Honorary Advisory Board Member: Governor Mario Cuomo ✝

“It was Mario Cuomo’s great gift and our good fortune that he was both a sterling orator and a passionate public servant. His life was a blessing,” - President Bill Clinton

Mario Cuomo was a three-term governor of New York who commanded national attention with his remarkable oratory skill. From 1983 to 1994, he led New York with a passion for problem solving and unyielding empathy for his constituents, garnering nationwide admiration. He exemplified the ideal of politicians being informed, instructive, and intellectual without condescension. A tenacious debater with a spellbinding public presence, he came to personify the liberal wing of his national party.

Cuomo was born to Andrea and Immaculata Cuomo on June 15th, 1932, in Queens, New York. His parents were Italian immigrants who arrived in the United States with no resources or local connections. They went on to open a grocery store in South Jamaica, Queens, where Cuomo worked as a child. While earning his Bachelor’s degree, Cuomo signed a contract to play center field for the Brunswick Pirates baseball team, but eventually returned to St. John’s University and graduated summa cum laude. He then attended St. John’s School of Law and graduated at the top of his class in 1956.

Cuomo’s first job in the legal profession was as an assistant to Judge Adrian P. Burke of the New York State Court of Appeals - a body Cuomo would go on to reshape by appointing all seven members, including the first woman to serve as chief judge. After entering private practice, Cuomo gained prominence defending local property owners from government seizures, and negotiating city-neighborhood disputes. He entered public life in 1974 as New York’s Secretary of State, before serving two terms as Lieutenant Governor under Governor Hugh Carey.

Cuomo with wife Matilda after Cuomo won the 1982 Democratic gubernatorial primary. 

Cuomo was elected Governor of New York in 1982, and became known for his tireless work ethic and powerful, plain speaking oratory skill. In an era when liberal thought was increasingly discredited, Cuomo celebrated it, challenging Ronald Reagan at the height of his presidency with an affirmative view of government and a message of compassion. He held several positions that went against the grain of public opinion, most prominent being his opposition to the death penalty. His annual veto of the death penalty became a rite, and he invoked it as a testimony to his character and principles.

In his tenure, Cuomo improved roads, revitalized education and infrastructure in New York City, created a large homeless assistance program, invested in high tech facilities, and initiated programs to support those with AIDS and mental illnesses. He appointed the Empire State’s first two female appellate judges; including the first Hispanic judge on the tribunal.

Cuomo delivers his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, 1984.

Cuomo’s keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention eclipsed the party’s presidential nominee and established him as a national political figure. He regularly travelled across the nation, and was considered a spokesman for liberal politics. In 1986 and 1990 Cuomo won the highest margin ever for re-election to a second and third term.

Cuomo was married to his wife, Matilda, for more than six decades. They had five children, including current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Mario Cuomo passed away at the age of 82 on January 1st, 2015. 

The Common Good was honored to host Mario Cuomo in May of 2011:Manhattan Society: The Common Good Hosts Screening for “Living for 32”. He served as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Selected Media:

Cuomo nominating Bill Clinton for president at the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York.

• Mario Cuomo (1932-2015) Syracuse Post Standard, 2015

• Mario Cuomo, Ex-New York Governor and Liberal Beacon, Dies at 82 New York Times, 2015

• What Is Mario Cuomo's Legacy? New Yorker, 2015

• Mario Cuomo Is Grateful for His Son's

• Achievement New York TImes, 2011

Books:

• Lincoln Lessons: Reflections on America's Greatest Leader. Williams, & Pederson (Eds)., Contributor Cuomo and 14 others, 2009.

• C is for Ciao: An Italy Alphabet. Cuomo with Elissa Grodin, illustrated by Marco Ventura, 2008. 

• As They Saw It: A Half-Century of Conversations from the Open Mind. Cuomo with Richard Heffner and Marc Jaffe, 2004. 

• Lincoln on Democracy. Abraham Lincoln, Edited by Cuomo, & Harold Holzer, 2004. 

• Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever. Cuomo, 2004.

• The Blue Spruce. Cuomo,1999. 

• Reason to Believe: A Keen Assessment of Who We Are and an Inspiring Vision of What We Could Be. Cuomo, 1996. 

• More Than Words: The Speeches of Mario Cuomo. Cuomo, 1993

• Diaries of M. Cuomo: The Campaign for Governor. Cuomo, 1984.

•  Forest Hills Diary: The Crisis of Low-income Housing. Cuomo, M. 1975.

Congresswoman Katie Porter

Congresswoman Katie Porter represents the 45th Congressional District in Orange County, California.

In Washington, Congresswoman Porter has remained committed to putting Orange County families first. As a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, she’s asked tough questions of bank CEOs and administration officials to hold them accountable to the American people. She’s also a proud member of the House Natural Resources Committee, where she works tirelessly to protect our beaches and public lands, elevate science-based solutions to the climate crisis, and keep Orange County families safe from wildfires. She chairs the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, where she leads efforts to hold polluters accountable.

Eager to invite families into the conversations happening in the halls of Congress, Rep. Porter has developed a reputation for her use of visual aids during Congressional hearings. She wielded a whiteboard while grilling the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, over how an entry-level employee at his bank couldn’t make ends meet. She also used her signature whiteboard to break down potential cost barriers to COVID-19 tests, which helped her secure a commitment from the Trump Administration to make testing free for every American.

Rep. Porter has also published several reports that break down issues and identify solutions on behalf of Orange County families. She’s exposed how Big Pharma’s mergers and acquisitions destroy innovation and harm patients, shined a spotlight on how the coronavirus pandemic is disproportionately burdening working women, blasted the Trump Administration for mismanaging medical supplies during a pandemic, and detailed how the Trump tax law hurts Orange County homeowners.

On June 30 2021, Katie Porter participated in Rising Leaders Series: Meet Representative Katie Porter

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Kay Koplovitz

Kay Koplovitz is a groundbreaking leader in the television and media industry. She is the founder of USA Network and the first woman in history to head a television network. She is also the visionary who created the business model for cable networks by introducing the dual revenue streams of licensing and advertising. She was the Chairperson and CEO of USA Network until the company was sold for $4.5 billion in 1998. In 1992, she launched the Syfy Channel, which became a top ten rated cable network known for innovative drama and mini-series.

Koplovitz during the early years at USA Network

Koplovitz has also figured as a major pioneer in sports television.  She launched major professional and collegiate sports on cable television by negotiating the first contracts for cable coverage of Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and the US Tennis Open. Under her leadership, the USA Network reached first place in cable prime time ratings, where it remained for 14 years. 

A very significant focus now for Koplovitz is helping advance the companies and careers of women entrepreneurs. She is the Chair of Springboard Enterprises, the premier platform for women entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts dedicated to building scalable, sustainable women-led companies.
In 1998, President Clinton appointed Koplovitz to chair the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council. She used this platform to launch Springboard Enterprises, in a move to get women entrepreneurs to “think big” about their growth companies and to raise venture capital to fund them.

As one of today’s leading women in business, Koplovitz has penned, Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game, which she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs to create wealth through equity. In February 2015 she introduced and edited, Been There, Run That, an anthology of best practices from Springboard entrepreneurs who have “been there, run that.” She is a sought after speaker and commentator on subjects ranging from women’s leadership, women’s entrepreneurship, capital formation, creating a human capital ecosystem, to emerging media and management, and corporate board governance.

UBS conference, “Revitalizing America, The Road to Sustainable Growth” (in picture L to R) Jacqueline Novogratz,  President Bill Clinton, Kay Koplovitz, David Gergen, President George W. Bush.

Koplovitz currently serves on the Boards of Ion Media Networks and Veniam; she previously chaired Liz Claiborne (later Kate Spade); and served on several major company boards, including the boards of CA Technologies, Time Inc, Oracle, Nabisco, Instinet, and General RE. She also has been a long-term trustee for The International Tennis Hall of Fame and trustee (currently emeritus) of The Paley Center for Media. In 2017, she was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.

Koplovitz 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, Alessandra Stanley, and Sally Quinn, moderated by Juju Chang. She also serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Selected Media:

• Build a Ninja Network and Stop Apologizing - How to Be a Master DealmakHER, Forbes article highlighting Koplovitz, 2021

• Female Dealmakers Share Advice on the Art of Negotiation Women’s Wear Daily, 2021

• Female Founders Reap Life-Long Benefits from Springboard programs Forbes, 2020

• Cable Vision: Kay Koplovitz Sports Business Daily, 2018 

• USA Network's founder brings video to Third World, CNBC, 2014

• Netflix is 'way ahead' of competition, says USA Network founder,interview with CNBC, 2019

• Potential to Powerhouse: Success Secrets for Women Entrepreneurs, podcast interview 2021

• Kay Koplovitz: TV Pioneer and Game Change‪r‬, Seneca's 100 Women to Hear, podcast interview 2021

• My American Story - Kay Koplovitz

Books:

• Been There, Run That,  edited and introduced by Koplovitz, 2014

Bold Women, Big Ideas, Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game 2011

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Jeffrey Rosen

Jeffrey Rosen is a highly experienced international financier and a top financial executive. He has been a leader in international investment banking for over 40 years, advising corporations in the United States and around the world on mergers, acquisitions, and corporate finance. He is currently a Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Lazard, the world’s leading financial advisory and asset management firm. 

Prior to joining Lazard in 2002, Rosen was a Managing Director of Wasserstein Perella which he helped found in 1988, and Chairman of Wasserstein Perella International. The Wasserstein Perella team of the early 1990’s is well known for hosting a dynasty of bankers and executives who went on to lead banks and corporations throughout Wall Street and the country. When the firm merged with Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, he became Deputy Chairman and Head of Continental European Investment Business of the newly enlarged company, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.

Rosen, center left, joins Bruce Wasserstein and other members of Lazard to celebrate the firm’s first appearance on the New York Stock Exchange

Previously, he was Executive Director of Credit Suisse First Boston in London, and subsequently was a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation in New York. From 2005 to 2015, he was a non-executive Director of WPP plc, a world leader in communications, commerce, and technology. 

Rosen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Economic Club of New York, and the Board of Advisors of Moore Fréres & Company, and serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of the International Center of Photography. He is also a Trustee of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Educational Foundation and of the American Academy in Berlin. 

A graduate of Yale College and Harvard Business School with distinction, he is married with two sons and lives in New York City. 

He currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Rosen with Dr. Hubert Burda, Arianna Huffington, and Dominik Wichmann at the Munich Residence Palace, 2017

Efraim Halevy

Joining us from Israel, we will have Efraim Halevy. A lawyer and an Israeli intelligence expert, Halevy was the ninth director of Mossad, the national intelligence agency of Israel, responsible for intelligence collection, covert operations, and counter-terrorism He also served as the 4th head of the Israeli National Security Council. Above all, Halevy may be remembered for his part in bringing about the Israel–Jordan peace treaty.

Halevy served as the envoy and confidant of five Prime Ministers: Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon. He took an active part in a special mission by Rabin in forging the Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace. After the failure of the Mossad operation to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Mashal in 1997, he took an active part in Benjamin Netanyahu's mission to return the Mossad men captured in Jordan, and to settle the crisis with the King of Jordan.

In December 2014 Halevy was interviewed by The Times of Israel. He claimed that Israel would never have peace unless Palestinians were treated with dignity as equals. He was critical of Benjamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett and their policies, especially regarding Jerusalem. He underscored the importance of the upcoming 17 March 2015 elections, which from his perspective "constitute an unprecedented opportunity to determine Israel's policy vis-à-vis the peace process.

On June 8 2021, Efraim Halevy participated in the Tracing his father’s escape during the Holocaust, Rick Salomon found himself drawn into the histories of lesser-known heroes of WWII, a Japanese diplomat who signed thousands of visas that rescued Jews from certain death.

Rick Salomon, spent six years working with the Consulate General of Japan to obtain access to the original visa documents where copies are on display at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.

On June 9 2021, Rick Salomon participated in the Hamas & Gaza: Where Does Israel Go From Here? Event

Rick Salomon

Rick Salomon is a CEO, Harvard-trained lawyer who has organized and moderated a diverse set of programs, including on the Middle East, for a host of organizations, including the 92Y, Temple Emanu-El's Streicker Center, and the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, which he co-founded and sits on the Board.

Tracing his father’s escape during the Holocaust, Rick Salomon found himself drawn into the histories of lesser-known heroes of WWII, a Japanese diplomat who signed thousands of visas that rescued Jews from certain death.

Rick Salomon, spent six years working with the Consulate General of Japan to obtain access to the original visa documents where copies are on display at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.

On June 8 2021, Rick Salomon participated in the Hamas & Gaza: Where Does Israel Go From Here? Event

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Bob Corker

Senator Bob Corker has had an exemplary career in public service and private business.  He represented Tennesseans in the Senate from 2007 to 2018, and became a national and global thought leader on fiscal, financial, and foreign policy issues during his tenure, leading to recognition as one of the 100 most influential people in the world according to TIME Magazine.  Corker has always advocated for a strong, compassionate America - one that doesn’t close its borders, look inwards, or waver in the face of injustice. Throughout his career as a businessman and in politics, he has been willing to speak his mind to express his principled positions or to get things done for the people.  As the Mayor of Chattanooga and then as a Senator, he displayed an admirable commitment to civility, bipartisanship, and integrity. 

Corker was first elected to the Senate in 2006, and was overwhelmingly reelected to the seat in 2012. He quickly rose to prominence on the Banking Committee where he became known for his tough, no-nonsense questioning of witnesses during the auto industry bailout and 2008 financial crisis. Corker was also a key voice in Congress on housing finance reform: a bipartisan bill he co-authored in 2013 has been called the “blueprint” for our nation’s housing finance system. A key leader on our nation’s fiscal challenges, Corker is one of the few members of Congress to produce a bill that would set our country on a path to fiscal solvency. 

Recognizing the important impact US leadership and diplomacy abroad can have on our economy and national security, Corker was also an active leader on the Foreign Relations Committee. After taking office in 2007, he visited more than 60 countries to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic relationships between the United States and other nations. In 2015, his colleagues elected him chairman. As the lead Republican on the committee, Corker proved his shrewd leadership as he worked with his colleagues to set the committee agenda and help carry out legislative and oversight responsibilities.

He was Tennessee’s commissioner of finance and mayor of Chattanooga before being elected to the Senate, but he spent most of his life in business. At the age of 25, Corker started his own general contracting firm with $8,000 in savings and a pickup truck. He quickly expanded operations to 18 states around the country. eventually expanding operations to 18 states. Soon after, he founded the Corker Group, which acquired, developed, built, managed, and leased projects. He ultimately purchased two of the largest and oldest real estate holding companies in Chattanooga.

After an extensive public service career, in January of 2019, Corker returned to business. He currently serves as chairman of Rise Ventures, a joint venture between the Corker Group and Rise Partners; is chairman of One-to-One Health; and is a special advisor to Jefferies Financial Group, a global investment banking firm. He also serves on the advisory board for several philanthropic and policy-focused organizations. 

During his twenties, Corker participated in a mission trip to Haiti which he credits as his inspiration to become an active member in his community. After his mission trip, Corker helped establish the Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, a non-profit organization that provides low-interest home loans and home maintenance education to thousands of residents living in Tennessee.

Corker was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, the son of Jean J. Hutto and Robert Phillips “Phil” Corker. His great-great-grandfather was U.S. Congressman Stephen A. Corker. After attending public school in Chattanooga, Corker graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1974 with a degree in Industrial Management. He and his wife of 28 years, Elizabeth, live in Chattanooga. They have two daughters, Emily Corker, Julia and her husband Justin Spickard, and one grandchild.

The Common Good was pleased to host Senator Corker at The Common Good Forum and American Spirit Awards in 2021. He currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Twitter:  @SenBobCorker

Selected media:

• GOP former Sen. Bob Corker says 'enough is enough,' Trump knows he's lost the election CNBC, 2021

• An early Republican Trump critic feels vindicated Politico, 2021

• PBS/FRONTLINE: "We Take Our Democracy for Granted," Says Bob Corker, Former GOP Senator and Trump Critic PBS FRONTLINE, 2021

• Bob Coker, the Relentless Tennessee Dealmaker TIME Magazine, 2015

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of America’s best known scientists, an astronomer, author, and public figure who has popularized interest in and the study of science for decades. Widely known for his charisma, humor, and passion to bring the cosmos alive to millions around the globe and his highly-awarded television and radio programs, he is also renowned for his commitment to aiming for the stars while staying grounded in reality, speaking out about the greatest problems facing our nation and our world with a pragmatic, fact-first agenda.

I dream of a world where the truth is what shapes people’s politics, rather than politics shaping what people think is true.  - Tyson

Inspired to study space and the stars by a visit to the Hayden Planetarium in New York City when he was twelve years old, Tyson is now the fifth head of that same world-renowned institution, and the first occupant of its Frederick P. Rose Directorship. He is also a research associate of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History.

In 2001, President Bush appointed Tyson to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report, published in 2002, contained recommendations for Congress and the major agencies of the government to promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

Three years later, Tyson was again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission. The group charted a path to allow a new space vision to become part of the American agenda. In 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which guides NASA through its perennial need to fit ambitious visions into restricted budgets.

Chuck Nice, Brian Greene,Tyson, Heather Berlin, Sasha Cohen, and Baba Brinkman after a Startalk recording

The Cosmos  team accepts the Peabody Award 

Through his written publications and his media appearances, Tyson works to bring an understanding and appreciation of the scientific world to the general public. For five seasons, he appeared as the host of PBS NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which offers an accessible look at the science which shapes the understanding of our place in the universe. In 2009, Tyson identified a cadre of professional comedians to aid him in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded StarTalk. StarTalk combines celebrity guests with informative, playful banter, and is aimed at an audience that never thought they would, or could, like science. Now also a popular podcast, it ran as a limited-run television series on the National Geographic Channel. In its first year on television and in three successive seasons, it was nominated for a Best Informational Programming Emmy. The 2014 series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, presented by Tyson, won a Peabody award in the Education category, and four Emmy Awards.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine. He has also written fifteen books, including his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist. His 2004 book Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith, is the companion book to the PBS NOVA mini-series Origins, which Tyson also hosted.

Tyson’s other books include: the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, a New York Times bestseller, The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, on his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status and the basis for the PBS NOVA documentary The Pluto Files, Astrophysics for People In A Hurry, a domestic and international bestseller that offers an introduction to everything that’s making news in the universe, in one place, succinctly presented for people in a hurry, and the New York Times Bestsellers Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military, coauthored with Avis Lang, and Letters from an Astrophysicist.

Tyson is the recipient of twenty-one honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union’s official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson.” And by zoologists’ naming of Indirani Tysoni, a species of leaping frog in India. Tyson was also voted “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive'' by People Magazine in 2000.

Tyson receives an honorary doctorate from Yale University

Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. He went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. Tyson lives in New York City with his wife, a former IT project manager with Bloomberg Financial Markets.

In 2021, he was awarded The Common Good American Spirit Award for Public Integrity. He currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Selected Media:

• Forbes: Provocative New Neil DeGrasse Tyson Book Highlights Little-Known Cosmic Tidbits 

• Wall Street Journal: Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Pandemic Year: Science Needs Better Marketing

• Tyson for the Wall Street Journal: Because of Science

• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Tyson On Coronavirus: Will People Listen To Science? 

• Tyson for C-SPAN, on his books to date 

• Reflections on the Color of My Skin

• Science in America 

• StarTalk Radio

• Cosmos: Possible Worlds TV Show

Books:

• Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going, 2021 

• Letters from An Astrophysicist, 2019

• Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military, with Avis Lang, 2018

• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, 2017

• Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour, with Michael A. Strauss and J. Richard Gott, 2016

• Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, 2012

• The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet, 2009

• Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries, 2007

• The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist, 2004

• Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, with Donald Goldsmith, 2004 

• City of Stars: A New Yorker's Guide to the Cosmos, 2002

• Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge, 2000

• One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos, 2000

• Just Visiting This Planet, 1998

•  Universe Down to Earth, 1994

•  Merlin's Tour of the Universe, 1989

Honorary Advisory Board Member: Robert Wolf

Robert Wolf is an expert financier and influential business leader. He is the founder and CEO of 32 Advisors, a boutique consulting and advisory firm, and the Chairman and Co-Founder of Measure, an aerial intelligence  company. He has been named to Worth Magazine's 100 Most Powerful People in Finance multiple times, most recently in 2018. He is a regular contributor to Fox News and Fox Business.

Wolf’s firm, 32 Advisors, includes the direct investing arm 32 Ventures, the bi-partisan economic insights platform Strategic Worldviews and the Flint, Michigan accelerator group 100K Ventures. Prior to forming 32 Advisors, Wolf spent 18 years at Union Bank Switzerland, a global financial services firm. There he held several senior positions, including Chairman and CEO of UBS Americas, and President & Chief Operating Officer of UBS Investment Bank. He joined UBS in 1994 after spending approximately 10 years at Salomon Brothers.

Wolf held three Presidential appointments under President Obama; as a member of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, and the Export Council. In 2012, he was on the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Border Infrastructure Task Force. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Obama Foundation, on the Undergraduate Executive Board of the Wharton School, on the Economic Advisory Council for the Center for American Progress and on the board of the Partnership for NYC. He formerly served as Vice Chairman of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights, on the board of trustees of the Children's Aid Society, and on the Athletics Board of Overseers at UPenn. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.

Wolf received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. While at UPenn, he played on the varsity football team that won IVY League Championships in both the 1982 and 1983 seasons. He currently resides in Purchase, NY. He grew up in Marblehead, MA and is in the town's Athletics Hall of Fame. His wife, Carol, is a Director of Events & Strategic Partnerships at Sandy Hook Promise.

The Common Good was pleased to have Wolf moderate the 2019 event Global Challenges: Facts and Fears in Our New Era with Richard Haass. Wolf currently serves as a member of The Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Twitter: @robertwolf32

Selected media:

• For Some on Wall Street Beating Trump Is More Important Than Money Vanity Fair, 2020

• Former Obama Adviser: A Blue Wave Isn't Coming, Townhall, 2018

• A Top Fundraiser for Obama Turns From Wall Street to Drones Bloomberg, 2015

• What to expect from Biden's stimulus plan Fox Business, 2021

• Robert Wolf breaks down 2020 Democrats Fox News, 2019

• Will the U.S. and China Have a Trade Deal by the End of the Month?Fox Business, 2019

Representative Elissa Blair Slotkin

Rep. Slotkin has spent her career in national service. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which took place during her first week of graduate school in New York City, Rep. Slotkin knew that national service would define her career. She was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to be a Middle East analyst and went on to devote her career to protecting the United States from national security threats. In her role at the CIA, Rep. Slotkin worked alongside the U.S. military during three tours in Iraq as a militia expert. In between her tours in Iraq, Rep. Slotkin held various defense and intelligence positions under President Bush and President Obama, including roles at the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

In 2011, Rep. Slotkin took a senior position at the Pentagon and, until January 2017, she served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In this role, Rep. Slotkin oversaw policy on Russia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at the Pentagon and participated in negotiations on some of the country’s most pressing national security issues.

On July 15 2021, Rep. Slotkin participated in The Common Good sits down with Representative Elissa Blair Slotkin. Moderated by Jane Harmon.

Carol Anderson

CAROL ANDERSON

Professor and Author

Carol Anderson is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies at Emory University and the author of several books: White Rage, The Unspoken Truth of Our Nation’s Divide, a New York Times Bestseller, Washington Post Notable Book of 2016, and a National Book Critics Circle Award winner.

Carol focuses her research on how policy is made and unmade, how racial inequality and racism affect that process and outcome, and how those who have taken the brunt of those laws, and how these individuals and groups have worked to shape a framework that dismantles the legal and political edifice used to limit their rights and their humanity.

Carol Anderson grew up wondering and worrying about her brother serving in Vietnam, watching her neighborhood descend into a place the news would describe as “on the near eastside today”. Professor Anderson grasped early on that policymakers and activists were at work shaping our world.  Carol has made it her goal to find out how and why and then grapple with the consequences.

Her research has garnered an array of grants and fellowships, including sponsors such as the American Council of Learned Societies, Ford Foundation, and Harvard University’s Charles Warren Center. Carol was recently awarded with a 2018 fellowship in Constitutional Studies by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Carol Anderson has appeared on PBS NewsHour, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The Guardian, New York Times, and Washington Post.

She is a Phi Beta Kappa Graduate from Miami University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Political Science and a bachelor’s in history. Carol Anderson also earned her Ph.D. in History from The Ohio State University.

On May 26 2021, Carol Anderson participated in Voting Righting and American Democracy with Michael Waldman.

David Litt

DAVID LITT

Political Speechwriter

David Litt entered the White House as a speechwriter in 2011, and left in 2016 as a senior presidential speechwriter and special assistant to the president. In addition to writing remarks for President Barack Obama on a wide range of domestic policy issues, David served as the lead joke writer for several White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologues. Since leaving government, David's work has appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The Boston Globe, among others. From 2016-2018 he was the head writer and producer for Funny Or Die D.C., and he has developed TV pilots for Comedy Central and ABC. 

David's New York Times bestselling memoir, Thanks, Obama: My Hopey Changey White House Years, was published in 2017. His second book, Democracy in One Book Or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn’t, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think, was published in June 2020.

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

Clarissa Ward

CLARISSA WARD

Journalist

CNN’s chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, is a multi-award winning American journalist who's been reporting from front lines across the world for more than 15 years. Ward's career in journalism started in 2002 as an intern at CNN's Moscow bureau. She has since been named Reporter of the Year by the Gracies in 2019 and published her own memoir: 'On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist', detailing her career as a conflict reporter. 

This year, Ward will collect the Ted Sorensen Award from Network 20/20 in recognition for "adeptly crafting the first draft of history and providing original insight into the people and events of our time."

Clarissa Ward participated in The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, on March 4, 2021.

Ray Dalio

RAY DALIO

Investor and Hedge Fund Manager

American famed investor, hedge fund manager and philanthropist Ray Dalio is the Co-Chief Investment Officer and Co-Chairman of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, He started his company in 1975 out of his New York apartment. He's also author to #1 New York Times Bestseller Principles: Life and Work.

Ray Dalio participated in The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, on March 4, 2021. Mr. Dalio will receive the American Spirit Ward for Business Leadership.

Robert Blakey

G. ROBERT BLAKEY

Attorney and Law Professor

Professor G. Robert Blakey, the nation's foremost authority on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), has served on the Notre Dame Law School faculty for more than 30 years. He teaches in the areas of criminal law and procedure, federal criminal law and procedure, terrorism, and jurisprudence. Blakey's extensive legislative drafting experience resulted in the passage of the Crime Control Act of 1973, the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1970 and the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, Title IX of which is known as RICO. He has been personally involved in drafting and implementing RICO-type legislation in 22 of the more than 30 states that have enacted racketeering laws. He frequently argues in or consults on cases involving RICO statutes at both the federal and state levels, including several cases before the United States Supreme Court.

Blakey has considerable expertise in federal and state wiretapping statutes as well. He helped draft and secure passage of Title III on wiretapping of the federal 1968 Crime Control Act, and has been personally involved in drafting and implementing wiretapping legislation in 39 of the 43 states that have enacted such laws. Blakey has extensively investigated the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He served as chief counsel and staff director to the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations from 1977 to 1979, and helped to draft the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. Blakey gave remarks at the 2012 Law School Hooding/Diploma Commencement Ceremony on May 19, 2012. Blakey received Emeritus status in December 2012.

G. Robert Blakey will participate in Revisiting The MLK Assassination with G. Robert Blakey, on April 8, 2021. Books of his include: The Development of the Law of Gambling, Rackets Bureaus: Investigation and Prosecution of Organized Crime, The plot to kill the President, Fatal Hour: The Assassination of President Kennedy by Organized Crime.

Eric Adams

ERIC ADAMS

18th Borough President of Brooklyn

Eric Adams is a politician serving as the 18th and current Borough President of Brooklyn, New York City since 2014. He is a candidate in the 2021 New York City mayoral election in the democratic primary.

Adams served as an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City Police Department for over two decades, retiring at the rank of captain. In November 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President, the first African American to hold the position. 

Eric is a lifelong New Yorker. He received his master’s degree in public administration from Marist College, and is a graduate of New York City Technical College and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He is also a proud product of New York City public schools, including Bayside High School in Queens. Today he lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where he has resided for over 20 years.

Eric Adams will participate in The Common Good New York City Mayoral Series with Eric Adams, on April 15 2021. He has one book, Healthy at Last: A Plant-Based Approach to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes and Other Chronic Illnesses.

Clint Watts

CLINT WATTS

Senior Research Fellow

Clint Watts is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and Non-Resident Fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy. He is also a national security contributor for NBC News and MSNBC. He recently examined the rise of social media influence by publishing his first book entitled Messing With The Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians and Fake News.

His research and writing focuses on terrorism, counterterrorism, social media influence and Russian disinformation. Clint’s tracking of terrorist foreign fighters allowed him to predict the rise of the Islamic State over al Qaeda in 2014. From 2014 – 2016, Clint worked with a team to track and model the rise of Russian influence operations via social media leading up to the U.S. Presidential election of 2016. This research led Clint to testify before four different Senate committees in 2017 and 2018 regarding Russia’s information warfare campaign against the U.S. and the West.

Clint’s writing has appeared in a range of publications to include the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Daily Beast, Politico, Lawfare, War On The Rocks and the Huffington Post.

Before becoming a consultant, Clint served as a U.S. Army infantry officer, a FBI Special Agent, as the Executive Officer of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (CTC), as a consultant to the FBI’s Counter Terrorism Division (CTD) and National Security Branch (NSB), and as an analyst supporting the U.S. Intelligence Community and U.S. Special Operations Command.

Clint Watts is participating in Combating Misinformation with Clint Watts and Cong. Jane Harman, on April 22 2021. He has one book, Messing with the Enemy: Surviving in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News.

Ray McGuire

RAY MCGUIRE

Businessman

Ray McGuire is a former Citigroup executive and a current candidate for Mayor of New York City. In this crowded race, McGuire has raised over $2.5 million for his campaign since January, and is on pace to outraise every Democratic candidate for mayor in the past 32 years ahead of the June primary. 

Raised by a single mother in Dayton, Ohio, Ray McGuire graduated from Harvard University’s joint JD/MBA program, before coming to New York to work on Wall Street.

Ray aims to help New York City recover from the pandemic with his Comeback Job Accelerator Plan, create new oversight of policing practices, and find a path to permanent housing for the city’s homeless population.

Ray McGuire participated in The Common Good New York City Mayoral Series With Ray McGuire, on April 23 2021.

Adam Grant

ADAM GRANT

Psychologist

Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top-rated professor for seven straight years. He is one of TED's most popular speakers, his books have sold millions of copies, his talks have been viewed more than 25 million times, and his podcast WorkLife with Adam Grant has topped the charts.  His best-selling books include Originals, Give and Take, and Think Again.

His pioneering research has inspired people to rethink fundamental assumptions about motivation, generosity, and creativity. He has been recognized as one of the world's 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune's 40 under 40, and has received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation.

Adam received his B.A. from Harvard and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, and he is a former Junior Olympic springboard diver. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and their three children.

Adam Grant participated in "How to Lead" with David M. Rubenstein and Adam Grant, on February 20 2021. Rubenstein and Grant explored the hallmarks of good leadership from our best political leaders, CEOs, founders and other giants, including the understanding of good - and bad - leadership in the U.S. Presidency and the political arena.

David Rubenstein

DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN

Businessman and Philanthropist

David M. Rubenstein is a Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private investment firms. He is a 1970 graduate of Duke University and a 1973 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. He served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments before becoming the Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy during the Carter Administration. He also practiced law in both New York City and Washington, D.C.

Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Council on Foreign Relations; a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation; a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution; a Trustee of the National Gallery of Art, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; a Director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and President of the Economic Club of Washington, among other board seats.

Mr. Rubenstein is an original signer of The Giving Pledge; the host of The David Rubenstein Show; and the author of The American Story and How to Lead.

David M. Rubenstein participated in "How to Lead" with David M. Rubenstein and Adam Grant, on February 20 2021. Rubenstein and Grant explored the hallmarks of good leadership from our best political leaders, CEOs, founders and other giants, including the understanding of good - and bad - leadership in the U.S. Presidency and the political arena.