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Conference on World Affairs
Conference on World Affairs

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2018 Speakers & Performers

  • Arts
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Film
  • Health
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  • Media
  • Music
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Social Justice
  • Leadership: In the Words of Women
  • Feeding the Future
  • People and the Planet
  • 2018 Guest Speakers
  • All 2018 Speakers
Chen
Millie Chen
Visual, Audio, and Performative Artist; Professor of Art, University at Buffalo
2018 Performer
Hagberg Fisher
Eva Hagberg Fisher
Writer, Educator, Architectural Historian, and Activist
2018 Speaker
Gorman
Amanda Gorman
Inaugural youth poet laureate of the United States
2018 Performer • Notable Past Participant
Gutschank
Lena Gutschank
Aerialist, Dancer, Contortionist, Actress, Entrepreneur
2017 Performer • 2018 Performer
Irani
Kayhan Irani
Playwright, Community Cultural Activist, Theater of the Oppressed Trainer
2018 Speaker
Kling
Kevin Kling
Storyteller and Playwright
2018 Performer
Lesta
Kate Lesta
Community-Minded Culture & Arts Organizer, Curator, Manager & Producer
2018 Speaker
Murphy
Clare Muireann Murphy
Storyteller
2018 Speaker
Sherif
Maurice Sherif
French Photographer • CU Art/Art History Visiting Lecturer
2018 Speaker
Spencer
Michael Spencer
Professor of Theater and Performance Design, Central Saint Martins
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Tanabe
James Tanabe
Independent International Circus Producer • Former Senior Director of Creative Strategy, Cirque du Soleil
2017 Performer • 2018 Performer
de la fuente
Jose P De La Fuente
Director, SMC Consulting
2018 Speaker
Fielding
Jenny Fielding
Managing Director, Techstars
2018 Speaker
Goss
Martha Clark Goss
Independent Director, American Water Works
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Haberman
Fred Haberman
CEO & Co-Founder, Haberman; Co-Founder, Urban Organics
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Guest Speaker
Michalski
Jerry Michalski
Founder, REX
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Ramadan
Reza Ramazani
Professor of Economics, Saint Michael's College
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • CU Alumnus
Rinne
April Rinne
Founder and Advisor, April Worldwide
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Steiu
Mara Steiu
Founder, iXperiment • Co-founder, FairFunders • Product Design, AiFi
2018 Speaker
Swenerton
Lisa Swenerton
General Manager & Director, Southern California Edison Carrier Solutions
2018 Speaker
Wagner
Ben Wagner
Assistant Professor, Vienna University of Economics and Business
2018 Speaker
Walton
Roger Walton
General Manager - Americas, Quantexa Ltd.
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Holloway
Tracey Holloway
Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison; President, Earth Science Women's Network; Leader, NASA Health and Air Quality Applied Science Team
2018 Speaker
Orr
David Orr
Paul Sears Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics, Oberlin College
2018 Speaker
Samson
Perry Samson
Professor of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan; Co-Founder, The Weather Underground
2018 Speaker
Shaw
Susan Shaw
Environmental Health Scientist, Explorer, and Ocean Conservationist, Founder and Executive Director of the Marine & Environmental Research Institute
2018 Speaker
Thomsen
Jennifer Thomsen
Assistant Professor of Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management, University of Montana
2018 Speaker
Verbeek
Alexander Verbeek
Founder, Institute for Planetary Security
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Williams
Kate Williams
CEO, 1% for the Planet
2018 Speaker
Zamora
Francisco Zamora Arroyo
Director, Colorado River Delta Program, Sonoran Institute
2018 Speaker
Engel
Janice Engel
Director, Producer, Award-winning Filmmaker and Show-runner
2018 Speaker
Feinberg
Danielle Feinberg
Director of Photography (Lighting), Pixar Animation Studios
2018 Speaker
Larsen
Josh Larsen
Co-Host, Filmspotting • Film Critic, Think Christian
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Vandervoort
Carlisle Vandervoort
Producer, Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins
2018 Speaker
Borland
Chris Borland
Former NFL Linebacker • Meditation Teacher, Search Inside Yourself • Producer, Co-Laboratory Studios
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Garcia
Deliana Garcia
Director of International Projects, Research, and Development, Migrant Clinicians Network
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Sederer
Lloyd I. Sederer
Chief Medical Officer, New York State Office of Mental Health • Medical Editor for Mental Health, The HuffPost • Adjunct Professor, Columbia/Mailman School of Public Health
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Tashiro
Ty Tashiro
Author and Social Scientist
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker • CU Alumnus
van der Horst
Charles van der Horst
Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University of North Carolina
2015 Speaker • 2016 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Zhana
Zhana Vrangalova
Sex Researcher; Adjunct Professor of Psychology, New York University
2018 Speaker
Cirincione
Joe Cirincione
President, Ploughshares Fund • MSNBC Nuclear Security Analyst
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker • CWA Speaker Series
Dem
Gabriel Demombynes
Program Leader for Human Development, World Bank
2018 Speaker
Elfath
Ismail Elfath
International Soccer Referee, FIFA
2016 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Elmendorf
Ed Elmendorf
Past President, United Nations Association
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Engel
Jeffrey A. Engel
Director, Center for Presidential History, Southern Methodist University
2018 Speaker
Greenwood
Larry Greenwood
President, Japan Society of Northern California
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Innocent
Malou Innocent
Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute
2016 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Kirisci
Kemal Kirişci
Senior Fellow and Director, Center on the United States and Europe's Turkey Project, Brookings Institution
2018 Speaker
Lighte
Peter Rupert Lighte
Sinologist; Board Member, CIEE, the One Sky Foundation and Prudential Financial
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Snyder
Susi Snyder
President, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; Humanitarian Disarmament Programme, PAX, Utrecht
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker • Notable Past Participant
Squire
Margo Squire
International Affairs Consultant • Retired Foreign Services Officer, U.S. Department of State
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Tobias
Christina Tobias-Nahi
Director of Public Affairs, Islamic Relief USA
2018 Speaker
Wilson
Ross Wilson
Interim Chargé d'Affaires to Georgia & Former Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan, U.S. Department of State
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Burton
Bonnie Burton
Author; Journalist; Comedian; Actress; Show Host; Former Senior Editor, StarWars.com, Lucasfilm
2018 Speaker • CU Alumnus
George
Robert George
Editorial Writer, New York Daily News
2018 Speaker
Graves
Lisa Graves
Co-Director, Documented
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Millhiser
Ian Millhiser
Senior Correspondent, Vox
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Nichols
John Harrison Nichols
National Affairs Writer, The Nation, Co-Founder, Free Press, and Author
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Oliver
Charlie Oliver
Founder and CEO, Tech 2025
2018 Speaker
Sexton
Joe Sexton
Senior Editor, ProPublica
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • CU Alumnus
Sweets
Ellen Sweets
Author • Writer • Former Reporter
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Aimee
Cyrille Aimée
Singer, Songwriter, & Improviser
2017 Performer • 2018 Performer • 2019 Performer
Barrak
Rony Barrak
Percussionist, Composer, Instructor
2016 Performer • 2017 Performer • 2018 Performer • 2019 Performer
Daly
Claire Daly
Baritone Saxophonist
2017 Performer • 2018 Performer
Farrugia
Adrean Farrugia
Pianist, Composer, and Educator
2017 Performer • 2018 Performer
Simmons
Lisa Marie Simmons
Singer, Songwriter, Poet & Blogger
2018 Speaker
Watts
Ernie Watts
Jazz Musician & Composer
2017 Performer • 2018 Performer • 2019 Performer • 2020 Performer
Wilkins
Ronald Wilkins
Musician, Vocalist, Composer, Educator
2018 Performer
Zavada
Roman Zavada
Pianist; Composer of Résonances Boréales
2018 Performer
Bloch
Susan Low Bloch
Professor of Law, Georgetown University
2018 Speaker
Campbell
David Campbell
Professor of American Democracy, University of Notre Dame
2018 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Franc
Michael G. Franc
Director, Washington, D.C. Programs, Hoover Institution
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Hurlburt
Heather Hurlburt
Director, New Models of Policy Change, New America
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
MacNamara
Elisabeth MacNamara
Past National President, League of Women Voters
2018 Speaker
Tanaka
Gregory K. Tanaka
Director, Center for the Study of Democracy and Social Change • Instructor, University of San Francisco
2018 Speaker
Wirth
Timothy E. Wirth
Vice Chairman, United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Aga
Diana S. Aga
Professor of Chemistry, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
2018 Speaker
Bryant
Deborah Bryant
Senior Director, Open Source and Standards, Red Hat; Board Director, Open Source Initiative
2018 Speaker
Frank
Adam Frank
Professor of Astrophysics, University of Rochester • NPR Science Blogger • Author
2018 Speaker
Grinspoon
David Grinspoon
Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Johnson
Michael D. L. Johnson
Assistant Professor of Immunobiology, The University of Arizona
2018 Speaker
Peper
Eliot Peper
Novelist & Strategist
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Roff
Heather M. Roff
Research Scientist, Google DeepMind; Associate Fellow, University of Cambridge; Future of War Fellow, New America
2018 Speaker • CU Alumnus
Ronald
Pamela Ronald
Professor, Dept Plant Pathology & the Genome Center, University of California, Davis. Co-author, "Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food”
2018 Speaker
Seba
Tony Seba
Co-Founder, RethinkX • Author & Educator, Stanford University • Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, Silicon Valley
2018 Speaker
Anderson
Brandon D. Anderson
American Sociologist • Criminal Justice Advocate • U.S. Army Veteran • Founder, Raheem AI
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Bell
James R. Bell
Executive Director, W. Haywood Burns Institute
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Cardozo
Tulio K. Cardozo
Technical Manager, The Last Mile Works, San Quentin State Prison
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Dem
Gabriel Demombynes
Program Leader for Human Development, World Bank
2018 Speaker
Deng
Valentino Achak Deng
Executive Director, Valentino Achak Deng Foundation
2018 Speaker
Green
Jamison Green
Transgender Advocate; President, Jamison Green & Associates
2018 Speaker
Haggerty
Rosanne Haggerty
CEO, Community Solutions
2018 Speaker
Thorne
William Thorne
Retired Judge, Utah Court of Appeals and Tribal Courts
2016 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Younger
Teresa C. Younger
President and CEO, Ms. Foundation for Women • Former Executive Director, Connecticut General Assembly’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women • Former Executive Director, ACLU of Connecticut
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker
Gorman
Amanda Gorman
Inaugural youth poet laureate of the United States
2018 Performer • Notable Past Participant
Simbeye
Maggie Duncan Simbeye
Executive Director and Founder of Dare Women’s Foundation
2018 Speaker
Vilardi
Erin Vilardi
Founder and Director, VoteRunLead
2018 Speaker
Adamchak
Raoul Adamchak
Farm Manager, UC Davis Student Farm
2018 Speaker
Alford
Katherine Alford
Former Senior Vice President of Culinary, The Food Network; Consultant, Chefs Collaborative
2018 Speaker
Haberman
Fred Haberman
CEO & Co-Founder, Haberman; Co-Founder, Urban Organics
2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker • 2019 Guest Speaker
Montgomery
David R. Montgomery
Professor of Geomorphology, University of Washington
2018 Speaker
Ronald
Pamela Ronald
Professor, Dept Plant Pathology & the Genome Center, University of California, Davis. Co-author, "Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food”
2018 Speaker
Frank
Adam Frank
Professor of Astrophysics, University of Rochester • NPR Science Blogger • Author
2018 Speaker
Grinspoon
David Grinspoon
Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
2016 Speaker • 2017 Speaker • 2018 Speaker
Thomsen
Jennifer Thomsen
Assistant Professor of Parks, Tourism, and Recreation Management, University of Montana
2018 Speaker
Verbeek
Alexander Verbeek
Founder, Institute for Planetary Security
2018 Speaker • 2019 Speaker • 2020 Speaker
Williams
Kate Williams
CEO, 1% for the Planet
2018 Speaker

Jan Amend

Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California
2018 Guest Speaker
Barbosa

Bijoux Barbosa

Instructor, Jazz Studies, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker • 2019 Guest Speaker
Eduardo “Bijoux” Barbosa was born in Sao Paulo-Brazil where he studied music theory and electric bass with Prof. Nadir Dos Santos. In Brazil he played with pop bands and Jazz Fusion oriented bands. He then moved to Caracas- Venezuela in 1991 where he worked with many well known artists. Besides studying Latin music, Bijoux also started his doublebass studies in Venezuela. He then moved to Denver-Colorado-USA in 1997 where besides...

Lorriane Bayard de Volo

Chair, Women and Gender Studies, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Morgan Bazilian

Executive Director, Payne Institute • Research Professor of Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines
2018 Guest Speaker

Cinnamon Bidwell

Assistant Professor, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Max Boykoff

Director, Center for Science and Technology Policy, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

David Brown

Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Jed Brubaker

Assistant Professor of Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Heather Callender-Potters

Co-Founder, PharmaJet, inc.
2018 Guest Speaker

Dana Coffield

City Desk Editor, Denver Post
2018 Guest Speaker

Ann Cooper

Founder, Chef Ann Foundation and Director of Food Services for Boulder Valley School District, and Partner of Lunch Lessons, LLC
2018 Guest Speaker

Anne Cure

Owner and Farmer, Cure Organic Farms
2018 Guest Speaker

Michael de Yoanna

Director of News Content, KUNC Public Radio Colorado
2018 Guest Speaker

Dan Delurey

Founder and President, Wedgemere Group
2018 Guest Speaker

Jim Deters

Founder, Galvanize
2018 Guest Speaker

Kim Dickey

Professor of Ceramics, Department of Art and Art History, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Katherine DiMatteo

Partner, Organic Specialists
2018 Guest Speaker

Bart W. Édes

Representative, North America, Asian Development Bank
2018 Guest Speaker

Robert Ergun

Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences researcher on heliospheric and astrophysical plasmas, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Mona Esposito

Co-Founder, Noble Grain Alliance
2018 Guest Speaker

Philip Fernbach

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Beatrice Fihn

Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize-winning campaign coalition
2018 Guest Speaker

Steven Frost

Instructor, Department of Media Studies, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker
Goode

Brad Goode

CWA Musical Director • Associate Professor, Jazz Studies, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker • 2019 Guest Speaker
Called “the lyrical genius of the trumpet' by the Chicago Tribune, Brad Goode is a trumpeter, bassist, drummer who has recorded on more than 100 jazz albums. Originally from Chicago, he has performed worldwide as a soloist and as a member of groups led by Jazz legends Eddie Harris, Jack DeJohnette, Curtis Fuller, Ira Sullivan and others. Brad is recognized as a master teacher of trumpet technique, and makes frequent...

Meriwether Hardie

Chief of Staff, Bio-Logical Capital
2018 Guest Speaker

Melissa Hart

Justice, Colorado Supreme Court
2018 Guest Speaker

Brad Hayes

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Sue Helibronner

CEO, MergeLane
2018 Guest Speaker

Brian Hynek

Associate Professor of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Joe Jupille

Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Robert G. Kaufman

Visiting Scholar, Center for Western Civilization, Thought, and Policy, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker
Kenyi

Micklina Kenyi

Executive Director & Head of School, Empowerment Through Education Foundation
2018 Guest Speaker • 2020 Guest Speaker
Micklina Kenyi fled her homeland of South Sudan during the genocide that has claimed the lives of over 2 million people. She came to the United States as a refugee in 2003, and founded a non-profit organization, The Community of South Sudanese and American Women (CSSAW) in 2005. CSSAW has been instrumental in helping resettle young women from South Sudan to the United States of America and empowering them through...

David Laskarzewski

Co-Organizer, UpRoot Colorado
2018 Guest Speaker

Sandra Laursen

Senior Researcher and Co-Director, Ethnography & Evaluation Research, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Heather Lazrus

Project Scientist, Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research
2018 Guest Speaker

Lindsey Loberg

Program Director, Boulder Food Rescue
2018 Guest Speaker

Ginnie Logan

Ph.D. Candidate, School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Jeffrey Logan

Chief Analyst, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
2018 Guest Speaker

Alex Macmillan

Farm Manager, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker
Manning

Hadley Heath Manning

Director of Policy, Independent Women’s Forum
2018 Guest Speaker • 2019 Guest Speaker • 2020 Guest Speaker
Hadley Heath Manning is director of policy at Independent Women's Forum and Independent Women’s Voice and a Senior Fellow at the Steamboat Institute. Hadley has testified before Congress and state legislatures on various policy issues. She appears frequently in radio and TV outlets across the country and is a regular guest on the Fox Business Network. Her work has been featured in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes,...

Mike Marlier

Director, Drum Set Studies, Newman Center for the Performing Arts
2018 Guest Speaker

Boli Medappa

Founding Member and Managing Director, Hermes Consulting Group
2018 Guest Speaker

Denise Mickelson

Food Editor, 5280 Magazine
2018 Guest Speaker

Guy D. Middleton

Visiting Fellow of History, Classics, and Archaeology, Newcastle University
2018 Guest Speaker

Helen Norton

Professor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Rahul Parson

Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Lori Peek

Director, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

Scott Prestidge

Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Colorado Oil and Gas Association
2018 Guest Speaker

Jessica Rogers

Women’s March on Denver 2017, 2018 co-organizer; March On Colorado co-founder; National We Are March On cofounder
2018 Guest Speaker

Janelle Shane

Research Scientist, Aiwierdness.com
2018 Guest Speaker

Yasmeen Siddiqui

Founding Director, The Minerva Projects
2018 Guest Speaker

Scott Skinner-Thompson

Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

David Spector

Director of High Performance Transportation Enterprise, Colorado Department of Transportation
2018 Guest Speaker

Razia Sultana

Human Rights Activist
2018 Guest Speaker

Woody Tasch

Founder and Chairman, Slow Money Institute
2018 Guest Speaker

Ross Taylor

Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker

U Kyaw Win

Professor Emeritus, Orange Coast College
2018 Guest Speaker
Jax

Jeffrey S. Zax

Professor of Economics, University of Colorado Boulder
2018 Guest Speaker • 2020 Guest Speaker
Jeffrey S. Zax is a professor specializing in labor economics, public economics, and urban economics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Among his published papers are articles on the relationship between IQ, schooling and adult income; the effects of residential segregation on black economic welfare; the economic consequences of competition among local governments; the estimation of voting behavior; and microeconomic activity in China. Themes in his current work include the...

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