Louis Gossett Jr.
Actor; Winner, Academy Award; Activist; Author, An Actor and a Gentleman
Gossett became a Broadway star at 17, starring with Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, and Ossie Davis in “A Raisin in the Sun.” He later won an Emmy for his performance in the “Roots” miniseries and an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role as Sgt. Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman. Read more »

Thomas Frieden
M.D., M.Ph., Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Haile T. Debas, Executive Director, UCSF Global Health Sciences; chancellor emeritus, ucsf; Dean Emeritus, UCSF School of Medicine - Moderator
As director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Frieden works to control communicable and noncommunicable diseases in the United States and around the world. He led the nation’s response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Read more »

Why Muslim Women Must Re-interpret the Quran
Nimat Hafez Barazangi, Ph.D., Islamic and Arabic Studies, Cornell University; Author, Woman's Identity and the QuranLaura Sydell, Correspondent, National Public Radio - Moderator
Barazangi posits that it’s time for Muslim women to have a peaceful, silent revolution, firmly grounded in the Quran. Barazangi is a researcher for feminist, gender and sexuality studies at Cornell and has worked to improve attitudes and conditions for women in Islam. Read more »