Few people have had the immense impact that Meghan O’Sullivan has had at the highest levels of geopolitics. She is a globally respected geopolitical expert who has advised the nation’s highest-ranking leaders — from President George W. Bush to Secretary of State Antony Blinken — on some of the most-complex challenges in international affairs. Currently, Dr. O’Sullivan is the Director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. There, she leads 300 scholars, practitioners, and staff as they advance the boundaries of international relations, security, technology, science, energy, and the environment. The Belfer Center has consistently been ranked as the world’s top academic think tank.

In a public service career that spans more than three decades and includes service in two presidential administrations, as well as two terms in the United States Senate (R-Ohio, 2011-2023) and six terms in the United States House of Representatives, Rob Portman has been among the most influential presences in American politics and policy. He has held various high-ranking government roles through the course of his career. In addition to the aforementioned roles, Portman was the 14th U.S. Trade Representative (2005-2006), as well as the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. Portman is known for his civility, successful bipartisan policymaking, work ethic, and extensive expertise of a broad range of complex issues. With more than 220 of his bills signed into law by Presidents Biden, Trump, and Obama during his tenure in the Senate, it is impossible to overstate his impact on American politics.

Congressman Joseph Kennedy III has dedicated his career to social and economic justice, fighting for the basic needs of every American family and a political system that is inclusive, representative, and fair. The U.S. Representative for Massachusetts’s 4th congressional district from 2013-2021, he ran for office to tackle the systemic inequities – from health care and housing to climate and education – that have left countless American families locked out and left behind. Kennedy’s presentations address the latest in politics and what’s next for the political landscape. Well-versed on the most pressing issues of the day, he provides an insider’s look at current events and takes a thoughtful approach on how they may impact the country’s future. With a constant focus on the most vulnerable among us, Kennedy brings a uniquely empathetic voice to our nation’s most vexing challenges.

In 2018, Joe Cunningham became the first Democrat to be elected to South Carolina's First Congressional District in over 40 years. The Charleston Post and Courier called his victory the "biggest upset in modern South Carolina history." During his two-year term in office, Cunningham was widely recognized for his “people-first” approach to legislating. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked him the 4th most bipartisan member of Congress and endorsed him in his re-election effort. The bipartisan Lugar Center ranked him as the most bipartisan freshman in the House in 2019. Delivering on a campaign promise to put “people over politics,” he made constituent services a bedrock of his tenure in Congress and his Congressional office closed more cases than any other freshman House Democrat. Cunningham served on the Veterans Affairs and Natural Resources Committees where he passed two bills into law in his first term, including the Veterans Tele-hearing Modernization Act and the Great American Outdoors Act. In 2019, Joe delivered on another signature campaign promise when the House passed his bipartisan bill banning offshore drilling. Cunningham was unafraid to make legislative points in creative ways. In 2019, he blew an airhorn in a Natural Resources subcommittee hearing to highlight the dangers of seismic airgun blasting to sea life. In his farewell speech in December of 2020, he became the first known member in Congressional history to crack a beer on the House floor in a toast to bipartisanship and cooperation. The video of Cunningham's farewell speech has been viewed over 1 million times. Even in defeat, Cunningham still enjoyed significant crossover support in his district. He lost his reelection bid by only 1% of the vote in a district that Joe Biden lost by 6%.

The Right Honorable Jean Chrétien is the former prime minister of Canada and is one of the most respected world leaders of the last 25 years. His career spans more than 40 years in public service, and under his leadership, his party won three consecutive majorities in the House of Commons. Queen Elizabeth appointed Chrétien to the Order of Merit, an award given to “individuals of exceptional distinction in the arts, learning, sciences, and other areas such as public service.” He addresses global / geopolitical matters, such as globalization, the economy, security, and social issues.

Bakari Sellers made history in 2006 when, at just 22 years old, he defeated a 26-year incumbent State Representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation. Sellers represented South Carolina's 90th district in the lower house of the state legislature from 2006 to 2014 and was also the first vice chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Sellers has been an attorney with the Strom Law Firm, L.L.C. since 2007 and is an analyst on CNN. In 2010, Time magazine featured Sellers on its 40 Under 40 list, in 2012, Politico named Sellers on its "50 politicos to watch" list and in 2014 was named HBCU Top 30 Under 30.

Professor David Cutler is currently the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the Department of Economics and holds secondary appointments at the Kennedy School of Government and the School of Public Health. He has served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration and has advised the Presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, John Kerry, and Barack Obama as well as being Senior Health Care Advisor for the Obama Presidential Campaign. Professor Cutler is also the author of two books, several chapters in edited books, and many of published papers on the topic s of health care and other public policy topics.

Director of Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Graham Allison is a leading analyst of U.S. national security and defense policy with a special interest in nuclear weapons, terrorism, and decision-making. As Assistant Secretary of Defense in the first Clinton Administration, Dr. Allison received the Defense Department's highest civilian award, the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, for "reshaping relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan to reduce the former Soviet nuclear arsenal."

Betsy Myers is currently the founding director of the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University. A leadership expert and author, she speaks around the world on the changing nature of leadership and women's leadership. Her book Take the Lead, Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You, was released in September 2011. Myers experience spans the corporate, political and higher education arena. She was the executive director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government from 2003-2007. A senior adviser to two U.S. presidents, Myers was most recently the COO and chair of Women for President Obama’s 2008 national presidential campaign. During the Clinton Administration, Myers launched and was the first director of the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach. She also served as the director of the Office of Women's Business Ownership at the SBA. She currently lives in Boston with her husband and young daughter.

Frances West is an internationally-recognized thought leader, inspirational speaker, strategy advisor, author, and women in technology trailblazer known for her work in innovation, technology, and business transformation. She is the founder of FrancesWestCo, a global strategy advisory company focused on operationalizing inclusion as a business and technology imperative through her unique Authentic Inclusion™ blueprint. Her insightful and impactful approach comes from her unique personal background as a first-generation, no-English speaking immigrant to her trailblazing professional path as one of the first women in the technology field and her experience as a global executive in sales, marketing, business development, and research as well as her ground-breaking work in accessibility as IBM’s first Chief Accessibility Officer. Frances brings a valuable business perspective to this human rights-based initiative. Because of her expertise, she was invited as the sole IT industry representative to testify before the US Senate on the need to pass the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and she holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Massachusetts in Boston in recognition of her work in accessibility, research, and digital inclusion.

In 2010, Susana Martinez was elected governor of the State of New Mexico. She became New Mexico’s first female governor and the first minority (Hispanic) female governor in the history of the United States. Prior to being elected governor, Martinez was a prosecutor for 25 years along the nation’s southern border and served as Doña Ana County’s elected district attorney for almost half that time. As governor, she prioritized keeping New Mexico’s communities safe, ensuring all students receive a high-quality education, and diversifying and growing the state’s economy.