Kenyan‑born, Cambridge‑ and Harvard‑educated Liaquat Ahamed is a Pulitzer Prize-winning financial historian and esteemed investment manager who is widely regarded as one of the leading interpreters of financial history, praised for his ability to humanize central bankers and clarify the often opaque mechanics of monetary policy.

Jay Alexander is one of America’s most captivating magicians and mentalists, celebrated for blending mind reading, sleight of hand, and sharp-witted comedy into thrilling live experiences. Based in San Francisco, Alexander is the creator and star of Mind Tricks Live!, the popular, award-winning show performed at his venue, The Marrakech Magic Theater.

Three-time Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, journalist, and military historian Rick Atkinson’s eight books provide gripping narrative accounts of five different American wars. His latest is the second in a watershed trilogy about the Revolutionary War.

Beloved author, journalist, and Pulitzer-Prize-winning humor columnist Dave Barry is a household name across America, having written dozens of bestselling books. His latest, Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass, is garnering enthusiastic praise for its humor and heart.

PBS NewsHour senior correspondent Jeffrey Brown will return to the SVAF stage in 2026 as a lead moderator. During his long and illustrious career, Brown has reported on a wide range of national and international issues. His book of prose and poetry, The News, explores the intersections between politics and poetry.

Bryan Burrough is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist known for gripping accounts of American history and finance, including Barbarians at the Gate and Public Enemies. His latest book, The Gunfighters, explores how Texas shaped the mythos of the Wild West, showcasing his talent for vivid storytelling and deep research.

New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins has been called “America’s favorite poet,” and for more than four decades, he has delighted readers and audiences with his insight, wit, and clear poetic voice. His critically acclaimed new collection, Dog Show, ponders the complexities of dog behavior and what dogs teach us about ourselves.

Barbara Daddino is an author, educator, and researcher best known for her 2025 book Tesla’s Cottage: The Lost History of Nikola Tesla at Wardenclyffe (and How It Was Recovered). The book intertwines Tesla’s story with Daddino’s own journey, creating what reviewers have praised as part memoir, part historical detective story, and part tribute to human perseverance.

Alex Filippenko is an award-winning UC Berkeley astrophysicist and electrifying speaker, known for groundbreaking research on supernovae and dark energy, whose infectious enthusiasm and humor turn cosmic mysteries into mind-opening, unforgettable experiences for audiences of all backgrounds.

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

Author and photographer Liza Gershman’s soon-to-be-published cookbook, Farm + Market: Healdsburg, is a portrait of the small organic farmers, restaurant chefs, multigenerational families, and local institutions that shape the agricultural identity of Sonoma County.

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

Jeanne Walker Harvey is an award-winning children’s book author of picture book biographies. Her newest is The Glass Pyramid: The Louvre Museum and Architect I.M Pei. Harvey has also written the iconic San Francisco Bay-inspired picture book Boats on the Bay. She is the featured author of SVAF’s Young Readers Program.

Engineer and visionary entrepeneur John Honchariw has built his career on a simple but powerful idea: that animals are constantly talking to us — we just need better tools to listen.

Known for her dynamic presence and insightful sports reporting, longtime Miami Herald columnist Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, US Open, Super Bowls, as well as countless NCAA and NBA games.

Renowned for his multi-volume biography of Joseph Stalin, there is perhaps no greater expert on Soviet and Russian history than Stephen Kotkin. He has taught at Princeton for 33 years, mentoring a new generation of historians and greatly influencing modern Russian history scholarship.

Soyoung Lee is a renowned art historian and curator, recognized for her visionary leadership and deep expertise in Korean and East Asian art. Formerly a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and chief curator at Harvard Art Museums, she now serves as CEO of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

J.R Martinez is a burn survivor, Army Veteran, actor, New York Times best-selling author, motivational speaker, and advocate. He’s a keynote speaker at major events, traveling the world to spread his message of resilience and optimism.

Irish literary giant Colum McCann’s new novel, Twist, is set against the backdrop of undersea fiber-optic breaks off the coast of Africa. McCann’s bestsellers include Apeirogon and TransAtlantic, and he won a National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin.

Abbas Milani serves as director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University and co-directs the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institute. Perhaps no one possesses greater expertise in U.S.-Iran relations and Iranian cultural, political, and security issues.

Gladstone Institutes scientist Katie Pollard is a computational biologist who decodes what makes us human — and what breaks in disease — by combining AI, evolutionary genomics, and genome editing to turn raw DNA into actionable answers.

Todd S. Purdum is an accomplished author and biographer whose journalism career spans decades of incisive political and cultural reporting. Purdum has served as a national correspondent and White House reporter for The New York Times, a senior writer at Vanity Fair, and a staff writer at The Atlantic. His new book on Desi Arnaz explores the extraordinary life of the Cuban-born entertainer and entrepreneur who helped changed modern television.

British journalist-turned-historian Sonia Purnell rescues remarkable women from the footnotes of history and puts them center stage—where they belong. Her latest masterpiece, Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction & Intrigue, has been hailed as a Book of the Year by no fewer than 15 media outlets.

Jeffrey Rosen is among the most influential legal scholars and public intellectuals in America. His important new book, The Pursuit of Liberty, sheds fresh light on how the contrasting constitutional visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton shaped our nation for 250 years and continue to influence contemporary debates regarding governmental power.

Lauren Coyle Rosen is an award-winning cultural anthropologist, professor, author, and artist, whose eagerly awaited new book Goddess is set for publication later this year. Her research and writing bridge the disciplines of law, culture, and politics.

Bestselling novelist and accomplished television screenwriter Maria Semple’s novel, Where’d You Go Bernadette?, spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list. She is the author of three acclaimed novels and is widely praised for her witty, insightful, and darkly comedic writing style. Her newest novel, Go Gentle, was selected for Oprah’s Book Club!

New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin is one of the most prominent voices in finance and business journalism, and his new book, 1929, has been hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “one of the best narrative histories [we’ve] read.” His previous blockbuster bestseller, Too Big To Fail, was adapted as a movie for HBO.

Retired four-star U.S. Navy Admiral and the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, Admiral James G. Stavridis is renowned for his strategic military expertise and global diplomacy. His new book, 2084, envisions a near-future global conflict ignited by climate collapse.

James Wang is a venture capitalist and technologist at the forefront of the deep-tech revolution, leading investments in artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and advanced materials —technologies redefining how humanity works, heals, and creates. His new book, What You Need to Know About AI: A Primer on Being Human in an Artifically Intelligent World, is a clear and compelling guide to the forces shaping our intelligent future.