Liberal Speakers

Jesse Jackson

Former Presidential candidate, civil rights activist Reverend Jackson is one of the best known and most influential voices of American political and social activism. Called “the great unifier,” he has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality, and economic ...

Naomi Klein

Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist, and author of the international bestseller, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Exploring the flaws of neoliberal economics and globalization, her stunning revelations and well-researched insight provides a backdrop to the connections ...

Ralph Nader

Former Green Party candidate for president and one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th Century," Ralph Nader has always been a voice fighting for the people on the issues that matter most: healthcare, safety, environment, ethics, education, economic and social equality. As a keynote ...

Julian Bond

Beginning with his pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement, Julian Bond has always been on the cutting edge of social change and leadership. Legendary as the first black US vice presidential nominee and former Chairman of the NAACP, Bond continues to deliver a powerful message of equality, freedom, and justice with a ...

Joseph P. Kennedy II

The founder of Citizens Energy Corporation, Joseph P. Kennedy II has served as Chairman and President of the company since 1998, following 12 years of service in the US House of Representatives. Establishing the nonprofit company to provide low-cost heating oil to the poor and elderly, Kennedy grew the organization to ...

Michael Eric Dyson

Named by Essence magazine as one of the 50 most inspiring African Americans, Dyson is one of the nation's most renowned public intellectuals, revitalizing the role with the fervor of an ordained Baptist minister. Called "a street fighter in a suit and tie," he takes on the toughest and most controversial issues of ...

Keith Olbermann

Liberal political commentator Keith Olbermann is the host of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, a nightly countdown of the day's biggest stories. He is also the Chief News Officer of Current TV.

Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on more than 800 public television and radio stations worldwide. A well informed and captivating keynote speaker on political, gender, human rights and economic issues, she is The ...

Richard Dreyfuss

Oscar winner Dreyfuss has taught at Oxford, studied a wide range of subjects from history to politics, and is a driving force in the movement to bring civics back into the classrooms as well as creating a knowledgeable and engaged citizenry in America.

Maureen Dowd

Maureen Dowd, winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, became a columnist on The New York Times Op-Ed page in 1995 after having served as a correspondent in the paper's Washington bureau since 1986.

Juan Williams

A prize-winning columnist and former editorial writer for The Washington Post, Juan Williams is also a Fox News correspondent and a keynote speaker on issues including diversity, ethics, leadership, media and national issues. There are few voices as clear and intelligent on the power of diversity within today's ...

Michael Douglas

One of the most prominent actors, directors and producers in Hollywood, Michael Douglas has repeatedly chosen to work on politically influential and controversial motion pictures. As a celebrity keynote speaker, long-time champion of social and environmental causes and UN Messenger of Peace he speaks out for human rights ...

Michael Patrick MacDonald

Author of the incendiary New York Times bestselling memoir All Souls: A Family Story from Southie, and the companion bestseller Easter Rising: A Memoir of Roots and Rebellion, MacDonald shares his remarkable story of survival and redemption while examining the tangled relationship between poverty and ...

Mary Frances Berry

Former Chairperson of the US Civil Rights Commission, law professor, and esteemed civil rights historian, Berry continually defends the rights of all people with her actions and dedication to equality. From fair housing to equal opportunity to voter's rights, she has been a strong advocate for the disempowered and ...

Jonathan Kozol

A former inner city teacher, Kozol has been an activist and advocate for social justice and equity in public education for over 40 years. His newest book, Letters to a Young Teacher, reignites a number of controversial issues: the mania of high-stakes testing, the invasion of our public schools by private ...

Joy Behar

With a voice that sounds, as she says, "like I have Jimmy Hoffa in the back of my throat," Joy Behar strips the varnish off pretensions. Behar is co-host of The View, and brings her characteristic sharp whit and strong opinions to her keynote speeches.

Donna Brazile

A veteran political strategist, adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and nationally syndicated columnist, Brazile is Managing Director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy, and training firm in Washington, DC. She is a contributor on CNN, a consultant to ABC News, and a columnist ...

Peter & Bethany Yarrow

Peter Yarrow, of the legendary folk trio, Peter, Paul & Mary, is joined by his daughter Bethany in a presentation combining music and storytelling that is both entertaining and relevant. Intergenerational message of family, humanity and community.

Al Sharpton

One of America's foremost civil rights leaders, Reverend Sharpton is founder and president of the National Action Network (NAN). An organization that fights for progressive, people-based social policies, NAN provides extensive voter education and registration campaigns, offers economic support for small community ...

Patricia J. Williams

She writes the monthly "Diary of a Mad Law Professor" for the Nation magazine. Her wry, witty columns cover broad issues of social justice, including the rhetoric of the war on terror, race, ethnicity, gender, all aspects of civil rights law, bioethics and eugenics, forensic uses of DNA, and comparative issues of ...