JODI KANTOR & MEGAN TWOHEY
Revealing Truth: Investigative journalism now more than ever
Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, are best known for breaking the story of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and his decades of sexual abuse. Together, Kantor and Twohey wrote the 2019 book She Said, taking readers behind the scenes of their investigative work and showing the impact even a small number of truth-tellers can have.
More recently, Kantor has worked with her New York Times colleagues to pull back the curtain on the United States Supreme Court, revealing how the justices overturned the constitutional right to abortion. Her work has raised widespread public concern and renewed calls from lawmakers to address ethical standards at the Court. Her investigations into workplace environments have sparked changes including “lactation pods” for working mothers, new paternity leave policies and a national fair-scheduling movement.
Throughout her career, Twohey has concentrated on issues affecting women and children. Her notable work includes revealing stories in 2016 about women who accused Donald J. Trump of groping and other forms of sexual misconduct. Additionally, she exposed a perilous underground network where parents offloaded their unwanted adopted children to strangers online in a practice known as re-homing. Her series titled The Child Exchange, which highlighted the lack of government oversight in these transactions and the risks posed to children, was a finalist for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. More recently, she has covered the Hollywood dispute between Blake Lively over what happened as they made and promoted It Ends with Us,and has taken readers inside the $32 billion marijuana industry.
ANTHONY FAUCI, MD
Four Decades of Public Health Challenges with Seven United States Presidents
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health from 1984 to 2022. Dr. Fauci was a key advisor to seven Presidents on global HIV/AIDS issues and on preparedness against emerging infectious disease threats. He also served as the Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden. Dr. Fauci was a principal architect of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has helped save more than 25 million lives throughout the developing world.
As a leader of the White House Coronavirus Task force during the first administration of Donald Trump, Dr. Fauci was a strong advocate for social distancing, but his advice was frequently contradicted by the president. He was cited by Trump’s critics as a rare source of honesty on COVID from inside the White House, and charged by the president’s supporters with trying to undermine the president’s run for reelection.
Dr. Fauci is currently Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and the McCourt School of Public Policy. He has been awarded 62 honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the United States and throughout the world. His best-selling memoir, On Call: A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service, was published in 2024.
MICHAEL STEELE
The New Normal in Politics: Abnormal
Michael Steele made history in 2003 as the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland when he was elected Lieutenant Governor, and again in 2009 when he was named chairman of the Republican National Committee.
A self-described “Lincoln Republican,” Steele was charged with revitalizing the GOP. Under his leadership the RNC broke fundraising records and Republicans won 63 House seats, the biggest pickup since 1938.
As Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, his priorities included reforming the state's Minority Business Enterprise program, improving the quality of Maryland's public education system, expanding economic development and fostering cooperation between government and faith-based organizations to help those in need.
Steele’s ability as a communicator and commentator has been showcased through his role as a political analyst and co-host of The Weekend on MSNBC. His writings on law, business and politics have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Politico, The Root, BET, The Journal of International Security Affairs and Catholic University Law Review, among others.
A graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown Law Center, he currently serves as Holder of the Chair for the Gwendolyn S. & Colbert L. King Endowed Chair in Public Policy at Howard University.
SCOTT FRANK, STACEY SNIDER AND PETER CHERNIN
Preview of Coming Attractions: The future of entertainment
Film director, producer, screenwriter and author Scott Frank has received Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for Out of Sight (1998) and Logan (2017). His film work, credited and uncredited, extends to dozens of films. In recent years, he has worked with Netflix on television miniseries, most prominently writing and directing Godless and The Queen's Gambit. For his work on The Queen’s Gambit, Frank won the 2021 Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. His latest project as both writer and director is Inspector Q, a streaming detective series released May 29 on Netflix.
Stacey Snider, a renowned entertainment industry leader with a commitment to supporting talent, filmmakers and stories, has served atop studios such as 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks and Universal. In October 2019, Snider joined forces with Elisabeth Murdoch and Jane Featherstone to found Sister Global Media, where she served until 2023 as the company's Global CEO. Prior to founding Sister, Snider served as Chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox from June 2017 until its acquisition by Disney in April 2019. Before that, she served as the Co-Chairman/CEO of DreamWorks, and from 1999 to 2006, she was Chairman of Universal Pictures.
During her tenure at Fox, Snider greenlit and supported award-winning commercial hit films including Bohemian Rhapsody, Logan, and The Greatest Showman, and helped initiate global franchises such as The Fast and the Furious and The Bourne Identity series. Her collaboration with Steven Spielberg generated a host of award-winning titles including The Post, Munich, Lincoln and West Side Story.
Peter Chernin is a Co-founder and Partner at TCG, a growth equity firm investing in sports and media. He founded The Chernin Group, LLC in 2010 and serves as its Chairman and CEO. In addition to his investment business, he is Chairman and CEO of The North Road Company, a global, multi-genre studio that produces scripted and non-scripted film and TV content.
Prior to founding The Chernin Group, he served as President and COO of News Corp and Chairman and CEO of the Fox Group from 1996-2009. During his tenure at Fox and News Corp, Chernin oversaw Fox Filmed Entertainment and greenlit the two highest grossing films of all time, Titanic and Avatar. Notable television hits during his tenure as CEO of Fox Group include 24, Modern Family, and Glee. He currently sits on the board of American Express and The North Road Company. He is also a co-founder and co-chairman of Malaria No More, a nonprofit dedicated to the global eradication of malaria.
Panel on future of entertainment
RABBI AMICHAI LAU-LAVIE
Radical Inclusion: Bringing more people under the chuppa
Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie is the Co-Founding Spiritual Leader of the Lab/Shul community in NYC and the creator of the ritual theater company Storahtelling, Inc. Israeli born, he’s been living in New York since 1998. He received his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2016, the 39th generation of rabbis in his family — the first one to be openly queer.
Rabbi Amichai is the subject of Sabbath Queen, Sandi DuBowski’s award-winning documentary film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2024.
Rabbi Amichai serves on the Executive Board of Rabbis for Human Rights, is a co-founding member of the Jewish Emergent Network, a founding faculty member of the Reboot Network, and serves on the Advisory Board of the Sulha Peace Project for Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers, the Leadership Council of the New York Jewish Agenda, the Advisory Council for the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and as an advisor to Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance.
He’s been named “an iconoclastic mystic” by Time Out New York, “a calm voice for peace” by NPR, a “rock star” by The New York Times, and “one of the most interesting thinkers in the Jewish world” by The Jewish Week. In 2017 he was named one of America’s Top 50 rabbis by The Forward.
OSKAR EUSTIS
What’s drama got to do with it? Theater’s role in defending democracy
Oskar Eustis is Artistic Director of The Public Theater in New York City and has worked as a director, dramaturg, and artistic director for theaters around the country. In recent years, he has produced two Tony Award-winning productions in the category of best musical (Fun Home and Hamilton), as well as two productions that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Hamilton and Sweat).
Prior to taking the helm at The Public in 2005, Eustis enjoyed a storied career that began at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco (1986–89), where he commissioned Tony Kushner’s Angels in America and directed its world premiere. At The Public, Eustis directed the New York premieres of Rinne Groff’s Compulsion and The Ruby Sunrise; Larry Wright’s The Human Scale; Julius Caesar; Public Works Twelfth Night at Shakespeare in the Park, and Suzan-Lori Parks’ White Noise.
Additionally, he has founded numerous groundbreaking programs at The Public, including Public Works, Public Forum, the Emerging Writers Group, and the Mobile Unit. He has taught at Cornell University, UCLA, Brown University, and NYU, and holds honorary doctorates from Brown University and Rhode Island College.