All 2024 Authors and Speakers

John Dalton

Former Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton’s new memoir At the Helm: My Journey with Family, Faith, and Friends to Calm the Storms of Life recounts his experiences and the bedrock values that shaped him and the hard lessons he received from them…including the essence of principled leadership.

Dalton is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. After graduating from Annapolis, Dalton served in the Navy from 1964 to 1969. He attained the rank of lieutenant while on active duty and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander while in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

As Secretary of the Department of the Navy, including both the Navy and Marine Corps, Dalton had to weather the storm of the Tailhook controversy, navigate through the Naval Academy cheating scandal, and manage the new policies of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and women serving in combat. His record with these situations shines as a model of ethical leadership during crises. In 2016, he received the Distinguished Graduate Award from the Naval Academy.

Dalton has worked across the private and public sectors and has held four presidential appointments, culminating in his appointment as the 70th Secretary of the Navy. His life is an inspirational story filled with successes and failures in the public and private sectors and how he navigated through them.

Late last year, the Current U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, announced that a new nuclear-powered submarine would be named the USS John H. Dalton.

John Dalton’s book

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Other 2024 Authors & Speakers

Elliot Ackerman

The author of eight books, former Marine Corps and CIA special ops team member, and co-author of the bestselling thriller 2034: A Novel of the Next World War and its sequel 2054.

Akhil Reed Amar

Renowned Professor of Law at Yale University and Yale Law School. One of this era’s most accomplished legal scholars and author of five books focused on the American Constitution.

Arthur Benjamin

Popular “mathemagician” and acclaimed Harvey Mudd college professor Arthur Benjamin, Ph.D., is the bestselling author of two books on the secret of mental math. His three TED talks have been viewed more than 50 million times.

Talmage Boston

Award-winning litigator and renowned historian Talmage Boston is the author of a highly anticipated new book, How The Best Did It, on the leadership lessons that can be gained from an analysis of our greatest presidents.

Jeffrey Brown

Jeffrey Brown is Senior Correspondent and Chief Arts Correspondent for PBS NewsHour, public television’s prestigious nightly news program viewed by millions. During his career with NewsHour he has served as co-anchor, studio moderator, and field reporter on a wide range of national and international issues.

Kristin Carlucci

“Get Me Carlucci!!” Once called “Washington’s ultimate survivor” by The Washington Post, Frank Carlucci served six presidents and rose to prominence as Deputy Director of the CIA and as Secretary of Defense for President Reagan. Frank Carlucci had a wide-ranging career of one of the twentieth century’s most important behind-the-scenes actors.

Wade Davis

National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Ethnographer, Writer, Photographer and Filmmaker

Jonathan Eig

Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author of biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson and Mohammed Ali. Recent recipient of The New-York Historical Society’s Book prize awarded annually for the best work of American history and biography.

Alex Filippenko

Filippenko is an Astrophysicist on a Nobel Prize winning team, as well as the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize, 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics to all team members. He was voted the “best professor at UC Berkeley 9 years!”.

Craig Frazier

Internationally renowned illustrator, designer and visual storyteller. Author/designer of children’s books and 7 US Postage stamps including the 2006 Love stamp.

Anita Gail Jones

The Peach Seed was named a top ten finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Fiction in 2021, solidifying her status as a rising star in the literary world.

Ker Gibbs

Having spent two decades living in China, most recently as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and a Mandarin speaker, Gibbs understands the most recent changes and implications for American companies, the Taiwan issue and the future of the US-China relationship.

Doris Kearns Goodwin

A Pulitzer-Prize winning biographer, presidential historian, former sports journalist and political commentator.

David Grann

Award-winning New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of five books including Killers of the Flower Moon, The Wager and The Lost City of Z.

Jeanne Walker Harvey

Jeanne Walker Harvey is a celebrated children’s book author, known for her captivating picture book biographies and heartwarming stories about marine mammal rescue.

Quinton Martins

Quinton Martins, Ph.D., leads True Wild and the Living with Lions project, conserving San Francisco’s mountain lions. With 30 years’ field experience and a Ph.D. from the University of Bristol, he’s an esteemed authority on large wild cats, formerly founding the successful Cape Leopard Trust in South Africa.

Luis A. Miranda Jr.

Prominent figure on the Latino, New York, and national political scene, thought leader, author, and father of Hamilton playwright.

Aza Raskin

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Jeffrey Rosen

Jeffrey Rosen is the President and CEO of the non-partisan National Constitution Center in Philadelphia where he hosts “We the People,” a weekly podcast of constitutional debate. Author of five books, Rosen graduated from Harvard College, Oxford University, and Yale Law School.

Kori Schake

What are the national security challenges and threats to Liberal Democracies in 2024? Kori Schake is a Senior Fellow and the Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. She is a former presidential policy advisor and leading foreign and defense expert.

Hampton Sides

Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author of seven books including Ghost Soldiers and On Desperate Ground.

Julia Flynn Siler

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Deepak Srivastava

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Admiral James Stavridis

A 4-star Navy Admiral, author, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, board member of the Rockefeller Foundation, security analyst for NBC news, and bestselling co-author of 2034: A Novel of the Next World War and its sequel 2054.