Past Speakers | President's Forum | Hobart and William Smith

Established in the winter of 2000 by President Gearan, the President's Forum Series brings a variety of speakers to campus to share their knowledge and ideas with students, faculty and staff, as well as with interested community members.

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Speakers

Maya Rupert

Political strategist and author
Spring 2026
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WENDY SHERMAN

Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
Fall 2025
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DR. CHRIS BEYRER ’81, SC.D. ’22

Internationally recognized epidemiologist and public health expert
Spring 2025
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SCOTT JENNINGS

CNN contributor, conservative columnist and former presidential advisor
Fall 2024
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JOHN KING

Veteran political correspondent and CNN’s award-winning chief national correspondent
Fall 2024
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ED HAJIM

Author and seasoned Wall Street executive
Fall 2024
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LATOSHA BROWN

Award-winning political organizer, strategist and advocate
Fall 2024
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HUGH HEWITT

Attorney, author, and conservative radio host
Fall 2024
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CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF GLOBAL EDUCATION

A reflection on the growth and impact of international education with the HWS community
Fall 2024
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AMY WALTER

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report
Fall 2024
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ROB KAROFSKY ’89

President of UBS Investment Bank
Spring 2024
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CLIMATE NEUTRALITY: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Spring 2024
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Patrick J. Deneen

Professor at Notre Dame University, Author
Spring 2024
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FORMER U.S. REP. JOHN J. FASO (R-NY) AND FORMER U.S. REP. DAN GLICKMAN (D-KS)

Fall 2023
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CARRIE JAMES ’92

Author, Research Associate and Principal Investigator at Harvard’s Project Zero
Fall 2023
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SCOTT KEOGH '91

Scout Motors President and CEO
Fall 2023
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Steven Rothstein

Executive Director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
Spring 2017
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Daniel L. Rosensweig '83

President and CEO of Chegg and former HWS Trustee
Spring 2017
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Dan Boysen '11

Everytown for Gun Safety
Fall 2016
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Senator Tom Harkin

U.S. Senator
Fall 2016
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The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry ’75

27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Fall 2016
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John Della Volpe

Director of Polling at Harvard University's Institute of Politics (IOP) and Founder and CEO of SocialSphere, Inc.
Fall 2016
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James Carville LL.D. '13, P'17
and Mary Matalin P'17

Political Strategists
Fall 2016
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Donna Brazile

Democratic Political Strategist
Spring 2016
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Lovely A. Warren

Rochester Mayor
Spring 2016
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Svante L. Myrick

Ithaca Mayor and HWS Presidential Fellow
Spring 2016
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Bill Whitaker '73, L.H.D. '97

60 Minutes Correspondent and HWS Trustee
Fall 2015
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The Hon. Shireen Avis Fisher '70

Justice of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone
Fall 2015
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Nancy L. Zimpher

Chancellor of the State University of New York
Spring 2015
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Elizabeth Frawley Bagley

Top Advisor with the U.S. Department of State and Former U.S. Ambassador to Portugal
Spring 2015
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Michael Kimmel

Distinguished professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stony Brook University
Spring 2015
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Susan Brison

Expert on Sexual Violence and Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dartmouth College
Fall 2014
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Mary Matalin and James Carville

Political Strategists
Fall 2014
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Victoria Reggie Kennedy

Legal Strategist and Financial Attorney
Fall 2014
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William A. Galston

Wall Street Journal Political Theorist and Writer
Fall 2014
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Neal Conan and Ken Rudin

Political Junkie Road Show
Fall 2014
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Victor Simpson '63

Former Rome Bureau Chief for the Associated Press
Spring 2014
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Kathy Platoni '74

Hypnotherapy and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment expert
Spring 2014
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Todd S. Purdum

Senior Writer at POLITICO and contributing editor at Vanity Fair
Spring 2014
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Gus Schumacher

Former Undersecretary of Agriculture
Spring 2014
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Cleveland L. Sellers Jr.

President of Voorhees College
Fall 2013
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Judy Shepard

Gay rights advocate and mother of Matthew Shepard
Spring 2013
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Svante L. Myrick

City of Ithaca's youngest Mayor and first Mayor of color
Spring 2013
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Christopher Howard

President of Hampden-Sydney College
Spring 2013
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Rev. Dr. Marvin A. McMickle

Political Activist and Author
Spring 2013
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Cecile Richards

President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Spring 2013
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Jamal Simmons

Political Analyst and Journalist
Fall 2012
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Hands on the Freedom Plow: the Women of SNCC

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
Fall 2012
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Alan Khazei

Co-founder of City Year and founder of Be the Change, Inc.
Fall 2012
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Eleanor Clift

Newsweek Contributing Editor, Regular Panelist on “The McLaughlin Group,” and Author
Fall 2012
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Amory B. Lovins

Physicist
Fall 2012
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E. J. Dionne

Washington Post Opinion Writer
Spring 2012
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Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire

Force Commander for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda
Spring 2012
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Harold Middlebrook

Friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Active in the Civil Rights Movement
Spring 2012
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George Stephanopoulos

ABC's Good Morning America Anchor and Chief Political Correspondent
Fall 2011
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Ellen Gustafson

Founder and Executive Director of the 30 Project
Fall 2011
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Timothy P. Shriver

Chairman of Special Olympics
Fall 2011
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Helen Epstein

Author
Fall 2011
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Daniel L. Rosensweig '83

Accomplished Internet Entrepreneur
Spring 2011
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Bishop V. Gene Robinson

9th bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church
Spring 2011
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John Hockenberry

Journalist
Spring 2011
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Melanne Verveer

U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues
Spring 2011
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Philippe Cousteau Jr.

Chief Executive Officer of EarthEcho International
Spring 2011
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Chuck Todd

Chief White House Correspondent and Political Director for NBC News
Fall 2010
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David Oliver Relin

Journalist and Author
Spring 2010
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Vikki N. Spruill P'12

President and CEO of the Ocean Conservancy
Spring 2010
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Gov. Howard Dean

Former Governor of Vermont and Former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Spring 2010
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Kevin Roose

Author
Spring 2010
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Michael Tanner

Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
Spring 2010
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Cornel West

New York Times best-selling author
Fall 2009
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Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland; Daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel
Fall 2009
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Paul Begala

Political Consultant and Commentator for CNN; Former Adviser to President Bill Clinton
Fall 2009
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Stephen Hess

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Emeritus of Governance Studies
Spring 2009
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Michael Elliott

TIME International Editor
Spring 2009
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Tara Wall

The Washington Times' Deputy Editorial Page Editor and Columnist
Spring 2009
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Dick Rosenbaum '52, P'86

Nixon Peadbody LLP Senior Counsel and Former GOP Chairman for New York State
Fall 2008
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Lucius Outlaw

Social and Political Philosopher
Fall 2008
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Susan Page

Washington Bureau Chief of USA Today
Fall 2008
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Billy Collins

Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001-2003
Spring 2008
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Silda Wall Spitzer

First Lady of New York
Spring 2008
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Adam Nagourney

Political Writer
Spring 2008
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Anthony Cortese

Co-director of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment
Spring 2008
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Wangari Maathai Sc.D. '94, P'94, P'96

2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founder of The Green Belt Movement
Spring 2008
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Angelo Mancuso

Writer, Producer and Director of “American Harvest”
Fall 2007
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"The Kite Runner"

Adapted from the book by Khaled Hosseini
Fall 2007
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Chris Myers Asch

Co-Founder of the U.S. Public Service Academy
Fall 2007
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Ronald A. Tschetter

Director of the Peace Corps
Fall 2007
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"A Conversation with Mayoral Candidates"

Featuring the three candidates running for mayor of Geneva
Fall 2007
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Wendy Puriefoy '71

President of the Public Education Network
Fall 2007
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Brigitte Nacos, Peter Bergen, John Fielding

Terrorism and the Media
Spring 2007
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Matt Lamanna '97

Paleontologist
Spring 2007
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Michael Arcuri

Congressman-elect
Fall 2006
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James A. Joseph

Civil Rights Pioneer, Renowned scholar and former Ambassador to South Africa
Fall 2006
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Deborah Tall and Steve Kuusisto '78

Authors and Professors
Fall 2006
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Joe Solmonese

President, Human Rights Campaign
Spring 2006
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Bairbre de Brún

Member of Sinn Féin
Spring 2006
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Janet Murguía

President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza
Spring 2006
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Swanee Hunt

Former US Ambassador to Austria; Director of the Women and Public Policy Program (WAPP) at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government
Spring 2006
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Melissa Bank '82

Author
Fall 2005
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William Banks

Internationally recognized expert on constitutional and national security law and counterterrorism
Fall 2005
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Eric Liu

Author and founder of the Guiding Lights Project
Spring 2005
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Ray Burghardt

Former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam
Spring 2005
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William A. Johnson Jr.

Mayor, City of Rochester, New York
Spring 2005
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Robin Toner

Writer for the New York Times, Washington Bureau
Fall 2004
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Thomas E. Patterson

Harvard Professor and Author
Fall 2004
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Elaine Kamarck

Lecturer in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Fall 2004
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Charles MacCormack

President and chief executive officer of Save the Children Federation, Inc.
Spring 2004
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Bill Shore

Founder and executive director of Share Our Strength; Author
Spring 2004
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Dee Dee Myers

Former White House Press Secretary, Political Analyst and Commentator
Spring 2004
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Gaddi Vasquez

Peace Corps Director
Spring 2004
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Grover Norquist

Conservative Activist; President of Americans for Tax Reform
Fall 2003
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Jim Hightower

National Radio Commentator, Columnist and Author
Fall 2003
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Barbara Ferris

Founder and President of the International Women’s Democracy Center (IWDC)
Fall 2003
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David Gergen

Commentator, Editor, Teacher, Public Servant, Best-selling Author and Adviser to Presidents
Spring 2003
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Helen Thomas

Journalist; Correspondent for United Press International and White House Bureau Chief
Spring 2003
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Nancy Soderberg

Expert on U.S. Foreign Policy
Spring 2003
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Rep. Amo Houghton and Senator Jack Reed

A Window on Washington
Spring 2003
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"The 'Real' West Wing"

Former White House staffers and a Washington Post Reporter
Spring 2003

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Charles Stith

Former U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania
Fall 2002
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Colman McCarthy

Syndicated Columnist and Former Editorial Page Reporter, Washington Post
Fall 2002
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George McGovern

United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Spring 2002
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John Hume

1998 Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; 2001 Recipient of the Gandhi Peace Prize
Spring 2002
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Alan Keyes

Former Republican Presidential Candidate
Fall 2001
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Kerry Kennedy Cuomo

Human Rights Activist and Author
Fall 2001
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Frank Sesno

CNN Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief
Fall 2001
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Tom Reynolds

Congressman
Spring 2001
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Barney Frank

Congressman
Spring 2001
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Jonathan Kozol

Award-winning Author
Spring 2001
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Bill Plante

Emmy Award Winner; CBS News White House Correspondent
Spring 2001
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David N. Dinkins

Former Mayor of New York City; Professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Fall 2000
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Election 2000: A Closer Look

Rick Davis, Congressman James P. McGovern and Andy Hiller
Fall 2000
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Dr. Susan Blumenthal

U.S. Assistant Surgeon General and Rear Admiral
Fall 2000
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Carol M. Browner

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Fall 2000
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Michael Dukakis

1988 Democratic Presidential Nominee; Former Governor of Massachusetts
Fall 2000
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Gwen Ifill

Journalist
Fall 2000
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Andrew M. Cuomo

U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Fall 2000
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Donna E. Shalala

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; Next president of the University of Miami
Fall 2000
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Ralph Nader

Consumer Activist; 2000 Presidential Candidate for the Green Party
Fall 2000
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Mark Katz

Writer and Author
Spring 2000
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Louise Slaughter

Congresswoman
Spring 2000
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Sam Donaldson

Journalist; ABC News White House Correspondent
Spring 2000
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Karen DeWitt

Award-winning ABC News Journalist
Spring 2000
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James Walsh & Niall O'Dowd

Congressman (Walsh); Publisher and Analyst (O'Dowd)
Spring 2000
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Robert Drinan, S.J.

Professor of Law at Georgetown University
Spring 2000
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Hillary Rodham Clinton

First Lady
Spring 2000
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