William N. Brownsberger
Massachusetts State Senator,
Second Suffolk and Middlesex Counties
Dr. Mark Eisenberg
Primary Care Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital
Advocate for Safe Injection Facilities
Harvard Medical School ‘80
Alex Hogan
Multimedia Journalist, STAT News
Documentary Filmmaker, “Runnin”
Sheila Burke (Moderator)
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, HKS
Executive Dean, HKS (1996-2000)
Chief of Staff, Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (1985-1996)

Platforms, Networks, and New Power Technology’s Impact on Politics, Policy, and Elections

Join Luther Lowe, Global Vice President of Public Policy at Yelp, for a discussion about the battle with big tech companies for fairness and how to find a job in public policy at a technology company.

Guest Speaker: Luther Lowe, Global Vice President of Public Policy at Yelp

A Mayor for Change: Tackling National Issues at the Local Level

How do we come together to have the difficult conversations necessary to make change? What does it mean to be a committed ally? In her Crooked Media podcast “With Friends Like These,” Ana Marie Cox explores questions of allyship and uncomfortable conversations, especially in the current political climate. Ana Marie Cox is a distinguished journalist, podcaster, and media all-star. Founder of Wonkette, she has written for a variety of news outlets and is currently a writer for Syfy.

Guest: Ana Marie Cox, journalist and host, Crooked Media podcast "With Friends Like These."

Richard Cohen
President, Southern Poverty Law Center
Cornell William Brooks
President and CEO, NAACP (2014-2017)
President and CEO, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (2007-2014)
Senior Counsel and Special Counsel, Federal Communications Commission (1999-2007)
2017 Visiting Fellow and Director of Campaigns and Advocacy Program (CAP), HKS
Archon Fung
Academic Dean and Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, HKS
Co-Director, Transparency Policy Project, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, HKS
Sarah Wald
Senior Policy Advisor and Chief of Staff, HKS
Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, HKS
Former Assistant Attorney General, MA
Former President, Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association

Are We Still in This Together? The Death of Parties, the Rise of Tribalism in American Politics and What It Portends for Our Future

Look at the 2016 map of presidential election results: Hillary Clinton’s support was confined to urban areas, government centers, and college towns…and Trump won everything else. Was this a last gasp for rural America, or does it portend something for our future? Scott Jennings invites Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report and Harvard Professor Ryan Enos, author of the new book “The Space Between Us,” to discuss what citizens in “fly-over country” are thinking in the age of Trump. What impact will Trump-era political conditions have on the midterms, which are historically bad for the party in power?

Guests: Dave Wasserman, Cook Political Report and Ryan Enos, Harvard Professor and author of “The Space Between Us.”

Join the Harvard Kennedy School's LGBTQ Caucus and the IOP for a discussion with Adam MacLean, the co-chair of #EndHIV and the founder of PostShame.org, a non-profit dedicated to fostering a dialogue around shame and cultivating public leaders who are post-shame.MacLean created a framework to help people acknowledge and work through the shame in their lives, whether it's from financial mismanagement, drug addiction, or sexual matters.As a gay-identified man, MacLean made his work with LGBTQ individuals in mind who are coping with issues of shame related to their sexual orientation, identity and practices, but his framework is widely applicable beyond the LGBTQ community.

Let’s Talk Millennials
We will examine recent polling on millennials demographic from Harvard, Priorities USA and Next Gen. Who is the millennial generation? What are the barriers to engaging them electorally? What are some of the challenges both political parties face in trying to communicate with this demographic?

Turning Policies into Campaign Issues
An examination of how candidates tie policies into campaign themes and convert elections into policy referenda. One example is the 1994 midterm “Contract with America,” which I helped craft and market.

Wilmot Collins is the newly elected mayor of Helena, Montana. A Liberian refugee, Mayor Collins is the first black mayor in the history of the state of Montana. Come for pizza and discussion on Mayor Collins’ campaign, his platform, and his vision for the future of his city and country. Join the Politics of Race and Ethnicity Program and the Harvard Political Union on Monday, February 26 at 6pm in Littauer-163 for a discussion on American politics, race and local governance. 

Understanding the Attitudes of Voters Across the Political Spectrum on Globalism

Policy makers, politicians and the electorate are split on trade. In numerous cases, Democratic voters are often pro-trade, Democratic lawmakers against it; Republican voters in turn, are typically anti-trade though numerous Republican lawmakers are for it. What do the battles over EXIM, TPP and NAFTA tell us about how to frame the broader trade debate going forward? What do these battles tell us about the Republican and Democratic split on trade?  What happened in 2015 and 2016 to make trade such a front burner issue? What role will trade play in the 2018 midterms?

Confirmed Guest: Tony Fratto, Deputy Press Secretary to President George W. Bush

Fratto served as Deputy Assistant and Deputy Press Secretary to President George W. Bush from 2006-2009 and is currently a Managing Partner at Hamilton Place Strategies, a strategic communications and crisis management consultancy firm.

Join the IOP for a Career Roundtable with CNN’s MJ Lee and the New York Time’s Alex Burns on Thursday, 2/22 at 7PM in Littauer- 163. You will have the opportunity to hear from MJ and Alex about their paths to political journalism and questions about their role in the field today. Dinner will be served. RSVP here

A Conversation with
David Miliband
President and CEO, International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, UK (2007-2010)
Nicholas Burns (Moderator)
Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, HKS
Faculty Director, Future of Diplomacy Project; Faculty Chair, Middle East Initiative, HKS