Upcoming Events
Thu 5/23
San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour #19
Date: Thu, May 23, 2013Time: 2:00 PM
San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour
This program is cancelled
Explore San Francisco’s Financial District with historian Rick Evans and learn the history and stories behind some of our city’s remarkable structures, streets, and public squares. Hear about the famous architects that influenced the building of San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. Discover hard-to-find rooftop gardens, Art Deco lobbies, unique open spaces, and historic landmarks. This is a tour for locals, with hidden gems you can only find on foot!
Location: Lobby of Galleria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter St.
Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. tour
Cost: $40 non-members, $30 members
Also know: Tour operates rain or shine. Limited to 20 people. Participants must pre-register. The tour covers less than one mile of walking in the Financial District. Note: This tour involves walking up and down stairs.
Fri 5/24
Speaking Tips from America’s Best Speakers: Abe Lincoln and MLK
Date: Fri, May 24, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
Carol Fleming, Ph.D., Member, Commonwealth Club Board of Governors; Author, It’s the Way You Say It
Rick Gilbert, Ph.D., Author, Speaking Up: Surviving Executive Presentations
What did master orators Lincoln and MLK know about speaking that could help you? This fast-moving review of the key components of memorable public speaking will enlighten the beginner and remind and entertain the old pro. You will leave with a new appreciation of these great speakers and some new ideas for yourself.
MLF: Business & Leadership
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Kevin O'Malley
Tue 5/28
The Perfect Cup: Coffee Talk with San Francisco’s Finest Roasters
Date: Tue, May 28, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
James Freeman, Owner, Blue Bottle Coffee
Eileen Hassi, Owner, Ritual Coffee Roasters
Jeremy Tooker, Owner, Four Barrel Coffee
Marcia Gagliardi, Founder/Editor, Tablehopper.com - Moderator
Three of San Francisco’s finest coffee entrepreneurs spill the beans on what it takes to be at the forefront of an artisan coffee revolution. Join the owners of Blue Bottle, Four Barrel and Ritual Coffee Roasters as they discuss sourcing beans directly from farmers they know, roasting on the premises of their local establishments, and brewing the perfect cup of joe. Come early for a “cupping” and taste what Bay Area coffee innovation is all about.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5 p.m. check-in, 5:15 p.m. coffee tasting, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $25 non-members, $15 members, $10 students (with valid ID)
Also know: Sponsored by Wells Fargo. Photo courtesy of epSos.de.
Wed 5/29
Bella Figura
Date: Wed, May 29, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Jojo Capece, Author
San Francisco author Capece’s latest novel, set in Capri, focuses on Esmeralda Pembrook’s life, which erupts, revealing prejudices of class, religion, age, gender, race and nationality. Tolerance and the capacity to endure bring a surprising finale to Capece’s novel of love, greed and intrigue. Capece will describe her fascination with all things Italian, including Berlusconi, the recently retired Pope, Verdi’s music in the 200th year of his birth, the Italian Year of Culture in San Francisco and Caravaggio’s masterpiece making an appearance in our city.
MLF: Humanities
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: George Hammond
Also know: Photo courtesy the London Evening Standard
James Zogby, Founder, Arab American Institute: Arab Attitudes Toward Iran
Date: Wed, May 29, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Founder, Arab American Institute; Director, Zogby Research Services; Author, Looking at Iran
Joel Brinkley, Hearst Visiting Professor in Residence, Stanford University: Former New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent - Moderator
A just-released Arab American Institute survey revealed that each year since 2006, Iran's standing among other Middle East nations has declined, so much so that today majorities in most countries in the Middle East and North Africa see Iran as a meddlesome source of sectarian disruption. Just eight years ago, there was widespread support for Iran across the Arab world. So what happened? Zogby will look at the dramatic change in Arab and Muslim attitudes toward Iran during the past decade and the policy implications resulting from that shift.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Also know: In associaton with the Club's Middle East Forum.
Thu 5/30
A #Nofilter Conversation with the Founders of Instagram
Date: Thu, May 30, 2013Time: 7:00 PM
Kevin Systrom, Co-founder, Instagram
Mike Krieger, Co-founder Instagram
In conversation with Kevin Rose, Partner, Google Ventures; Founder, Digg, Revision3, Milk
From the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Sandy to your Sunday eggs Benedict in the Mission, Instagram is documenting the world around us. Since its release in October 2010, this digital filter app is reported to have surpassed 100 million registered users, with peak uploads at over 200 photographs per second — launching co-founders Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom to nearly insta-fame. And their eye-catching communications platform has not left the limelight. Despite media feeding frenzys over Instagram’s $1 billion dollar acquisition by Facebook and a controversial policy-change announcement in December 2012, heightened scrutiny doesn’t seem to be keeping users at bay. Join @mikeyk and @kevin for a conversation with #nofilter at the Castro Theatre.
Location: Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St.
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6 p.m. premium ticket reception, 7 p.m. program
Cost: General Admission: $25 non-members, $15 members. Priority Seating: $45 non-members, $30 members. Premium (priority seating and VIP reception with Systrom and Krieger – limited number available): $80 non-members, $65 members. Group ticket*: 10 tickets for $100.
Also know: Image courtesy of photographer Cody Pickens
*Note: The Group Ticket only applies to groups of 10 and is for a limited time only. $100 for 10 tickets.
Fri 5/31
The Emerging Prehistory of the Next American Revolution
Date: Fri, May 31, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
Gar Alperovitz, Professor of Political Economy, University of Maryland; Co-founder, The Democracy Collaborative; Author, What Then Must We Do?: Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution
MLF: Business & Leadership
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students(with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Kevin O'Malley
Also know: Photo by Stephen Voss
Dear Governor Cuomo: Screening and Discussion
Date: Fri, May 31, 2013Time: 8:00 PM
Jon Bowermaster, Director, Dear Governor Cuomo
Deborah Goldberg, Managing Attorney, Earthjustice
The New York state fracking moratorium has been in place since the early days of the fracking boom on the Marcellus Shale. But just past state lines in Pennsylvania and in states across the country, hydraulic fracturing has been moving full steam ahead, leaving regulators to play catch-up. Proponents of the process say cheaper natural gas is good for both the economy and, ultimately, the environment, with fewer carbon emissions than dirty coal. Opponents point to chemical spills, water pollution and the finite nature of natural gas supplies as reasons to move away from fracking toward a cleaner, more renewable track. Join Climate One and the San Francisco Green Film Festival for a post-screening conversation on natural gas, fracking and the economic and environmental balancing act of powering America.
Location: New People Cinema, 1746 Post Street
Time: 8 p.m. - approx. 10 p.m. screening and discussion
Cost: $12 non-members, $12 members, $11 seniors/students/disabled. Tickets on sale May 8 at www.sfgreenfilmfest.org
Also know: The speakers and audience will be videotaped for future broadcast on the Climate One TV show on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV.
Mon 6/3
Journey into the Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzberg
Date: Mon, June 03, 2013Time: 5:30 PM
Russians have written many justly famous memoirs, and this one is among the best. Ginzberg provides an account of her suffering and survival of a sentence to prison and labor camps. We will discuss this woman’s story of her arrest in 1937, charged with being a Trotskyist terrorist and counterrevolutionary at the commencement of the Stalinist purges, the great terror and the gulag.
MLF: SF Book Discussion
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE
Program Organizers: Barbara Massey and Howard Crane
David Kennedy: The Modern American Military
Date: Mon, June 03, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus, Stanford University; Editor, The Modern American Military
John Diaz, Editorial Page Editor, San Francisco Chronicle - Moderator
The advent of the all-volunteer force and the evolving nature of modern warfare have transformed our military, changing it in serious if subtle ways that few Americans are aware of, says Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Kennedy. He looks at issues such as who serves and why and the impact of non-uniformed “contractors” in war zone.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
Living Healthy in a Toxic World
Date: Mon, June 03, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Beth Greer, aka Super Natural Mom, Journalist; Environmental Health Advocate; Holistic Wellness Educator; Healthy Home Specialist; Author, Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home and Planet … One Room at a Time
Inside our homes we’re exposed to hundreds of untested chemicals – from additives in food to endocrine disruptors in soap and shampoo to fumes in household cleaners. These comprise your “body burden” and can exacerbate allergies, asthma, fatigue, cough, headache and more serious health conditions. Greer, best-selling author and lauded by such advocates as Deepak Chopra and Ralph Nader, will share bits of bite-sized wisdom to provide a greater awareness of what goes in you, on you and surrounds you, so that you might be able to radically improve your health and vitality. Leave with simple, affordable ways to make safe, healthy product choices; understand vague and misleading food, personal care and cleaning labels; and detect and eliminate electromagnetic radiation from cell phones, laptops and WiFi.
MLF: Health & Medicine
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, members free, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Patty James
Tue 6/4
The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life
Date: Tue, June 04, 2013Time: 5:15 PM
Marci Alboher, Author, The Encore Career Handbook
Alboher will give a comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts guide to finding passion, purpose and a paycheck in the second half of life. She will discuss how to plan the transition; how much you need to make; the pros and cons of going back to school; when to volunteer and when to intern; how to network effectively and harness the power of social media; and she’ll present an Encore Hot List of 35 viable careers.
MLF: Grownups
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: John Milford
Also know: In association with San Francisco Village, Coming of Age, the Transition Network and Encore.org.
George Packer: The New America
Date: Tue, June 04, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Staff Writer, The New Yorker; Author, The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America
Doug Sovern, KCBS Radio Political Reporter - Moderator
Packer argues that seismic economic shifts during a single generation have created a country of winners and losers, leaving the social contract in pieces and setting citizens adrift to find new paths forward. He will present the story of this America over the past three decades, which he sees as a superpower in danger of coming apart at the seams, its elites no longer elite, its institutions no longer relevant.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 standard, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Also know: Photo by Guillermo Riveros
Google's Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen
Date: Tue, June 04, 2013Time: 6:30 PM
Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google; Co-author, The New Digital Age
Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas; Co-author, The New Digital Age
In conversation with Greg Dalton, Founder, Climate One
In the next decade, most people on Earth should be able to access most of the world’s information through a mobile device. We also will see widespread adoption of driverless cars, thought-controlled robotic motion and augmented reality. Identity may possibly be the most valuable commodity for citizens and it will exist primarily online.
In 2008 Eric Schmidt introduced the Google 2030 Energy Plan at Climate One. While this 2013 conversation will focus primarily on digital issues it will touch on the intersection of energy and technology. Don't miss a fascinating glimpse into our future with a person helping define it, Google's Eric Schmidt.
Video Submission Opportunity!!
Have a question for Eric Schmidt? Submit your question via video to Climate One and it may be selected to play in front of our live audience on June 4th! If your video is chosen you will receive a complimentary ticket to the event and a copy of The New Digital Age by Eric Schmidt.
Guidelines:
- Video should be 15-30 seconds. The punchier the better!
- Your name and question must be spoken as clear and concise as possible.
- The question must concern energy, innovation or technology
- Deadline for video submission is midnight May 26, 2013
Upload your video to YouTube and send the link to climateone [at] commonwealthclub [dot] org. Selected videos will be uploaded to the Climate One YouTube channel.
We are looking forward to seeing some great submissions!
Location: Nikko Ballroom, Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St.
Time: 5:30 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program
Cost: General Admission: $45 non-members, $30 members, $20 students. General Admission with Book: $60 non-members, $45 members. Premium (priority seating and book): $85 non-members, $60 members.
Also know: The speakers and audience will be videotaped for future broadcast on the Climate One TV show on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV.
Temple Grandin
Date: Tue, June 04, 2013Time: 7:00 PM
Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University; Co-author, The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum
The number of children and adults diagnosed with autism has skyrocketed over the past 10 years, with a recent CDC report estimating that 1 out of 88 U.S. children are on the autism spectrum. Grandin will share her own experiences and discuss how we can better understand and diagnose autism. From advances in neuroimaging to cutting-edge genetic research, find out what unique and revolutionary treatments might soon be available.
Location: Schultz Cultural Hall, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto
Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing
Cost: General: $20 non-member, $12 members, $7 students. Premium: $40 non-member, $40 members (priority seating and copy of book)
Also know: Underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation
Thu 6/6
San Francisco Architecture Walking Tour #20
Date: Thu, June 06, 2013Time: 1:45 PM
Explore San Francisco’s Financial District with historian Rick Evans and learn the history and stories behind some of our city’s remarkable structures, streets, and public squares. Hear about the famous architects that influenced the building of San Francisco after the 1906 Earthquake. Discover hard-to-find rooftop gardens, Art Deco lobbies, unique open spaces, and historic landmarks. This is a tour for locals, with hidden gems you can only find on foot!
Location: Lobby of Galleria Park Hotel, 191 Sutter St.
Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4:30 p.m. tour
Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members
Also know: Tour operates rain or shine. Limited to 20 people. Participants must pre-register. The tour covers less than one mile of walking in the Financial District. Note: This tour involves walking up and down stairs.
The 82nd Annual California Book Awards
Date: Thu, June 06, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Since 1931, the California Book Awards have honored literary excellence among authors in the Golden State. At our special awards ceremony, we will bestow gold and silver medals in several categories, including: fiction, nonfiction, first fiction, poetry, young adult, juvenile, Californiana and contribution to publishing. Hear from some literary giants and amazing writers. See you at the ceremony!
Winning authors confirmed to attend thus far:
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:15 p.m. check-in/pre-program reception, 6 p.m. awards ceremony, 7:15 p.m. book signing and reception
Cost: $20 standard, $15 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Also know: Part of the Good Lit Series, underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation. Special thanks to Dr. Martha Cox and the late Ambassador Bill Lane for their generous endowment, allowing the California Book Awards to take place. Sponsored by Bank of the West.
Fri 6/7
Afghanistan
Date: Fri, June 07, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
Tamim Ansary, Director, SF Writers Workshop
Atta Arghandiwal, Banking Consultant
Robert Rosenthal, Executive Director, Center for Investigative Reporting - Moderator
Ansary, author of Games Without Rules: The Often Interrupted History of Afghanistan, and Arghandiwal, author of Lost Decency: The Untold Afghan Story, moved to the West from Afghanistan as young men. Arghandiwal was born into a military family and Ansary into an academic family. They will discuss the past, present and future of their troubled homeland.
MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel
Sun 6/9
Rebels with a Cause: Film Screening and Discussion
Date: Sun, June 09, 2013Time: 1:30 PM
Also know: The speakers and audience will be videotaped for future broadcast on the Climate One TV show on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV.
Mon 6/10
Week to Week Political Roundtable and Member Social
Date: Mon, June 10, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
Panelists TBA
Additional panelist TBA
Who said political discussion couldn't be civil? Join our panelists for informative and fun commentary on political and other major news, audience discussion of the week’s events, and our news quiz!
Stay after the program to meet other smart and engaged individuals, and discuss the news over snacks at the member social. The Club attracts the Bay Area's brightest and most connected to its stage and audience. Meet them.
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1-2 p.m. social with snacks
Cost: $15 non-members, $5 members, $7 students (with valid ID)