Past Opportunity Summit Speakers

Summit Header Photo 2015

NONPROFIT & COMMUNITY GROUPS

Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder and President, PolicyLink 
Gerald Chertavian, Founder and CEO, Year Up
Wendy Kopp, Founder and Chair of the Board, Teach for America
Kirsten Lodal, Co-Founder, LIFT
Janet Murguía, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza
Stacey Stewart, US President, United Way Worldwide
Pastor Rick Warren, Founder, Saddleback Church

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Dr. Scott Cowen, President, Tulane University
Robert Denson, President, Des Moines Area Community College
Dr. Steven Knapp, President, The George Washington University
Dr. Kathy Krendl, President, Otterbein University
Dr. Diana Natalicio, President, University of Texas at El Paso
Dr. Eduardo Padrón, President, Miami Dade College
Dr. Cornel West, Professor, Princeton University
Dr. Harry Lee Williams, President, Delaware State University

MEDIA

Rana Foroohar, Assistant Managing Editor of Economics and Business, TIME
Michael Gerson, Journalist, Washington Post
Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief, AOL Huffington Post Media Group
Tavis Smiley, Founder and Chair, Tavis Smiley Foundation
Rick Stengel, Former Managing Editor, TIME Magazine
Judy Woodruff, Co-Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour
Dr. Fareed Zakaria, Editor-at-Large, TIME Magazine; Host of CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria

PHILANTHROPY

Patrick McCarthy, President, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Dr. John Irons, Managing Director, Foundation Initiatives, Rockefeller Foundation
Emily Tow Jackson, Executive Director, The Tow Foundation
Kerry Sullivan, President, Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Dr. Xavier de Souza Briggs, Vice President of Economic Opportunity and Assets, Ford Foundation
Patricia Stonesifer, Former Co-Chair and CEO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 

EMPLOYERS

John Galante, Senior Vice President and CTO, JP Morgan Chase
Meg Garlinghouse, Head of Social Impact, LinkedIn
Chris Graves, Global CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations
Denise Hebner, Head of Diversity & Inclusion Americas, UBS
Stanley Litow, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, IBM
Michael Miles, Former President and COO, Staples, Inc.
David Nagel, Executive Vice President, BP North America, Inc.
Andrew Plepler, Global Corporate Social Responsibility Executive and Consumer Policy Executive, Bank of America Bobbi Silten, Senior Vice President, Global Responsibility, Gap Inc.; President, Gap Foundation
Stuart Thorn, President and CEO, Southwire

GOVERNMENT

The Honorable Michael Bennet, United States Senator, Colorado
The Honorable Michael Bloomberg, Former Mayor, City of New York
The Honorable Elaine Chao, 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor (2001-2009)
The Honorable Jose Cisneros, Treasurer, City and County of San Francisco
The Honorable Chris Coons, United States Senator, Delaware
The Honorable Tom Harkin, United States Senator, Iowa
The Honorable Deval L. Patrick, Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Honorable Marco Rubio, United States Senator, Florida

THOUGHT LEADERS

Melody Barnes, Former Director of White House Domestic Policy Council, President Barack Obama; Chair, Forum for Community Solutions, Aspen Institute
Stuart Butler, Director for the Center for Policy Innovation, Heritage Foundation
Dr. Ron Haskins, Co-Director, Center on Children and Families, Brookings Institute
Jo Ann Jenkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of AARP
Heather C. McGee, President, Demos
Cheryl Oldham, Vice President, Institute for a Competitive Workforce, US Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Isabel Sawhill, Co-Director of the Center on Children and Families, Brookings Institute
Neera Tanden, President, Center for American Progress

ENTERTAINMENT

Suze Orman, Host, CNBC’s The Suze Orman Show
Jordin Sparks, Singer-Songwriter and Actress
Russell Simmons, CEO, RUSH Communications
Serena Williams, US Tennis Champion; UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

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