelists Bob Schieffer, former reporter and anchor for CBS News, and Anne Compton, former ABC News White House Correspondent, joined moderator Nicco Mele, Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy for a discussion on the role of the press in the 2016 election. The panelists addressed the differences in media presence between the presidential candidates, as well as the changing nature of election coverage more broadly.

John Beyrle
Ambassador of the United States, Russian Federation (2008-2012)
Maxim Boycko
Visiting Lecturer in Economics, Harvard University
Jill Dougherty (Moderator)
Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief
 

Visiting Lecturer in Economics, Maxim Boycko, and former American Ambassador to Russia, John Beyrle, joined moderator Jill Doherty for a discussion on the future of American relations with the Russian Federation and the challenges the next president of the United States will face. They discussed issues ranging from Russian involvement in Syria to the very different positions of Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump regarding conflicts and negotiations with Vladimir Putin.

Annual Robert Glauber Lecture by
Thomas J. Curry
Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Robert Glauber (Moderator)
Adjunct Lecturer Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASD (2001-2006)

Thomas J. Curry, the Comptroller of the Currency at the U.S. Treasury Department, presented the Annual Robert Glauber Lecture. He spoke on emerging issues in bank regulation. In particular, Mr. Curry emphasized how regulators must respond to the post-Great Recession economic world. Robert Glauber, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and former Chairman and CEO of NASD, moderated the event. The Forum was sponsored by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), previously known as National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD).

Oliver Stone
Director, Snowden
Academy Award winning Film Director, Screenwriter, Producer
Ron Suskind (moderator)
Director, Investigative Journalism Project, Harvard Law School

***THIS FORUM IS TICKETED***
 

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