Upcoming Events
Thu 7/18
Y Combinator Grads: Founders’ Stories
Date: Thu, July 18, 2013Time: 7:00 PM
Michael Seibel, CEO, Socialcam
Jude Gomila, Co-founder, Heyzap.com
Bill Clerico, Founder and CEO, WePay
Justin Khan, Co-founder, Justin.tv
Companies like Social Cam, Heyzap and WePay are all very different, but they have one mighty factor in common: they received their initial green and insider know-how from Y Combinator. Heralded by Wired as the “most prestigious program for budding digital entrepreneurs,” YC utilizes an expert formula of seed funding, peer networking and a three-month do-or-die boot camp to whip its mentees into startup shape. But how do the incubator’s graduates fare when the training comes to an end? What is it about this program that turns out such a wide range of wildly successful companies? Join us as some of Y Combinator’s illustrious graduates share stories of how to succeed and fail in the startup community and the lessons they’ve learned from the most infamous and celebrated incubator in the Valley.
Location: Silicon Valley Bank, 3005 Tasman Dr., Santa Clara
Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Fri 7/19
Fracking News
Date: Fri, July 19, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
David Baker, Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
Abram Lustgarten, Reporter, ProPublica
Felicity Barringer, Reporter, The New York Times
Supporters of hydraulic fracturing see it as a driver of affordable domestic energy that can create jobs. Opponents see a risk to water supplies, ecosystems and human health. Join in a conversation with reporters covering fracking in California and nationally on the dangers and potential of the natural gas bonanza. Will California pass a moratorium? Will the Monterey Shale really be developed? Is gas really better than coal?
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. networking reception
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
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 7/22
The Elephant In The Room: Difficult Talks We All Should Have
Date: Mon, July 22, 2013Time: 5:15 PM
Linda Fodrini-Johnson, MFT, Eldercare Services Founder
Eldercare expert Fodrini-Johnson presents a guide to sensitive conversations that she says must take place to promote independence and quality of life as we age. She will discuss how to have the "difficult" conversations with ourselves, our children and our spouses regarding real and imagined challenges we may encounter in later years. She will tackle tough topics, including keeping or selling the family home, future health considerations, and when it's time to stop driving.
MLF: Grownups
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: John Milford
Also know: In association with San Francisco Village
Tue 7/23
George Shultz: Achieving a Better Future for the U.S. and the World
Date: Tue, July 23, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
George Shultz, Former U.S. Secretary of State under President Reagan; Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution; Author, Issues on My Mind: Strategies for the Future
The world is awash in change. What can be done to re-create the sense of relative stability that emerged from the creative efforts of statesmen after the end of World War II? Former Nixon and Reagan cabinet member Shultz offers his views on how to govern more effectively, get our economy back on track, take advantage of new opportunities in the energy field, combat the use of addictive drugs, apply a strategic overview to diplomacy, and identify necessary steps to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.
Secretary Shultz takes a how-to approach to the major challenges facing the United States and the world. The age we live in, Shultz explains, requires a deep understanding of the seismic changes taking place and a vigorous effort to create a global economic and security commons. We must put our house in order and reestablish the leadership that has served our nation and the world so well in the past.
Location: SF Club Office, 595 Market St., San Francisco
Time: 11:15 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Prices: $25 non-members, $15 members, $7 students (with valid I.D.); Premium tickets (seating in first few rows): $40 non-members, $30 members
Sky-High Rents, Disappearing Nonprofits
Date: Tue, July 23, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Mark Cloutier, SF Foundation
Masen Davis, Transgender Law Center
Rents across San Francisco are ballooning at a frightening pace, giving New York City a run for its money as the nation's most expensive rental market. How is this situation affecting different populations and organizations within the city? Don't miss this panel exploring the impact on the LGBT community as nonprofit organizations are forced to leave the city due to unaffordable rent increases. Panelists will explore possible creative solutions to retain vital services in the city.
MLF: LGBT
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20-non-members, $8 months, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Julian Chang
Also know: In association with the SF Foundation, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and the Transgender Law Center
Reza Aslan: Zealot
Date: Tue, July 23, 2013Time: 6:30 PM
Reza Aslan, Author, Zealot, No God But God and How to Win a Cosmic War; Editor, Tablet and Pen; Twitter: @rezaaslan
Michael G. Maudlin, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Think you know about the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth? Think again. Internationally acclaimed author and scholar Aslan, armed with 20 years of fastidious research, presents a bold and fresh perspective on Jesus as both a man and historical figure, a radical political revolutionary invested in the nationalist struggle for freedom from Roman occupation. Join Aslan as he balances the Jesus of the Gospels against historical sources, creating a vivid picture of one of the most enigmatic and influential people of all time.
Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing
Cost: General: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID). Premium (includes book and priority seating in the first few rows): $45 non-members, $35 members.
Thu 7/25
Russian Hill Walking Tour #12
Date: Thu, July 25, 2013Time: 2:00 PM
Russian Hill Walking Tour
Join a more active Commonwealth Club Neighborhood Adventure! Russian Hill is a magical area with secret gardens and amazing views. Join Rick Evans for a two-hour hike up hills and staircases and learn about the history of this neighborhood. See where great artists and architects lived and worked, and walk down residential streets where some of the most historically significant houses in the Bay Area are located.
Location: Meet in front of Swensen's Ice Cream Store located at 1999 Hyde Street at Union. Your best option is to take bus transportation (details below) or come by taxi. There is absolutely no parking on Russian Hill. (No parking lots or street parking). Muni: 45-Union Stockton will drop you off at the corner of Union and Hyde - right in front of Swensen’s. Use www.nextmuni.com to determine bus stops and schedule. The tour ends about six blocks from the Swensen's Ice Cream Shop, at the corner of Vallejo and Jones. It is an easy walk down to North Beach from there.
Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4 p.m. tour
Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members
Program Organizer: Kristina Nemeth
Also know: Steep hills and staircases, recommended for good walkers. Parking difficult. Limited to 20. Must pre-register. Tour operates rain or shine. Photo by missmillie/flickr.
Fri 7/26
Week to Week Political Roundtable and Member Social
Date: Fri, July 26, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
Larry Gerston, Professor, San Jose State University; Political Analyst, NBC 11; Author, Not So Golden After All: The Rise and Fall of California; on Twitter: @lgerston
Carla Marinucci, Senior Political Writer San Francisco Chronicle; on Twitter: @cmarinucci
Debra J. Saunders, Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle; "Token Conservative" Blogger, SFGate.com; on Twitter: @debrajsaunders
John Zipperer, Vice President of Media & Editorial, The Commonwealth Club — Host
Who said political discussion couldn't be fun? Join our panelists for informative and engaging 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, 595 Market St., San Francisco
Time:11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1-2 p.m. social with wine and snacks
Cost: $15 non-members, $5 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Mon 7/29
Middle East Discussion Group
Date: Mon, July 29, 2013Time: 5:30 PM
Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines. After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session
MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel
The Influences of Art (Past, Present, Future)
Date: Mon, July 29, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Thomas R. Simpson, Founder and Director, Afro Solo Festival
Peter Callender, Artistic Director, African-American Shakespeare Company
Karen Carraway, Visual Artist
Susheel Bibbs, Opera Singer
Come listen to a lively multi-disciplined panel discussion in association with AfroSolo Arts Festival 20. From the evolution of negro spirituals to hip-hop music, the Negro Theater Ensemble to the African-American Shakespeare Company, the visual arts of the Harlem Renaissance to the works of Kehinde Wiley, this discussion will explore how the arts of the past have influenced art of today and how its impact will be felt tomorrow.
MLF: The Arts
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Anne W. Smith
Also know: In association with AfroSolo Festival 20. Photo of Thomas Simpson by James Knox.
Science & Technology Planning Meeting
Date: Mon, July 29, 2013Time: 6:15 PM
Join fellow Club members with similar interests to brainstorm upcoming Science & Technology programs. All Commonwealth Club members are welcome. We explore visions for the future through science and technology. Discuss current issues and share your insights with fellow Club members to shape and plan programs for the months ahead.
MLF: Science & Technology
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 6:15 p.m. planning meeting
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Chisako Ress
Also know: Photo by Flickr user Saperlott
Tue 7/30
Spirit of the Samurai: Martial Arts and Spiritual Training
Date: Tue, July 30, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
David A. Hall, Ph.D., Author; Professor; Ordained Buddhist Priest
The Japanese samurai were a class of warriors who dominated Japan’s military, political and social culture for almost a thousand years. Ferocious warriors, they have become known as much for their “spirituality” as for their lethal swordsmanship. Hall, author of the Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts, will discuss the training methods used by the samurai, which taught both martial skills and spiritual/psychological armoring. These methods, evolved over hundreds of years, have been preserved in a number of classical martial arts schools in Japan today. Join us for a fascinating look at martial arts and the spirit of the samurai.
MLF: Asia Pacific Affairs
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizers: Lillian Nakagawa and Sylvie Grillet-Rivera
Orville Schell and John Delury: The Rise of China
Date: Tue, July 30, 2013Time: 7:00 PM
Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director of the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations; Former Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley; Twitter: @orvilleschell. Co-Author, Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-First Century
John Delury, Associate Director, the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations; Twitter: @JohnDelury. Co-author, Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-First Century
Schell and Delury trace the dramatic rise of China from an “imperial doormat to global economic powerhouse.” He will address China’s future and highlight some of the country’s most influential leaders, political figures, writers, and activists who helped create modern China.
Location: Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing
Price: $15 non-members, $10 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Mon 8/5
A Soundscape by Bernie Krause
Date: Mon, August 05, 2013Time: 12:00 PM
Bernie Krause, Ph.D., Musician; Naturalist; Director, Wild Sanctuary
Listen through the ears of Dr. Krause to an unforgettable soundscape presentation of the voice of the natural world. Krause has traveled the world to record, archive, research and express these increasingly rare sound environments of nature. His personal narrative is also recently described in The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places.
MLF: The Arts
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: Anne W. Smith
Tue 8/6
A Psychological Approach to Environmental Consciousness
Date: Tue, August 06, 2013Time: 5:15 PM
The Integration of Modern Psychology and Eastern Philosophy: Initiation into a New Age of Environmental Consciousness
Thomas Knoblauch, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist; Co-author, Elders on Love: Dialogues on the Consciousness, Cultivation, and Expression of Love
Knoblauch will explore the barriers to developing and maintaining an intellectual as well as moral perspective on both engaging and protecting the world around us. He will discuss the role language plays in shaping our thinking about ecological problems and our pursuit of environmental activism. He will also offer up recommendations for promoting new approaches to increasing our environmental consciousness.
MLF: Psychology
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Patrick O'Reilly
The Snake, the Seeker and the Smartphone: Can Tech Save Biodiversity?
Date: Tue, August 06, 2013Time: 6:00 PM
Scott Loarie, Co-director, iNaturalist.org, California Academy of Sciences
Ken-ichi Ueda, Co-founder and Co-director, iNaturalist.org, California Academy of Sciences
Tanya Birch, Program Manager, Google Earth Outreach
Mary Ellen Hannibal, Journalist - Moderator
How are bold new technologies helping in the fight to retain global biodiversity? Google's Birch will talk about the life-and-death consequences of empowering indigenous peoples in Brazil and Africa to monitor their biodiversity. Loarie and Ueda will share the goals of iNaturalist, an online social network for naturalists, and discuss ways social media and mobile technology can bring the power of crowds to the problems of biodiversity.
MLF: International Relations/Science & Technology
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Norma Walden
Also know: In association with iNaturalist.org
Mark Tercek: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature
Date: Tue, August 06, 2013Time: 7:00 PM
Mark Tercek, CEO, The Nature Conservancy; Co-author, Nature's Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature; Twitter: @MarkTercek
Can protecting nature really be a good investment? Tercek argues that conservation is the new way to do business. He offers an essential guide of sustainable opportunities and green infrastructure developments from across the country. Learn why nature protection is the smartest business and investment decision we can make.
Location: Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Time: 6:30 p.m. check-in, 7 p.m. program, 8 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Also know: Photo by Dave Lauridsen
Wed 8/7
Mother Daughter Me: A Memoir
Date: Wed, August 07, 2013Time: 5:15 PM
Katie Hafner, Journlist; Contributor, The New York Times; Author, Mother Daughter Me
Noted journalist and author Hafner asks: What is our obligation to our parents as they age, particularly if they were far from perfect parents when we were children? Hafner explores her journey of understanding and reconciliation as she tells how her mother, Helen, made it clear she wanted to live with her daughter and granddaughter, Zoë. Thinking that she and her mother were "as close to the mother-daughter ideal as could be," Hafner agreed. It was only when they all came together under one roof that she realized she had totally misjudged the situation. Gain valuable insight on coming to terms with the flawed people who happen to be our family members.
MLF: Grownups
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 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
Thu 8/8
Chinatown Walking Tour #14
Date: Thu, August 08, 2013Time: 2:00 PM
Chinatown Walking Tour
Enjoy a Commonwealth Club Neighborhood Adventure. Join Rick Evans for a memorable midday walk and discover the history and mysteries of Chinatown. Explore colorful alleys and side streets. Visit a Taoist temple, an herbal store, the site of the first public school in the state, and the famous Fortune Cookie Factory. There is a short break for a tea sample during the tour.
Location: Meet at corner of Grant and Bush, in front of Starbucks, near Chinatown Gate
Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–5 p.m. tour
Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members
Also know: Temple visit requires walking up three flights of stairs. Limited to 12 people. Participants must pre-register. Tour operates rain or shine. Photo by H Sanchez/Flickr.
Fri 8/9
Farallon Islands Excursion
Date: Fri, August 09, 2013Time: 7:30 AM
Michael Ellis, Footloose Forays
Come discover one of the Bay Area's most spectacular and pristine natural wonders. After departing Sausalito we will cruise under the Golden Gate Bridge and past Pt. Bonita, looking for marine mammals that inhabit the area. If time permits we may also venture out over the continental shelf to look for unusual species that are found on this edge. Then we'll move to the main Farallon Island. Only members of the Pt. Reyes Bird Observatory and the Coast Guard are allowed on the island. We will stay in the protected Fisherman's Cove for a while to soak up the immense amount of life that abounds here. Afterwards, we will cruise over and look at the south side of the island, where most of the manmade structures are located.
Ellis began going to the Farallon Islands as a researcher in 1977 and has been leading trips there ever since.
A note on seasickness: Please get a good night sleep before the trip and do not drink any alcohol! Avoid fried and greasy foods. Eat whatever breakfast you normally would. Bring crackers and bubbly water. Think good thoughts. There are a number of fairly effective motion sickness remedies on the market. Some of these require a doctor's prescription; others may be purchased over the counter. If you try the transderm patch (ear patch) that contains scopolamine, please try it at home first. The side effects are unpleasant to some people. 1 g. -powdered ginger in capsules has been shown to be an effective remedy. The Chinese have known this for about 1000 years; NASA recently confirmed it.
Location: Meet at the Salty Lady, Sausalito Sport Fishing Pier, foot of Harbor Drive, Sausalito. From 101, take the Sausalito/Marin City exit off. As you exit bear right on Bridgeway toward downtown Sausalito. Go three lights and turn left on Harbor Drive. Follow until it dead ends at some large parking lots just opposite Caruso's. The pier is obvious. Park in the large lot to the left (north). If you are unfamiliar with this area please review a map prior to departure.
Time: 7:30 a.m. meet for important introductory lecture on boat safety and the natural and human history of the Farallons., 8 a.m. sharp boat departs. Likely return by 4 p.m., but it's possible we could be slightly late.
Cost: $155 non-members, $155 members