Guest Speakers

Various professional-looking men and women in a collage.

Guest speakers include:

Frances Arnold
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

Michelle Bachelet
Former President of Chile

Jerry Brown
Former Governor of California

Lord John Browne
UK Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology

Ken Burns
Documentary Filmmaker

Nick Cave
American Artist

Raj Chetty
Harvard University Professor of Economics

Jeanne Gang
Gang Studio

Melinda Gates
Gates Foundation

Al Gore
Former Vice President of the United States

Alexandra Hughes
E-Bite Project

Anthony Abraham Jack
Professor and Author

Ro Khanna
California Congressman

Sal Khan
Founder of Khan Academy

Phil Knight
Nike Founder

Roman Krznaric
Author/Philosopher

Andrew Luck
Former Football Quarterback

James Manyika
Google SVP of Technology and Society

James Mattis
Former US Secretary of Defense

Michael McFaul
Former US Ambassador to Russia

Aubrey Merriman
LifeMoves

Ellen Ochoa
Former Astronaut and Director of Johnson Space Center

Jeff Orlowski
Documentary Filmmaker

Condoleeza Rice
Former US Secretary of State

Alberto Savoia
Author, Entrepreneur

Libby Schaaf
Mayor of Oakland, California

Michael Specter
New Yorker Magazine

Sri Srinivasan
Chief Judge of US Court of Appeals for DC Circuit

Mary Elizabeth Taylor
Former US Assistant Secretary of State

Michael Tubbs
Former Stockton California Mayor

Isabel Wilkerson
Author

Susan Wojicki
YouTube CEO

Albert Woodfox
Activist/Author

Malala Yousafzai
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Fareed Zakaria
CNN Host, Journalist

2024/2025 Speakers

Subhan Ali
Topic: Career Paths at a Large Company

Konstantine Buhler
Topic: Decision Making in Venture Capital

Azza Cohen
Topic: Filmmaking in Government

Jordan Conger
Topic: Career Paths in Government

Drew Endy
Topic: Breakthroughs in Bioengineering

Anna Eshoo
Topic: Decision Making as a U.S. Representative

Khalil Fuller
Topic: Decision Making in Venture Capital

Jaimie Henderson
Topic: Breakthroughs in Brain-Computer Interfaces

Seth Kolker
Topic: Decision Making as a Nonprofit

Jon Levin
Topic: University Leadership

Josh Makower
Topic: Decision Making at Stanford BioDesign

Yvonne Maldonado
Topic: Decision Making in Medicine

Lerone Martin
Topic: The leadership of Malcolm X and MLK

Jelena Obradovic
Topic: Decision Making in Education

Allison Okamura
Topic: Breakthroughs in Robotics

Robert C. Robbins
Topic: Decision Making in Education

Jeff Seibert
Topic: Decision Making at a Startup

Debbie Senesky
Topic: Breakthroughs in Space Manufacturing

Sasha Seymore
Topic: Decision Making at a Startup

Piya Sorcar
Topic: Decision Making at a Nonprofit

Michael Tubbs
Topic: Leadership in Government

Melissa Valentine
Topic: Breakthroughs in AI and Work

Tara Vanderveer
Topic: Sports Leadership

Trae Vassallo
Topic: Decision Making at a Large Company

Elizabeth Weil
Topic: Decision Making in Venture Capital

Elizabeth Woodson
Topic: Career Paths through Nonprofits

Julie Zhuo
Topic: Leadership in a Technology Company

2023/2024 Speakers

Scott Delp
Topic: Peak Performance

Roland Greene
Topic: Crisis in Humanities

Anna Lembke
Topic: Compulsive Consumption

Brian Lowery
Topic: Context on Self Image

Fred Luskin
Topic: Forgiveness

Beatriz Magaloni
Topic: State Repression in Mexico

2022/2023 Speakers

Mildred Cho
Topic: Bioethics

Alberto Diaz-Cayeros
Topic: Latin America

Rodolfo Dirzo
Topic: Environmental Justice

David Lobell
Topic: Food Security

Oriana Skylar Mastro
Topic: China

Pam Matson
Topic: Harnessing Knowledge for Transformative Changes

2021/2022 Speakers

Steve Blank
Topic: From Idea to Implementation

Aneel Chima
Topic: Flourishing Workshop

Christopher Costanza
St. Lawrence String Quartet
Topic: Music and Leadership

Mark Duggan
Topic: Healthcare Reform

Rob Dunbar
Topic: Climate Change

Jack Fuchs
Topic: Ethics in Entrepreneurship

Aleta Hayes
Topic: Embodied Leadership

Mykel Kochendorfer
Topic: Artificial Intelligence