Tisch College Virtual Events for Fall 2020

Speakers include former presidential candidates, activists, members of Congress, academics, diplomats, journalists, and political strategists

Grid of photos of speakers. Tisch College virtual speakers in fall 2020 include former presidential candidates, activists, members of Congress, academics, diplomats, political strategists

The Tisch College of Civic Life is hosting innovators, leaders, and activists for virtual events this fall, inviting them to engage safely with Tufts students and the community. Featured speakers this semester include former presidential candidates, members of Congress, academics, diplomats, political strategists, members of the news media, and a multiple Emmy-Award-winning Tufts alumnus, among others.

Register in advance for the events via the links provided.

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Deval Patrick
Wednesday, Sept. 9 | noon ET | virtual
Deval Patrick is a civil rights lawyer, businessman, and former Massachusetts governor. Patrick practiced law with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In 1994, President Clinton appointed him as the United States assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, where he worked on issues including racial profiling and police misconduct. Patrick was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2007, returning control of the governor’s office to Democrats for the first time in more than 15 years. Patrick is still just the second elected African American governor in U.S. history. Patrick entered the 2020 Democratic Party presidential race in November 2019, but suspended his campaign in February 2020.
Register at https://tischcollege.tufts.edu/content/deval-patrick.

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Pete Buttigieg
Wednesday, Sept. 16 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
A veteran, former mayor, and former 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. He served as mayor of his city for eight years and was a Democratic candidate for president of the United States in 2020. A graduate of Harvard University and an Oxford Rhodes Scholar, Buttigieg following his calling to public service, enlisting in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He became a lieutenant when he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014. In February 2020, Buttigieg won the Iowa Democratic caucuses, becoming the first openly gay person to ever win a presidential primary or caucus.
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4xoWhjGBQOuuQekHQIg5wA

The Loud Minority: Why Protests Matter in American Democracy
Daniel Gillion, the Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Presidential Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania
Thursday, Sept. 17 | 5 p.m. ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5kvnJs8CQMiCfiD2hEcI8g

Resetting the Age of Complex Tissues Using Epigenetic Reprogramming
David Sinclair, professor of genetics and the co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School
Thursday, September 17 | 7–8:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Register through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/8015991461880/WN_iaUWu3s7TBC3tL5FJeYQww

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Ijeoma Oluo
Tuesday, Sept. 22 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Journalist and activist Ijeoma Oluo is the author of New York Times bestseller So You Want to Talk about Race, this year’s Common Book selection for the Tufts University School of Medicine. Oluo’s work focuses primarily on issues of race and identity, feminism, social and mental health, social justice, the arts, and personal essays. Her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, NBC News, Elle magazine, TIME, The Stranger, and the Guardian, among other outlets. 
Register at https://tischcollege.tufts.edu/content/ijeoma-oluo

Civic Life Lunch – Climate Change: Global Challenge, Global Solutions
Rachel Kyte, dean of The Fletcher School
Thursday, Sept. 24 | 12:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qeQbDgJZSNC6MlcVw_8o_Q

Civic Life Lunch – Asking Truth from Power: Reporting on the Trump White House
Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent for PBS NewsHour
Tuesday, Sept. 29 | 12–12:45 p.m. ET | virtual
Moderating the conversation will be Neal Shapiro, a Tufts alumnus, current CEO of WNET, and former president of NBC News.
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iHyc01iaRDq24v2QYgSydg

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Van Jones
Thursday, Oct. 1 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Van Jones is the CEO of REFORM Alliance, social entrepreneur, CNN political commentator, and host of the Redemption Project and The Van Jones Show on CNN. A Yale-educated attorney, Jones was the lead advocate for the Green Jobs Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007. Jones later worked as the green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama, helping to oversee the multibillion-dollar investment in skills training and jobs development within the environmental and green energy sectors. A senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, Jones is also the author of three New York Times bestselling books.
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ecPiHLc4SUOR1__yQDKLXg

Civic Life Lunch – The Spin Room: Dissecting the (Presidential) Debate
Scott Jennings, Republican political strategist and Tufts lecturer; and Robby Mook, Democratic political strategist.
Friday, Oct. 2 | noon ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2dODQf33QbG1VY2lE-j3oA

Civic Life Lunch – Rural Organizing: Fighting for Change in Trump Country
Matt Hildreth, executive director of RuralOrganizing.org
Monday, Oct. 5 | noon ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BWLsL-uYTE6Gg_XhoRBBTQ

Hamilton: How the Musical Remixes American History
Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland.
Monday, Oct. 5 | 7–8:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Register through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/3115991463138/WN_cVc-BhMzRq2rrgUr2b0krg

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Joe Kennedy III 
Tuesday, Oct. 6 | noon ET | virtual
Joe Kennedy III has served as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts’s 4th congressional district since 2013, where he has built a legislative record that includes spearheading bipartisan efforts to extend mental health coverage for children and pregnant women, supporting the domestic manufacturing industry, protecting consumer voices online, making hearing aids more affordable, and defending access to legal assistance for struggling families. In 2018, Kennedy delivered the Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union address, becoming the youngest Democrat to ever do so. Prior to his service in Congress, Kennedy was an assistant district attorney, legal aid volunteer, and former Peace Corps member. He recently ran for the United States Senate representing Massachusetts, challenging incumbent Senator Ed Markey for the Democratic nomination. 
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CDU9owYSS-GsZnFLFDWphQ

Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior
Chryl Laird, professor at Bowdoin College and author.
Wednesday, October 7 | noon ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wdIlOCp2TgSXDtGj-ri_Rw

Civic Life Lunch – The Law and Politics of the American Electoral College
Mitch Sikora, retired associate justice of the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
Thursday, Oct. 15 | noon ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ybKSxoZ9QpWgG_-jdcy-Bw

The Power of Protocol: Changing the World through Diplomacy
Capricia Marshall, former U.S. chief of protocol.
Monday, October 19 | 6 p.m. ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rAHEeXYFSNeENB7jjPIi6w

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Politics & the Press in the Age of Trump
Tuesday, Oct. 20 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Join Tisch College two weeks before Election Day for a panel conversation on media and politics moderated by journalist, CNN political analyst, and former host of NBC News’ Meet the Press David Gregory. Panelists will include founding editor of POLITICO (and proud Tufts parent) John Harris, NPR political reporter Juana Summers, and NBC10 Boston political reporter Alison King. The conversation will focus on the intersection of demographics, press, and politics during one of the most unusual and highly anticipated elections in American history.
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_izZXKyqPQ865Y_BKH3uWpA

The Politics Industry: Using Innovation to Save Our Democracy
Katherine Gehl, business leader, author, speaker, and political innovator.
Thursday, Oct. 22 | noon ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qxtwlKXhScucX5pYUqKk0w

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: LaTosha Brown
Wednesday, Oct. 28 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
LaTosha Brown is an organizer, philanthropic consultant, political strategist, and jazz singer. She is the co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and BVM Capacity Building Institute, and the principal owner of TruthSpeaks Consulting, Inc., a philanthropy advisory consulting firm in Atlanta, Ga. Throughout her career, Brown has become a trusted resource in political strategy, rural development, and special programming for a number of national and regional organizations. She is the founding project director of Grantmakers for Southern Progress and she is working to eliminate human suffering through her vision of the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium.
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Qlna67aQTYCdbmFJha0DYw

Free Press: Enemy of the People or Democracy’s Lifeblood?
Stephen Kurkjian, investigative reporter and founding member of the Boston Globe Spotlight Team.
Thursday, Oct. 29 | 7–8:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Register through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute here: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/3715991464159/WN_nvVncwnrRn2NXTzuV5wUSw

A Case for the American People: The United States vs. Donald J. Trump
Norman Eisen, retired U.S. Ambassador, author, and special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for the impeachment and trial of President Trump.
Monday, Nov. 9 | 6 p.m. ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3PoIUz3RTvm8G9Y8dWu-Pg

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Chairman Adam Schiff
Thursday, Nov. 12 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Now in his 10th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA28) currently serves as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Schiff led the impeachment inquiry against President Trump, and was appointed the lead impeachment manager earlier this year by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, chosen to lead the prosecution during President Trump’s impeachment trial before the Senate. Throughout his tenure in Congress, Schiff has focused on growing the economy, bolstering national security, strengthening communities, helping small businesses, protecting freedom of the press here and abroad, and improving education, safety and health care for children.
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PfH5ALJKTOWNeuk3ZV8IwA

Where Do We Go From Here: The Policy Behind American Power
Tony Blinken, foreign policy expert, author, and former deputy secretary of state during the Obama Administration (2015-2017).
Monday, Nov. 16 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EA0taPtvQP6stWEaNQ1Ogw

Independence Corrupted: How America’s Judges Really Make Their Decisions
Charles Schudson, author and retired judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Monday, Nov. 16 | 7–8:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Register through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute here: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/2215991465027/WN_RpuI2kEpTcmPeprhh4EoKQ

The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again
Robert Putnam, author and Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University
Wednesday, Nov. 18 | 5:30 p.m. | virtual
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BSRjc1uZSl28oBs5mLPfkA

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series: Hank Azaria
Thursday, Nov. 19 | 5:30 p.m. ET | virtual
A Tony Award nominee, six-time Emmy Award winner, and A87 Tufts Jumbo, Hank Azaria is one of the most sought-after performers today as well as a respected director, comedian, and producer. He has starred in films like The Birdcage, Quiz Show, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, The Smurfs, and Mystery Men, and he has won many accolades for his TV work in shows like Huff, Ray Donovan, and his current series Brockmire. Azaria is perhaps best known for his two-decade run on The Simpsons, for which he has voiced dozens of characters, notably Apu, a role Azaria chose to stop voicing following robust public debate about stereotypes and representation. Azaria is the co-founder of the educational nonprofit Determined to Succeed. Azaria also helped to bring The Haven for drug and alcohol recovery to the Tufts campus. He was awarded an honorary degree from Tufts University in 2016.
Register at https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SSTGfLfbQuCLEob9v-DmMw

Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the Largest Art Theft in History
Stephen Kurkjian, investigative reporter and founding member of the Boston Globe Spotlight Team.
Thursday, Dec. 10 | 7–8:30 p.m. ET | virtual
Register through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute here: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/3715991465918/WN_eunyeFXvSEK8YacB4PsUNQ

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