SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) became the 65th Secretary of State on January 20, 2001. As he stated at his confirmation hearing, the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy during his tenure was that "America stands ready to help any country that wishes to join the democratic world."

General Powell brought extensive experience with him to his office. Before becoming Secretary of State, Colin Powell served as a key aide to the Secretary of Defense and as National Security Advisor to President Reagan. He also served 35 years in the United States Army, rising to the rank of Four-Star General and serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989 – 1993). During this time he oversaw 28 crises to include the Panama intervention of 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the victorious 1991 Persian Gulf War.

That experience served him well, both before and particularly after the events of September 11, 2001, the day of the greatest tragedy on American soil since Pearl Harbor. As Secretary he stood shoulder to shoulder with the President and the other members of the President's cabinet in fighting the war on terrorism. As he often said, "winning that war is our first priority, and it will remain so for as long as necessary."

A fervent purveyor of democratic values, Colin Powell stressed that fighting the war on terrorism is not just a military but also a diplomatic task – the two go hand in hand. He led the State Department in major efforts to solve regional and civil conflicts – in the Middle East, between Israel and its Arab neighbors; in Sudan, Congo and Liberia; in the Balkans, Cyprus, Haiti, Northern Ireland and elsewhere. He was especially concerned with the peace and security of Afghanistan and
Iraq, countries where winning the peace is as important as Coalition battlefield victories. In all areas, he used the power of diplomacy and
the universal ideal of democracy to build trust, forge alliances and then begin to transform these once-unstable regions into areas where
societies and cultures prosper.

General Powell was devoted to grasping opportunities as well as to confronting the global and regional security challenges of the 21st century. He was at the forefront of the administration's efforts to advance economic and social development worldwide – in the fight against HIV/AIDS, in the promise of the Millennium Challenge
Account, the most significant change in helping needy nations since the Marshall Plan, and in pursuing a freer trading and investment climate worldwide. These efforts, too, are not separate from the nation's
security agenda. Indeed, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, then Secretary Powell affirmed that our main purpose is to extend democracy, prosperity, and freedom to every
corner of the world. It is a process that is establishing a balance of power that favors freedom across the globe.

Born in New York City on April 5, 1937, General Powell was raised in
the South Bronx. His parents, Luther and Maud Powell, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. General Powell was educated in the
New York City public schools, graduating from Morris High School and the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a bachelor's degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received
a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University.

General Powell is the recipient of numerous U.S. military awards and decorations including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit
(with Oak Leaf Cluster), Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and the Purple Heart.

General Powell's civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the President's Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. He has received awards from over two-dozen countries to include a French Legion of Honor and an honorary knighthood bestowed by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

Since returning to private life, General Powell has become a strategic limited partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the renowned
Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Powell is the Founder of the Colin Powell Policy Center at his alma mater, the City College of New York,
and he is helping to raise funds for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC and for the construction of an education center for
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Twenty-five years ago, the Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them. In the years that followed, many of the Steps ignored the conventional wisdom ("Don't quit your day job!"), and although not all
of the current members of the Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together the performers have worked in a total of eighteen Congressional offices and represent 62 years of collective House and Senate staff experience.

Since they began, the Capitol Steps have recorded 26 albums, including their latest, I'm So Indicted. They've been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS, and can be heard 4 times a year on National Public Radio stations nationwide during their Politics Takes a Holiday radio specials.
The Capitol Steps were born in December, 1981 when some staffers for Senator Charles Percy were planning entertainment for a Christmas party. Ronald Reagan was President when the Steps began, so co-founders Elaina Newport, Bill Strauss and Jim Aidala figured that if entertainers could become politicians, then politicians could become entertainers! Their first idea was to stage a nativity play, but in the whole Congress they couldn't find three wise men or a virgin! So, they decided to dig into the headlines of the day, and created song parodies & skits which conveyed a special brand of satirical humor that was as popular in Peoria as it was on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Most cast members have worked on Capitol Hill; some for Democrats, some for Republicans, and others for politicians who firmly straddle the fence. No matter who holds office, there's never a shortage of material. Says Elaina Newport, "Typically the Republicans goof up, and the Democrats party. Then the Democrats goof up and the Republicans party. That's what we call the two-party system."

Although the Capitol Steps are based in Washington, DC, most of their shows are out-of-town or for out-of-town audiences, whether it's the National Welding Supply Association, a university audience, high schoolers, or state legislators. In fact, the Capitol Steps have performed for the last five Presidents (six, if you include Hillary). The only complaints the Steps seem to get are from politicians and personalities who are not included in the program!

The material is updated constantly, whether to include George Bush's latest malapropism, in "Don't Go Fakin' You're Smart" (to Elton John's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart") or John Kerry's positions on the issues ("I've Taken Stands on Both Sides Now") or on the international side, Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas reconciling their differences in the touching "Embraceable Jew." No matter who's in the headlines, the Capitol Steps are equal opportunity offenders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Schieffer planned to retire in 2008. Instead, he published his fourth book, Bob Schieffer’s America, moderated the final debate of the 2008 campaign, received an Emmy for lifetime achievement, received the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment award, and was named a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress. He also made his debut at the Grand Ole Opry with his country music band, Honky Tonk Confidential.

Schieffer has received virtually every award in broadcast journalism,
but the greatest honor was bestowed upon him in 2005 when his alma mater, Texas Christian University, created the Schieffer School of Journalism. Schieffer anchored the CBS Evening News from March 10, 2005 to August 31, 2006, an 18-month period that saw a substantial increase in viewers. Prior to that, Schieffer covered Washington for CBS News for more than 30 years and has served as the moderator of Face the Nation, CBS News’ Sunday public affairs broadcast, since 1991. He
is also CBS News chief Washington correspondent.

Schieffer is one of the few broadcast or print journalists to have
covered all four major beats in the nation's capital -- the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and Capitol Hill. He became Chief Washington correspondent in 1982. He has covered every presidential campaign and been a floor reporter at all of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions since 1972. Schieffer is a member of
the Broadcasting/Cable Hall of Fame and is the recipient of the 2003 Paul White Award presented by the Radio-Television News Directors Association. The award recognizes an individual’s lifetime contribution to electronic journalism and past CBS recipients include Edward R.
Murrow, Morley Safer, Walter Cronkite, Don Hewitt, Mike Wallace, Charles Kuralt, Dan Rather, and Ed Bradley. Schieffer has been
honored with the Life Time Achievement Award at the 29th annual
News and Documentary Awards.

Over the years, he has won seven Emmys and two Sigma Delta Chi Awards. In 2002, the National Press Foundation chose Schieffer as Broadcaster of the Year. He has been a principal anchor for CBS News since 1973, when he was named anchor of the CBS Sunday Night News. In August 1996, Schieffer stepped down as anchor of the Saturday edition of the CBS Evening News, a post he held for 20 years. He and
his colleague Dan Rather now stand as the only two 20-year anchors
of a regularly scheduled network news broadcast.

He is the author of Face the Nation, which was published on the 50th anniversary of that broadcast, a New York Times bestseller, This Just
In: What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV, the best-selling Acting President, and his most recent book Bob Schieffer’s America, which was published
in 2008.

Rich Karlgaard is the publisher of Forbes – the world’s most popular business and financial magazine, read by 4.5 million people per issue.
He also is the author of the book, Life 2.0 How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their
Happiness, which was an Amazon and Wall Street Journal business
best seller.

In every issue of Forbes, Karlgaard writes a column called Digital
Rules. It appears in the front pages of Forbes, directly after columns
by Steve Forbes. In his Digital Rules column, Karlgaard writes about technology, entrepreneurship, regional and economical development,
and the future of business and work. He frequently lectures on these subjects and is a regular guest on the Fox News Channel’s Forbes on
Fox. In 2005, Karlgaard began writing a daily blog, which appears
on the homepage of Forbes.com.

Karlgaard joined Forbes in 1992 to start Forbes ASAP, a technology magazine, along with Forbes CEO and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes,
and the futurist and writer George Gilder. At Forbes ASAP Karlgaard commissioned original works by Tom Wolfe, John Updike and other notable American writers.

Karlgaard is an accomplished entrepreneur. He has co-founded two companies (Garage Technology Ventures, in 1997; and Upside
magazine in 1988) and one civic organization (the 5,500-member Churchill Club in 1985). For the latter, Karlgaard was a co-winner of
the Ernst & Young Northern California "Entrepreneur of the Year" award.

Karlgaard was raised in Bismarck, North Dakota and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Political Science. Currently, he lives with his wife and two children in Northern California. When he is not working or spending time with his family, Rich likes to fly his single-engine airplane around the country and meet the people who make America unique and great.




 

A high-profile senior analyst for CNN and staff writer for The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin is one of the country’s most esteemed experts
on politics, media and the law. With unparalleledjournalistic skill,
Toobin has provided analysis on some of the most provocative and importantevents of our time, including the O.J. Simpson trial, the Kenneth Starr investigation and impeachment of President Bill Clinton, and the disputed Florida recount of the 2000 presidentialelection.

One of the closest watchers of the 2006 Martha Stewart trial, his accounts of the case for CNN and The New Yorker were among the
most well-balanced and thorough. The author of critically acclaimed
New York Times bestsellers, Toobin's 2007 book The Nine:
Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, delves into the historical, political and personalinner workings of the Supreme Court and its
justices to reveal the inside story of one of America’smost mysterious
and powerful institutions.

Toobin’s renowned bestseller Too Close to Call: The36-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election is the definitive story of the Bush-Gore presidentialrecount. Too Close to Call is, like his other books, packed
with news-making disclosures and written with the drive of a legal thriller. With clarity, insight, humor and a deep understandingof the law, Toobin deconstructs the events, the players and the often-Byzantine intricacies of ourjudicial system, ending up with a remarkable account of one of the most significant periods inour nation’s history.

Toobin received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard
College and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After a six-year tenure at ABC News, where he covered the country’s highest-profile cases and received a 2000 Emmy Award for his coverage of the Elian Gonzales custody saga, Toobin joinedCNN as a legal analyst for the
CNN News Group in 2002 where he now serves as senior analyst.

Also a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1993, he has written
articles on such subjects asFormer Attorney General John Ashcroft, the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, Supreme CourtJustice Clarence Thomas and the trial of Timothy McVeigh. His article "An Incendiary Defense"for the magazine broke the news that the O.J. Simpson defense team planned to accuse MarkFuhrman of planting evidence and to play “the race card.”

Prior to joining The New Yorker, Toobin served as an Assistant United States Attorney inBrooklyn, New York. He also served as an associate counsel in the Office of IndependentCounsel Lawrence E. Walsh, an experience that provided the basis for his first book, Opening Arguments: A Young Lawyer’s First Case—United States v. Oliver North. His other books also take a behind the scenes look at the legal system. A Vast Conspiracy examines the methods of
independent counsel Kenneth Starr's team and the legal proceeding of the Clinton impeachmenttrial; and The Run of His Life closely examines the workings of the criminal justice system in theO.J. Simpson trial. Toobin lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

 

Called "Her Deepness" by The New Yorker and The New York
Times, and the "Carl Sagan of our Oceans" by USA Today, Dr. Sylvia Earle is a marine biologist, author, lecturer, scientific consultant, the co-founder and director of Deep Ocean Engineering, Inc., and the president of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Inc.

Earle's impressive list of accomplishments is enhanced by her genuine love for the ocean, exploration, and science in general. She is the most important and active advocate for the research and protection of one of our most precious and largely unexplored frontiers--our seas. Formerly the chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earle is an explorer-in-residence at National
Geographic. She also serves as the first female honorary president of
The Explorer's Club.

Earle's presence and impact at National Geographic has been remarkable. In less than 12 months, she created and gathered funding for the Sustainable Seas Expedition. The SSE explores and researches
12 National Marine Sanctuaries that surround the North American continent, working to increase US and international recognition and caring for the oceans by the public, policy-makers, and institutions.
The project also seeks to increase the nation's ability to conserve the natural and cultural resources of the oceans and establish the utility of new submersibles, which will allow for advanced exploration and research. In keeping with the commitment to further involve the public in caring for our oceans, schoolchildren and teachers will be able to
follow these missions on the Internet and interact, while those who are near the sanctuaries during the expeditions will find hands-on ways to participate.

Earle made her first dive in 1952 at the age of 16, in the Weekiwatchee River in Florida. She wore a borrowed copper diving helmet and breathed air pumped through a hose by a compressor. Twelve years later, when Earle was preparing for her doctorate in marine botany at Duke University, she was invited to join a six-week expedition aboard Harry Truman's old presidential yacht. She was the only woman among 70 men and quickly learned the necessity and power of self-sufficiency and a good sense of humor. Six years later, she found herself part of a group of five women unexpectedly allowed to participate in the NASA aquanaut program called Tektite II. The two weeks Earle spent in the 50-foot deep underwater habitat changed her view of the ocean
forever, and further inspired her to "go deeper." In 1985, she made a daring solo descent to 3,000 feet in the Pacific Ocean just off the coast
of San Diego. Earle still holds the record for the deepest untethered solo dive, and has led more than 50 expeditions worldwide involving an excess of 6000 hours underwater.

Recognized by the Library of Congress as a "Living Legend" and
inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, she is the author of more than 100 publications concerning marine science and technology, including the books, Sea Change (1995) and Wild Ocean (1999). She has participated in numerous television productions and given scientific, technical, and general interest lectures in more than 60 countries. Her books for children include Hello Fish; Sea Critters; and Dive!, a winner
of five awards for excellence.

Most recently, Earle became the face of Google Oceans, Google’s downloadable, interactive guide to the deepest depths of the sea. With vivid imagery and the ability to go back in time to see the evolution of 75% of the Earth’s surface, Google Oceans is visually astonishing and an incredible guide to the history of our planet.

She is also the winner of the prestigious 2009 TED Award (Technology, Entertainment, Design), which is an “annual conference bringing
together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers who are challenged to give the talk of their lives” in the mission of spreading innovative ideas to the global community.

Her company, Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, continues to
design advanced systems for submersibles, ultimately making the
diving machines more accessible to the public. "With knowing comes caring," says Earle, "and with caring there is the hope that we will find a place for ourselves within the natural systems that sustain us."


Frank W. Abagnale is one of the world’s most respected authorities
on forgery, embezzlement and secure documents. For over 30 years he has worked with, advised and consulted with hundreds of financial institutions, corporations and government agencies around the world.

Mr. Abagnale’s rare blend of knowledge and expertise began more
than 40 years ago when he was known as one of the world’s most
famous confidence men. This was depicted most graphically in his best-selling book, Catch Me If You Can, a film of which was also made,
directed by Steven Spielberg with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. Between the ages of 16 and 21, he successfully posed as an airline pilot, an attorney, a college professor and a pediatrician, in addition to
cashing $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in every state and 26 foreign countries. Apprehended by the French police when he was 21 years
old, he served time in the French, Swedish and U. S. prison systems. After five years he was released on the condition that he would help the federal government, without remuneration, by teaching and assisting federal law enforcement agencies.

Mr. Abagnale has now been associated with the FBI for over 30 years. More than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations and law enforcement agencies use his fraud prevention programs. In 1998 he
was selected as a distinguished member of “Pinnacle 400” by CNN Financial News – a select group of 400 people chosen on the basis of great accomplishment and success in their fields.

In 2004 Mr. Abagnale was selected as the spokesperson for the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). He has also written
numerous articles and books including The Art of the Steal, The Real U Guide to Identity Theft and Stealing Your Life.