
Washington Ideas Forum 2015
September 30 – October 1, 2015
Washington, D.C.

Hosted in partnership with the Aspen Institute, the Washington Ideas Forum has established itself as the D.C. event that identifies the year's most pressing issues and ideas of consequence. The program hosts an all-star lineup of speakers across two days, covering the biggest newsmaking topics of the moment.
Harman Center for the Arts
610 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004
To view photos from this event, please visit our Facebook page.
If you are interested in underwriting opportunities, please contact Emily Akhtarzandi.
With thanks to Social Tables for making the Washington Ideas Forum possible.
Speakers
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Madeleine Albright Former Secretary of State; Chair Albright Stonebridge Group @madeleine -
Jonathan Allen Chief Political Correspondent VOX @jonallendc -
Molly Ball Staff Writer The Atlantic @mollyesque -
James Bennet President and Editor in Chief The Atlantic @jbennet -
Cory Booker Senator (D-NJ) United States Senate @CoryBooker -
Jamelle Bouie Columnist Slate @jbouie -
Marc Brackett Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence Yale University @marcbrackett -
David G. Bradley Chairman Atlantic Media -
Ron Brownstein Senior Editorial Director Atlantic Media @ronbrownstein -
Lonnie Bunch Director Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture @nmaahc -
Jonathan Bush Founder athenahealth @jonathan_bush -
Margaret Carlson Columnist Bloomberg @carlsonmargaret -
Julian Castro Secretary U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development @SecretaryCastro -
Lincoln Chafee Former Governor, State of Rhode Island Democratic Presidential Candidate @LINCOLNCHAFEE -
Steve Clemons Washington Editor at Large The Atlantic @SCClemons -
Chris Coons Senator (D-DE) United States Senate @SenCoonsOffice -
Helene Cooper Pentagon Correspondent The New York Times @helenecooper -
Bob Corker Senator (R-TN) United States Senate @SenBobCorker -
Tom Cotton Senator (R-AR) United States Senate @SenTomCotton -
Arne Duncan Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education @arneduncan -
Mick Ebeling Founder and CEO Not Impossible Labs @Mickteg -
James Fallows National Correspondent The Atlantic @jamesfallows -
Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease National Institutes of Health @NIAIDNews -
Bran Ferren Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer Applied Minds -
Jason Furman Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers The White House @CEAChair -
Elliot Gerson Executive Vice President of Policy and Public Programs, International Partners The Aspen Institute @elliotgerson -
Jeffrey Goldberg National Correspondent The Atlantic @jeffreygoldberg -
Al Gore Former Vice President / Co-Founder and Chairman, Generation Investment Management / Chairman The Climate Reality Project @AlGore -
Douglas Holtz-Eakin President American Action Forum @djheakin -
Walter Isaacson President and CEO The Aspen Institute @walterisaacson -
Valerie B. Jarrett Senior Advisor to the President The White House @vj44 -
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. President University of Notre Dame @NotreDame -
Jeh Johnson United States Secretary of Homeland Security Department of Homeland Security @DHSgov -
Jonathan Karl Chief White House Correspondent ABC News @jonkarl -
Mary Louise Kelly Contributing Editor The Atlantic @KellyMaryLouise -
Vanessa Kerry Co-Founder and CEO Seed Global Health @VBKerry -
Mike Lee Senator (R-UT) United States Senate @SenMikeLee -
Ryan Lizza Washington Correspondent The New Yorker @RyanLizza -
Loretta Lynch Attorney General U.S. Departement of Justice @LorettaLynch -
Ed Markey Senator (D-MA) United States Senate @SenMarkey -
Chris Matthews Host of "Hardball with Chris Matthews MSNBC @hardball_chris -
John McCain Senator (R-AZ) United States Senate @SenJohnMcCain -
David Miliband President and CEO International Rescue Committee @dmiliband -
Andrea Mitchell Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent NBC News @mitchellreports -
Chris Murphy Senator (D-CT) United States Senate @ChrisMurphyCT -
Vivek Murthy Surgeon General Department of Health and Human Services @Surgeon_General -
Stanley Nelson Emmy Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker / Founder Firelight Media @StanleyNelson1 -
Cathy McMorris Rodgers Representative (R-WA) / Chair, House Republican Conference House of Representatives @CATHYMCMORRIS -
Theo Padnos and Nancy Curtis Journalist and Author Kidnapped in Syria, Oct 2012 / Mother of Theo -
Amy Rosen Cousin of Theo Padnos / Partner The Public Private Strategy Group -
Susan Page Washington Bureau Chief USA Today @SusanPage -
Colin L. Powell General, U.S. Army (Ret) / Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -
Arati Prabhakar Director DARPA @DARPA -
Penny Pritzker Secretary of Commerce U.S. Department of Commerce @PennyPritzker -
Joy-Ann Reid National Correspondent MSNBC @joyannreid -
Amanda Ripley Frequent Contributor The Atlantic @AmandaRipley -
Ben Rhodes Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting The White House @Rhodes44 -
Mitt Romney Former Governor State of Massachusetts @MittRomney -
Hanna Rosin National Correspondent The Atlantic @HannaRosin -
Martine Rothblatt Founder / Founder and CEO SiriusXM / United Therapeutics -
David Rubenstein Co-Founder and Co-CEO The Carlyle Group @OneCarlyle -
Felix Salmon Senior Editor Fusion @felixsalmon -
Demetri Sevastopulo Washington Bureau Chief Financial Times @DimiSevastopulo -
Anne-Marie Slaughter President and CEO New America @slaughteram -
Sam Stein Senior Politics Editor Huffington Post @samsteinhp -
Scott Stossel Editor, Magazine The Atlantic @sstossel -
Jake Tapper Host of "The Lead with Jake Tapper" and Chief Washington Correspondent CNN @JakeTapper -
Derek Thompson Senior Editor The Atlantic @dkthomp -
Chuck Todd Moderator of "Meet the Press" NBC @chucktodd -
Maria Teresa Kumar President and CEO / Contributor Vote Latino / MSNBC @MariaTeresa1 -
Opal Tometi Executive Director, Black Alliance for Just Immigration / Co-Founder Black Lives Matter @opalayo -
Laura D'Andrea Tyson Former Chair / Professor of Business Administration and Economics White House Council of Economic Advisers / Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley @LauraDTyson -
Amy Walter National Editor Cook Political Report @amyewalter -
Elizabeth Warren Senator (D-MA) United States Senate @senwarren -
Mark Warner Senator (D-VA) U.S. Senate @markwarner -
Glynn Washington Host, "Snap Judgment" NPR @glynnwashington -
Jeff Weiner CEO LinkedIn @jeffweiner -
Judy Woodruff Co-Anchor and Managing Editor of "PBS NewsHour" PBS @judywoodruff -
Lawrence Wright Author, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 / Staff Writer The New Yorker @Lawrence_wright
Agenda
Main-Stage Programming:
September 30
9:00 a.m. — 12:15 p.m. | Morning Session
Welcome Remarks
James Bennet, President and Editor in Chief, The Atlantic
Bob Corker, Senator (R-TN)
With Susan Page, USA TODAY
Ben Rhodes, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, The White House
With Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
IDEAS OUT LOUD
Amanda Ripley, The Atlantic
Colin L. Powell, General, U.S. Army (ret.) / Former Secretary of State
With Walter Isaacson, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Aspen Institute
Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce
With Ron Brownstein, Atlantic Media
David Rubenstein, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Carlyle Group
With Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg View
Theo Padnos, Journalist and Author, kidnapped in Syria, October 2012
Nancy Curtis, Mother of Theo Padnos
Amy Rosen, Cousin of Theo Padnos
Lawrence Wright, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
With James Bennet, The Atlantic
Opal Tometi, Co-Founder, #BlackLivesMatter / Director, Black Alliance for Just Immigration
With Scott Stossel, The Atlantic
Arati Prabhakar, Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
With Steve Clemons, Washington Editor at Large, The Atlantic
Mitt Romney, Former Governor, Massachusetts / Former Republican Presidential Nominee
With James Bennet, The Atlantic
Closing Remarks
Steve Clemons, The Atlantic
Lunch Presentation and Disussion
With Marc Brackett, Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Yale University
1:10 p.m. — 5:30 p.m. | Afternoon Session
Welcome Remarks
Elliot Gerson, Executive Vice President of Policy and Public Programs, The Aspen Institute
Edward Markey, Senator (D-MA)
Rev. John I. Jenkins, President, University of Notre Dame
With Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg View
Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, NIH
Vanessa Kerry, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Seed Global Health
With Mary Louise Kelly, The Atlantic
Martine Rothblatt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, United Therapeutics / Founder, Sirius XM
With Derek Thompson, The Atlantic
Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security
With Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
Lonnie Bunch, Director, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture
With Helene Cooper, The New York Times
Jonathan Bush, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, athenahealth
With Felix Salmon, Fusion
Mark Warner, Senator (D-VA)
With Derek Thompson, The Atlantic
John McCain, Senator (R-AZ), Former Republican Presidential Nominee
With Steve Clemons, The Atlantic
IDEAS OUT LOUD
Mick Ebeling, Chief Executive Officer, Not Impossible Labs
Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, The White House
With Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
Jason Furman, Chairman, White House Council of Economic Advisors
Laura D’Andrea Tyson, Professor of Economics, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
Douglas Hotlz-Eakin, President, American Action Forum
With Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times
Chris Murphy, Senator (D-CT)
With Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
Tom Cotton, Senator (R-AR)
Chris Coons, Senator (D-DE)
With Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
Stanley Nelson, Filmmaker and Director, The Black Panthers: Vanguard and the Revolution
With James Bennet, The Atlantic
A Conversation With:
Molly Ball, The Atlantic
Ryan Lizza, The New Yorker
Jamelle Bouie, Slate
Jonathan Allen, VOX
Maria Teresa Kumar, Vote Latino / Contributor, MSNBC
With Amy Walter, Cook Political Report
IDEAS OUT LOUD
Glynn Washington, Host of Snap Judgment
With Alex Mandel
5:30 p.m. — 6:30 p.m. | Reception
7:00 p.m. — 8:00 p.m. | The Blacklist Season 3 Premiere Screening
October 1
9:00 a.m. — 1:30 p.m. | Morning Sessions
Welcome Remarks
Margaret Low Smith, President, AtlanticLIVE
Al Gore, Former Vice President of the United States and Democratic Presidential Nominee / Chairman, The Climate Reality Project
With James Fallows, The Atlantic
Elizabeth Warren, Senator (D-MA)
With Jake Tapper, CNN
Jeff Weiner, Chief Executive Officer, LinkedIn
With Steve Clemons, The Atlantic
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Member (R-WA), United States House of Representatives
With Jonathan Karl, ABC News
IDEAS OUT LOUD
Chris Matthews, Host of Hardball with Chris Matthews, MSNBC
Cory Booker, Senator (D-NJ)
Mike Lee, Senator (R-UT)
With Jonathan Karl, ABC News
IDEAS OUT LOUD
Bran Ferren, Founder, Applied Minds
David Miliband, President, International Rescue Committee
With Molly Ball, The Atlantic
Julián Castro, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
With Joy-Ann Reid, MSNBC
Madeleine Albright, Former Secretary of State / Chair, Albright Stonebridge Group
With James Fallows, The Atlantic
Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
With Judy Woodruff, PBS
Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and Chief Executive Officer, New America / Author of Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family
With Mary Louise Kelly, The Atlantic
Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General
With Sam Stein, The Huffington Post
Loretta Lynch, Attorney General
With Chuck Todd, NBC News
Closing Remarks
Margaret Low Smith, AtlanticLIVE