Big names from NASA, the NFL and the screen join 2017 Conference on World Affairs

For its 69th season, the iconic Conference on World Affairs (CWA) at the University of Colorado Boulder will bring speakers from across the nation and 19 countries to campus to discuss issues ranging from space exploration and nuclear policy to long-term health impacts of professional sports.
 

The conference, which is free and open to the public, will be held April 10-14, 2017. Among the 100 speakers and performers are: 

• Dava Newman, CWA keynote speaker who most recently served as the deputy administrator of NASA;
• Chris Lehnertz, the newly appointed superintendent of the Grand Canyon National Park and CU Boulder alumna;
• Chris Borland, former NFL linebacker and mental health advocate.

CWA fans will be pleased to hear that many of their favorites from previous years are returning for 2017, including screenwriter, playwright and New York University Professor Amy Fox; and president of Ploughshares Fund, Joe Cirincione, who oversaw nuclear weapons programs as committee staff in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Speakers are coming from Syria, Germany, Japan, Russia and the Netherlands, among other countries. Forty-five of the speakers have previously participated in the CWA and 55 are new to the conference this year.

Students and community members comprise the volunteer program committee that selected each of the speakers and performers. Get more information at the 2017 Speakers & Performers page. Sign up for the CWA newsletter to receive the latest information on upcoming news and events.