Past Speakers
Previous Connections | Future Visions
Since our founding, we’ve been lucky to build relationships with people from numerous professions across the political spectrum, and we hope to continue to do so in years to come.
Learn more about who we’ve welcomed, and get a glimpse of the future of bipartisanship leadership and political collaboration.
2024 Speakers
Will Hurd
Former Congressman (R-TX) from 2015-2021
Former CIA Officer (2000-2009)
Former 2024 Presidential Candidate
Erika Mouynes
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Panama (2020-2022)
Chair of the Board of the Atlantic Council’s Latin-American Center
Fellow at the Harvard University Advanced Leadership Initiative
2022 Speakers
Raul Alvillar
Executive Vice President at Resolute Public Affairs
Biden/Harris 2020 Presidential Campaign State Director of New Mexico
Former Political Director for the DNC
Former Associated Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Interim LGBT Liaison
Huffington Post 40 Under 40 Latinos
2021 Speakers
Johanna Maska
Former White House Director of Press Advance (2009-2015)
CEO of Global Situation Room
Host of Pod is a Woman
Alyssa Farah
Former White House Communications Director (2020)
Youngest Pentagon Press Secretary in US History
Visiting Fellow at the International Women’s Forum
Gov. Matt Mead (WY - R)
Gov. Bill Walker (AK - I)
Gov. Steve Bullock (MT)
Bill Bishop
Author of The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart
Co-Founder of the Daily Yonder and journalist for several newspapers
Recent work on rural issues
Brian Cannon
Executive Director of OneVirginia2021
Successfully worked to pass independent redistricting in Virginia
Adjunct Professor at William and Mary School of Law
Bill Kristol
Former Chief of Staff to the US Vice President
Former Editor in Chief of the Daily Standard and Now Editor at Large of the Bulwark
Founder of Defending Democracy Together
Nsé Ufot
CEO of the New Georgia Project
Registered over 500,000 eligible Georgia voters
Former Chief Lobbyist for American Association of University Professors
2019 and 2020 Speakers
Governor Bill Walker
Former Governor of Alaska (I), IOP Resident Fellow
The only independent governor in the nation from 2014-2018
Governed during Alaska’s worst-ever fiscal crisis, ran the only state with UBI
Spoke with HUBS about governing a bipartisan coalition as an independent
Alice Stewart
IOP Resident Fellow, Journalist
CNN Political Commentator, Communications Consultant, former AR Deputy Secretary of State, veteran Senior Communications Advisor on numerous presidential campaigns, and an Emmy Award-winning journalist.
Hosts a bipartisan podcast with Maria Cardona titled "Hot Mics".
Nick Troiano
Executive Director, Unite America
A leader in the democratic reform space
Working to enact bipartisan reforms through The Can Kicks Back, Change.org, and Unite America since 2012
Spoke with HUBS about strengthening democracy and Unite America’s new political goals
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Professor Lawrence Lessig
Harvard Law School Professor
Founder of Equal Citizen and the Center for Internet and Society
Focused much of his career on law and technology, “institutional corruption” and its effects on societal trust.
Spoke with HUBS on his career, Ranked Choice Voting, and electoral reform
Carol Giacomo
IOP Resident Fellow, Journalist
Member of The New York Times editorial board from 2007-2020
Foreign policy focus, op-ed work on major national security issues including nuclear weapons, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Diplomatic correspondent for Reuters and more recently as a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton.