The Power of Place

Speakers & Co-Chairs

Keynote conversation

• 
  Michael Adams

  Kentucky Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Kentucky

  Bipartisan keynote conversation on the 2026 midterms, civic participation, and what comes next.
• 
  Adrian Fontes

  Arizona Secretary of State, State of Arizona

  Bipartisan keynote conversation on the 2026 midterms, civic participation, and what comes next.

Speakers

• 
  Mary Berry

  Executive Director, The Berry Center

  The legacy of Wendell Berry's Citizenship Papers, and citizenship and community in rural America.
• 
  danah boyd

  Geri Gay Professor of Communication, Cornell University

  Findings from Data Are Made, Not Found: an ethnography of the U.S. Census Bureau and the struggle to make democracy's data in 2020.
• 
  Elisa Shearer

  Senior Researcher, Pew Research Center

  A recent Pew Research Center study on how Americans engage in society across politics, civics, news, and religion.
• 
  Elissa Lee

  Former Director and Senior Advisor of Community Engagement, California Governor's Office of Service and Community Engagement

  Roundtable: Stewarding Civic Health in Place.
• 
  Evan Weissman

  Founding Executive Director, Warm Cookies of the Revolution

  Roundtable: Stewarding Civic Health in Place.

2026 Co-Chairs

• 
  Michael Adams

  Kentucky Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Kentucky

  Bipartisan keynote conversation on the 2026 midterms, civic participation, and what comes next.
• 
  Cristin Brawner

  Executive Director, National Issues Forums Institute
• 
  Valerie Lemmie

  Senior Advisor for State and Local Government, Kettering Foundation
• 
  Richard Young

  Founder & Executive Director, CivicLex

  Roundtable: Stewarding Civic Health in Place.