Civic Learning Week National Forum

Rice served as Stanford University’s provost from 1993 to 1999, during which time she was the institution’s chief budget and academic officer. As Professor of Political Science, she has been on the Stanford faculty since 1981 and has won two of the university’s highest teaching honors.

From February 1989 through March 1991, Rice served on President George H.W. Bush’s National Security Council staff. She served as Director, then Senior Director, of Soviet and East European Affairs, as well as Special Assistant to the President for National Security. In 1986, while an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, Rice also served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

She has authored and co-authored numerous books, most recently To Build a Better World: Choices to End the Cold War and Create a Global Commonwealth (2019), co-authored with Philip Zelikow. Among her other volumes are three bestsellers, Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom (2017); No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington (2011); and Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family (2010). She also wrote Political Risk: How Businesses and Organizations Can Anticipate Global Insecurity (2018) with Amy B. Zegart; Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft (1995) with Philip Zelikow; edited The Gorbachev Era (1986) with Alexander Dallin; and penned The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army; 1948-1983: Uncertain Allegiance (1984).

In 1991, Rice co-founded the Center for a New Generation (CNG), an innovative, after-school academic enrichment program for students in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, California. In 1996, CNG merged with the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, an affiliate club of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BCGA). CNG has since expanded to local BGCA chapters in Birmingham, Atlanta, and Dallas. Rice remains an active proponent of an extended learning day through after-school programs.

Since 2009, Rice has served as a founding partner at Rice, Hadley, Gates, & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm based in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm works with senior executives of major companies to implement strategic plans and expand in emerging markets. Other partners include former National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley, former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, and former diplomat, author, and advisor on emerging markets, Anja Manuel.

In 2022, Rice became a part-owner of the Denver Broncos as a part of the Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group. In 2013, Rice was appointed to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, formerly the Bowl Championship Series. She served on the committee until 2017.

Rice currently serves on the boards of C3.ai, an AI software company; and Makena Capital Management, a private endowment firm. In addition, she is Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and a trustee of the Aspen Institute. Previously, Rice served on various boards, including Dropbox; the George W. Bush Institute; the Commonwealth Club; KiOR, Inc.; the Chevron Corporation; the Charles Schwab Corporation; the Transamerica Corporation; the Hewlett-Packard Company; the University of Notre Dame; the Foundation of Excellence in Education; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; and the San Francisco Symphony.

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Rice earned her bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Denver; her master’s in the same subject from the University of Notre Dame; and her Ph.D., likewise in political science, from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

Rice is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has been awarded over fifteen honorary doctorates.

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During the course of her career, Canes-Wrone has published numerous articles and books in the areas of political institutions, mass political behavior, and political economy. On political institutions, she has a longstanding interest in executive politics. Her book Who Leads Whom? Presidents, Policy, and Public (University of Chicago, 2006) was awarded the Richard E. Neustadt prize by the American Political Science Association for the best book on the U.S. presidency that year. More recent scholarship involves comparative analysis of how institutional constraints on the executive are associated with economic performance.

Other current research focuses on accountability and representation in the U.S. context. Additionally, she has a series of recent publications on campaign finance, including on the motivations of campaign donors, congressional members’ responsiveness to donors, and comparing the attitudes of donors to other constituencies.

Canes-Wrone is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served on the editorial boards of numerous political science and political economy journals. She has also served on the boards of the American National Elections Studies, the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, and the Presidents and Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, including as President of this section.

Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, Canes-Wrone was on the faculties of MIT, Northwestern, and Princeton. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Princeton and a Ph.D. from Stanford.

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Gov. Cox has a long track record of public service, serving as a city councilmember, mayor, county commissioner and state legislator before being appointed as Utah’s lieutenant governor in 2013. He was sworn in as governor on Jan. 4, 2021.

During his first term in office, Gov. Cox cut $1.1 billion in taxes, implemented landmark changes in water law, water conservation and infrastructure planning, locked in record funding for education and teachers, enacted universal school choice and secured funds for affordable housing. A long-time advocate for suicide prevention and mental health resources, he’s become a national voice on protecting youth from the harms of social media. He also signed early education and workforce program funding, launched the One Utah Health Collaborative, and expanded opportunities for women, diverse communities and those living in rural parts of the state.

With a focus on solutions, Gov. Cox promotes respect in politics and innovation in government, works across party lines to find common ground and regularly participates in hands-on service projects. These elements were the foundation of his NGA Chair’s Initiative, “Disagree Better: Healthy Conflict for Better Policy.”

A sixth-generation Utahn, Gov. Cox was born and raised in Fairview, a town of 1,200 in the center of the state. He met First Lady Abby Palmer Cox at age 16 and they married after he returned from serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico. He attended Snow College, Utah State University and the Washington and Lee University School of Law, then clerked for U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart and worked at a Salt Lake City law firm. Several years later, Gov. Cox and First Lady Cox moved back to Fairview to raise their four children – Gavin, Kaleb, Adam, and Emma Kate – on the family farm. The governor, first lady and Emma Kate currently reside in the Kearns Mansion, also known as the Governor’s Mansion, in Salt Lake City.

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Sarah co-chairs the board of the New Pluralists Collaborative—a national initiative bringing together diverse philanthropies, researchers, educators, community leaders, and justice advocates to promote a culture of peaceful pluralism. She also serves on the board of the Trust for Civic Infrastructure, a pooled fund supporting innovative civic spaces that foster collaboration in communities across America. She has been featured in USA Today and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, among other publications.

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Previously, Dubé served as Managing Director of Digital Learning at WGBH where she helped launch PBS LearningMedia, a platform reaching more than 1.5 million educators. Before WGBH, Dubé had a successful career in educational publishing and instructional technology for more than 20 years. In the early 1990s, she served as a co-founder of CASES, a New York alternative-to-incarceration program where education helps reshape lives.

Dubé is the winner of the 2017 People’s Voice award from the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, and was also recognized as a 2019 Donaldson Fellow by the Yale School of Management. She began her career as an attorney in Montreal, Canada, and holds a law degree from McGill University, as well as an MBA from Yale University.

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Finn is the author of 20 books and a frequent speaker at events and commentator in the national media. He has penned more than 400 articles in publications such as National Affairs, The Wall Street Journal, Commentary, The Public Interest, Washington Post, New York Times, Education Week, Chronicle of Higher Education, Harvard Business Review, Wilson Quarterly, The Hill, The Atlantic, National Review, and Education Next. He also writes regularly for Fordham’s weekly Education Gadfly and its Flypaper blog.

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Hahrie has also been involved in numerous efforts to make academic work relevant to the world of practice, including (most recently): serving as the Inaugural Director of the SNF Agora Institute; co-founding the Center for Democracy and Organizing; participating in the Social Science Research Council Anxieties of Democracy Participation Working Group; and co-founding and co-directing the Project on Public Leadership and Action at Wellesley College. She currently serves on the board of the JPB Foundation, the Water Foundation, and serves on numerous advisory boards. She currently serves as a member of the editorial board of the American Political Science Review and the Milbank Quarterly, and has served on the editorial boards of American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Political Behavior, and others. Through her research, she has partnered with a wide range of civic and political organizations and movements around the world, including those in the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Korea, and elsewhere. In all of this work, she seeks to develop the leadership of younger scholars and practitioners, especially women and people of color.

She received her Ph.D. in American Politics from Stanford University in 2005 and her B.A. in American History and Literature from Harvard University in 1997.

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She holds an Ed.M. in international education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a focus towards global education and citizenship for the 21st century, monitoring and evaluation for improving education systems, and applied data analysis. She also has a background in economics and anthropology. Noorya is passionately interested in narrowing gaps in civic education, awareness, and life-opportunities for underresourced communities by providing evidence-backed research for decision-making and policies.

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For thirty years, Kamenshy worked as a professor and higher education leader, most recently as Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director of the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

Kamensky is the author or editor of numerous books, including A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley (2016), which won four major prizes and was a finalist for several others; and the authoritative Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution, co-edited with the late Edward G. Gray.

A former Commissioner of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and past Trustee of the Museum of the American Revolution, Kamensky serves as a member of the National Advisory Council of More Perfect, and as one of the principal investigators on the NEH/Department of Education-funded initiative, Educating for American Democracy, among many other public history roles.

Kamensky’s work has been supported by fellowships from the NEH, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Guggenheim Foundation, among others, and she is an elected fellow of the American Antiquarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Society of American Historians.

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Before being appointed SUNY Chancellor, King served as president of The Education Trust, a national civil rights nonprofit. Prior to this, King served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. Upon tapping him to lead the U.S. Department of Education, President Obama called King “an exceptionally talented educator,” citing his commitment to “preparing every child for success” and lifelong dedication to public education as a teacher, principal, and leader of schools and school systems.

His service in Washington, D.C., followed King’s tenure as New York’s first African American and first Puerto Rican Education Commissioner, a role in which he oversaw all elementary and secondary schools, as well as public, independent, and proprietary colleges and universities, professional licensure, libraries, museums, and numerous other educational institutions.

You can follow Chancellor King on Twitter at @JohnBKing.

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Klutsey is passionate about driving meaningful dialogue and advancing ideas and practices that sustain a free and open society. He holds an M.A. in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University and a B.A. in Government and Philosophy from Lawrence University.

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During his more than four decades in uniform, he commanded Marines at all levels, from a 40-man infantry platoon to a 42,000-man Marine Expeditionary Force. He led an infantry battalion in the liberation of Kuwait; a naval task force in Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001; 1st Marine Division in the initial attack and the following stability operations in Iraq in 2003 and 2004; and subsequently led all U.S. Marine Forces in the Middle East as Commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Forces Central Command.

During his non-combat assignments he served on recruiting duty; as the Battalion Officer at the Naval Academy Preparatory School; Executive Secretary to the Secretary of Defense; Director of Marine Corps Manpower Plans & Policy; Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense; and Commanding General of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command.

In joint assignments he commanded U.S. Joint Forces Command; NATO’s Supreme Allied Command for Transformation; and U.S. Central Command. At U.S. Central Command he directed military operations of more than 250,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guardsmen, Marines, and allied forces in combat across the Middle East.

Retiring in 2013, he was a Davies Family Distinguished Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Subsequently he served as the 26th Secretary of Defense from January 2017 through December 2018. Currently General Mattis continues his work at the Hoover Institution.

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She became known as “America’s Government Teacher” during the 2020 election for her efforts to combat political misinformation that went viral. Her knack for breaking down complex topics with clarity, humor, and a steadfast commitment to facts has attracted a community of 1.5 million followers—affectionately called the “Governerds.”

McMahon’s newsletter, The Preamble, is one of the largest publications on Substack, providing historical context and nonpartisan insights to help readers navigate today’s political landscape. Her debut book, The Small and the Mighty, has been celebrated as one of the year’s top reads by Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Goodreads, highlighting the unsung heroes who shaped America.

Beyond education, McMahon has led philanthropic initiatives that have raised more than $11 million to address critical needs, from medical debt relief to disaster recovery. She has inspired audiences with a message of hope: history shows us that even small actions can create powerful change.

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Ober’s scholarship focuses on historical institutionalism and political theory, especially democratic theory and the contemporary relevance of the political thought and practice of the ancient Greek world. He is the author of several books and has published about 100 articles and chapters, including recent articles in American Political Science Review, Philosophical Studies, Polis, Public Choice, Critical Review, and Transactions of the American Philological Association. Work in progress focuses on the relevance of Aristotelian ethics for the development and regulation of artificial intelligence.

Ober joined the Stanford faculty in 2006, after previously teaching at Princeton and Montana State universities. He has served as chairman of Princeton’s Classics Department and of Stanford’s Political Science Department. Ober holds a B.A. in history from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan.

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A native of Ireland, she studied history in Trinity College Dublin before gaining her PhD at Harvard University, where she spent 20 years on the faculty of the Department of Government, teaching courses on international security and foreign policy. She currently sits on numerous advisory boards, while serving as a trustee of, among others, the Booker Prize Foundation. Richardson is also a member of the selection committee of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. In 2023, the Irish government asked Richardson to serve as the independent chair of its Consultative Forum on International Security Policy.

A political scientist by training, Richardson is recognized internationally as an expert on terrorism and counterterrorism. She has written several books and numerous articles on international terrorism, British foreign and defense policy, security institutions, and international relations; lectured to public, professional, media, and education groups; and served on editorial boards for several journals and presses.

Richardson’s many awards have recognized the excellence of her teaching and scholarship, including the Centennial Medal bestowed on her in 2013 by Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for “having the vision to assess emerging threats, for transformative leadership, and for moving seamlessly between the roles of scholar and teacher.”

In June 2022, Richardson was appointed a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her services to higher education.

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She served as the 43rd Treasurer of the United States and was CEO of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Mint, including Fort Knox with oversight over 4,000 employees and a $5 billion budget. Rios served twice on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Teams on behalf of President Barack Obama at the height of the financial crisis in 2008 and again during the pandemic economy of 2020 on behalf of President Biden.

Following her eight-year tenure, Rios was appointed as a Visiting Scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University with a focus on Millennials and Post-Millennials, and resumed her role as CEO of Red River Associates, an investment management consulting firm and a co-host of several reality series focused on pre-IPO investments.

Rios’ entire career has focused on real estate finance, economic development, and urban revitalization in both the public and private sectors. Prior to her presidential appointment in Treasury, she was Managing Director of Investments for MacFarlane Partners, a $22 billion real estate investment management firm based in San Francisco.

Rios is a graduate of Harvard University and was selected as the first Latina in Harvard’s 388-year history to have a portrait commissioned in her honor. She currently serves on the board of American Family Insurance, Ripple Labs, Inc., and Fidelity Charitable Trust.

Her personal passion includes serving as Founder and CEO of EMPOWERMENT 2026, an initiative that facilitates the physical recognition of historical American women in classrooms and public spaces across the country. Rios is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was honored as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century.

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The Daniels Fund is a $1.7 billion philanthropic organization, the second largest foundation in the Rocky Mountain region. The Fund provides college scholarships to the next generation of America’s leaders and grants to highly effective nonprofits, including support for entrepreneurial endeavors such as the National Civics Bee and Youth Sports Giving Day.

Skandera has held various state and federal leadership positions in education, including secretary of education in New Mexico, deputy commissioner for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and deputy chief of staff and senior policy advisor for the U. S. Department of Education under President George W. Bush.

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From 2013 to 2022, Stid served as the inaugural director of the Hewlett Foundation’s U.S. Democracy Program. Previously, he was a partner at the Bridgespan Group, a management consultant at BCG, and a Congressional Fellow in the office of the House Majority Leader.

Stid chairs the board of More in Common, a nonprofit whose mission is “to understand the forces driving us apart, find common ground, and help bring Americans together to tackle our shared challenges.” He has a B.A. from Hope College, an M.Phil. in politics from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University.

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Raj has dedicated his life to initiatives that help American citizens from all walks of life become productive and engaged members of society. Early in his career, Raj co-founded the SEED Foundation, the nation’s first network of public, college-preparatory boarding schools for underserved children.

Before joining the Institute for Citizens and Scholars, Raj served as Executive Vice-President of the Aspen Institute. In this role, he launched and led the new Youth & Engagement Programs division devoted to youth leadership development, civic engagement, and opportunity. As an expert on civic learning and Gen Z, Raj has spoken at Fordham Institute, Results for America, Civic Learning Week, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and as commencement speaker for the University of Chicago Charter School and the University of Pittsburgh.

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