Named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2026, Kica Matos is president of the National Immigration Law Center and the Immigrant Justice Fund. Matos also has a law degree and has held leadership roles at Vera Institute of Justice and the Center for Community Change. She will address immigrant rights and how “We the People” are ALL the people.
Timothy Snyder is New York Times best-selling author of On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century and the Temerty Chair in Modern European History at the University of Toronto. His award-winning work has been published in 40 languages. Snyder will challenge us to act on the responsibilities before us if democracy is to not only persist but flourish.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith served as chief of staff to Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, becoming lieutenant governor in 2014. She was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2017 and re-elected twice. As she retires, she will reflect on the election, share insights on her life in public service, and give us hope to continue improving the lives and ensuring the rights of all.
Sam Wang is a professor of neuroscience at Princeton University is a founder of The Electoral Innovation Lab. Co-author of two books, he is one of the nation’s leading experts on gerrymandering and election reform. Wang will share his data-driven approach to building and repairing an American democracy that represents all.
Totenberg is one of the country’s most respected journalists and legal affairs correspondents with more than 40 years’ experience at NPR covering the Supreme Court.
Dr. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, is a renowned expert on the epidemiology of infectious disease, serving as the Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health and the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, and co-founder of the Vaccine Integrity Project amongst other public health endeavors. He is also author of the new book, The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics.
Our second Forum of our 45th Anniversary Spring Season, “Ethics Still Matter,” will feature Former FBI Director and #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author James Comey for a NOON Forum on Thursday, February 26th on “Ethics & Government: Wrestling with Truth & Democracy.”
Duchesne Drew and Sylvia Strobel currently sit at the epicenter of preserving the future of public broadcast media in Minnesota.
Steve Grove will share his insights on why starting local is the best opportunity we have to reclaim the promise of America and rebuild trust in our future.
Pulitzer-prize winning historian Steve Hahn is renowned for his understanding of the political dynamics of the American South. He suggests that Donald Trump’s reliance on racial resentments and coercion is not new to America but familiar to its history.
