The Atlantic Festival 2021
From September 22 to 24 and 27 to 30, 2021, The Atlantic brought its marquee festival directly to viewers, featuring seven days of can’t-miss conversations and engaging experiences.
The expanded, all-digital festival convened bold thinkers and prominent voices from politics, business, science, technology, and culture to explore ideas for building a better future—and visions of what America could be.
You can find our library of festival forums, breakouts, and Ideas Stage conversations on our YouTube channels. Or watch a specific session from the Ideas Stage here. And you can sign up to receive updates about The Atlantic Festival 2022.
*This speaker is participating in a session produced by our underwriter and not by The Atlantic’s editorial team.
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Speakers
Rochelle P. Walensky
Director, CDC
Anthony Fauci
Director, NIAID
Rosario Dawson
Actor, Producer, Activist
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Former Secretary of State and United States Senator
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA)
Michael Regan
EPA Administrator
Sophie Ackoff
Co–Executive Director, National Young Farmers Coalition
Saida Agostini-Bostic
President, Funders for LGBTQ Issues
Sobia Ahmad
Interdisciplinary Artist
Lisa Alcorta
Senior Vice President for Programs and Operations, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Rasheda Ali
Actress and Daughter of Muhammad Ali
Ashley Allen
Chief Sustainability Officer, Oatly
Daniel Ament
President, Fight4Wellness and Former Vaper
Underwriter Session
Ross Andersen
Deputy Editor, The Atlantic
Amon Anderson
Director, Acumen America
Underwriter Session
Stanley Andrisse
Executive Director, From Prison Cells to PhD
Yoni Appelbaum
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Anne Applebaum
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Songhai Armstead
Executive Director, Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative
Allison Arwady
Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health
Jon Banner
President, PepsiCo Foundation, and Executive Vice President, Global Communications, PepsiCo
Gabrielle Berbey
Associate Producer, The Experiment
Mark Berry
VP of Environmental and Natural Resources, Georgia Power, and VP of R&D, Southern Company Services
Underwriter Session
Xavier McElrath-Bey
Co-Executive Director, Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and Co-Founder, Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network
Underwriter Session
Carrie Billy
President and CEO, American Indian Higher Education Consortium
Brooke Bollyky
Managing Director and Partner, BCG
Underwriter Session
Andrew Bosworth
Vice President, Facebook Reality Labs
Underwriter Session
Albert Bourla
CEO, Pfizer
"Broadie"
Graphic Collage Artist
Arthur Brooks
Contributing Writer, The Atlantic
Heber Brown
Pastor, Pleasant Hope Baptist Church and Founder, Black Church Food Security Network
Ron Brownstein
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Miana Bryant
Founder, The Mental Elephant
Les Brun
Chair and CEO, Ariel Alternatives
John Hope Bryant
CEO, Operation HOPE
Ken Burns
Documentary Filmmaker, Co-Director of Muhammad Ali
Susana Cabrera
Store Manager & Everytable University Participant
Yvette Cabrera
Director, Food Waste, Healthy People & Thriving Communities Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Chris Capossela
CMO and EVP, Marketing and Consumer Business, Microsoft
Kevin Carey
Vice President, Education Policy & Knowledge Management, New America
David Chase
Filmmaker, Co-Writer and Producer of The Many Saints of Newark
Eva Chen
VP of Fashion and Shopping Partnerships at Instagram, children’s book author
Jennifer Christie
Chief HR Officer, Twitter
Steven Clarke
Director of Corporate Clean Energy Leadership, Ceres
Nick Clegg
Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications, Facebook
Underwriter Session
Billy Colbert
Interdisciplinary Artist
Barbara Creel
(Pueblo of Jemez), Karelitz Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law
Greg Cunningham
Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, U.S. Bank
Underwriter Session
Jeff Daniels
Actor, Executive Producer, American Rust
Joe Davis
Chair, North America; Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG
Underwriter Session
Jean Desravines
CEO, New Leaders
The Cast of "Diana"
on Broadway
Caitlin Dickerson
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Talisa Dixon
Superintendent and CEO of Columbus City Schools
Domo
DJ
John Donvan
Contributor, AtlanticLIVE
Ann Dowd
Actor, Mass
Romy Drucker
Interim K-12 Education Program Director, Walton Family Foundation
Underwriter Session
Lindsay Elin
Vice President of Public Policy, External Affairs, Facebook
Underwriter Session
Tom Fanning
Chair, President, and CEO, Southern Company
Underwriter Session
Sara Fischer
Media Reporter, Axios
Underwriter Session
Bryce Fluellen
Director of Social Equity Franchising, Everytable
Underwriter Session
Reign Free
Founder, Red Door Catering and The Black Culinary Collective
Underwriter Session
Jacquelline Fuller
President, Google.org
Dan Futterman
Writer, Executive Producer, American Rust
Sophie Gilbert
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Bria Gillum
Program Officer, Criminal Justice The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Underwriter Session
Hannah Giorgis
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Jeffrey Goldberg
Editor in Chief, The Atlantic
Lori Gottlieb
Contributing writer, The Atlantic and author, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Cat Goughnour
Director, Racial Wealth Equity Strategy, Prosperity Now
Kelly Grier
U.S. Chair and Managing Partner and Americas Managing Partner, EY
Underwriter Session
Lauren Groff
Author of Matrix
Isabella Casillas Guzman
Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
Hubert Hamer
Acting USDA Chief Scientist and Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics
Adam Harris
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Hannah Heimbuch
Senior Consultant, Ocean Strategies
Underwriter Session
Bracken Hendricks
President and CEO, Urban Ingenuity
Billy J. Hensley
President and CEO, National Endowment for Financial Education
Quita Highsmith
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Genentech
Underwriter Session
Jemele Hill
Contributing Writer, The Atlantic
Trevor Houser
Partner, Rhodium Group
Sherrilyn Ifill
President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Jason Isaacs
Actor, Mass
Rose Jaffe
Visual Artist
Aurora James
Founder, Fifteen Percent Pledge, Founder and Creative Director, Brother Vellies
Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre
Haitian American Artist and Professor
Charisse Conanan Johnson
Managing Partner, Next Street
Rukiya Curvey Johnson
Executive Director, Rush Education and Career Hub (REACH)
Kate Julian
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Mayor Tim Keller
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Scott Kirby
CEO, United Airlines
Hoda Kotb
Co-anchor of Today and co-host of Today With Hoda & Jenna
Robin Koval
CEO and President, Truth Initiative
Underwriter Session
Michelle Kramer
Head of Early Development, Neuroscience at Janssen
Underwriter Session
Fran Kranz
Writer and Director, Mass
Adrienne LaFrance
Executive Editor, The Atlantic
Sarah Lewis
Senior Director, Innovation
Shirley Li
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Mayor Sam Liccardo
San Jose, California
Lisa Ling
Host and Executive Producer of This Is Life
Michael Lomax
President and CEO, United Negro College Fund
Julia Longoria
Host, The Experiment
Simon Lovestone
Global Head of Discovery and Translational Research, Neuroscience at Janssen
Underwriter Session
Fred Makonnen
Divisional Vice President, Equitable
Underwriter Session
Sharon Marcil
Managing Director & Senior Partner, Chief Marketing Officer, Global Client Team Chair, BCG
Underwriter Session
Cynthia Marten
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education
Cynthia "Cynt" Marshall
CEO, Dallas Mavericks
Bill Martin
Global Therapeutic Area Head, Neuroscience at Janssen
Underwriter Session
Moira McDonald
Environment Program Director, Walton Family Foundation
Underwriter Session
Kathleen McLaughlin
Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart, and President, the Walmart Foundation
Craig Melvin
Today News Anchor and MSNBC Anchor
Ruben Mesa
Director, UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center
Underwriter Session
Jeanne Meserve
Contributor, AtlanticLIVE
Robinson Meyer
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Stephanie Monroe
Executive Director, African Americans Against Alzheimer’s
Underwriter Session
Candace Montgomery
Senior Vice President and General Manager, AtlanticLIVE
Tulaine Montgomery
Co-CEO, New Profit
Nate Mook
CEO, World Central Kitchen
Xavier Morales
Executive Director, The Praxis Project
Amanda Mull
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Vivek H. Murthy
U.S. Surgeon General
Underwriter Session
Janai Nelson
Associate Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Vann R. Newkirk II
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Marcella Nunez-Smith
Senior Advisor, White House COVID-19 Response Team
Kelly O'Donnell
White House Correspondent, NBC News
George Packer
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Amit Paley
CEO and Executive Director, The Trevor Project
Martha Parham
Senior Vice President of Public Relations, American Association of Community Colleges
James Parker
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Craig Santos Perez
Poet and Professor, University of Hawai’i Manoa
Benjamin Perkins
CEO, Wholesome Wave
James Puerini
Wildland Firefighter and Graduate Researcher in Wildfire Management
John Rice
Founder and CEO, Management Leadership for Tomorrow
Underwriter Session
Lyneir Richardson
Executive Director, The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
Nicole Richie
Global Head Health Equity and Population Science, Genentech
Underwriter Session
Sam Ricketts
Co-Founder and Co-Director, Evergreen Action
Craig P. Robinson
Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, NBCUniversal
Rashad Robinson
President, Color of Change
Rosa Rodriguez-Williams
Senior Director, Belonging and Inclusion, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Al Roker
Weather and Feature Anchor, Today, and Co-host, Third Hour of Today
Otis Rolley
Senior Vice President, U.S. Equity and Economic Opportunity Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation
Hayley Romer
Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer, The Atlantic
David Rothkopf
Host, Deep State Radio
Peter Rubin
Contributing Editor, Wired
Underwriter Session
Senator Marco Rubio
(R-FL)
Senator Ben Sasse
(R-NE)
Susan Saulny
Contributor, AtlanticLIVE
Eric Schmidt
Co-founder of Schmidt Futures, Former Google CEO and Co-author of The Age of AI
Macy Schmidt
and The Broadway Sinfonietta
Ayori Selassie
Senior Product Marketing Manager of Data Services, Salesforce, and Founder, BOLDforce
Underwriter Session
Jennifer Senior
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Adam Serwer
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Christian Siriano
CFDA Fashion Designer
Anna Deavere Smith
Actress and Playwright
Clint Smith
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Harry Smith
Correspondent, NBC News
Robert F. Smith
Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Vista Equity Partners
Senator Tina Smith
(D-MN)
Nick Starling
CEO, Skyscraper Farm
Alison Stewart
Contributor, AtlanticLIVE, and WNYC Host, All of It
Stacey D. Stewart
President and CEO, March of Dimes
Bentina Terry
Senior Vice President of Region External Affairs and Community Engagement, Georgia Power
Underwriter Session
David A. Thomas
President, Morehouse College
Underwriter Session
Derek Thompson
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Nicholas Thompson
CEO, The Atlantic
Luz Urrutia
Chief Executive Officer, Accion Opportunity Fund
Underwriter Session
Andrea Valdez
Senior Vice President, The Atlantic
Hector Vargas
Executive Director, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality
Troy Vaughn
President and CEO, Los Angeles Mission
C.S. "Venkat" Venkatakrishnan
Head of Global Markets and Co-president, Barclays
Underwriter Session
Jenisha Watts
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers
Underwriter Session
Gillian B. White
Contributing Writer, The Atlantic
Holly Wilcox
Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Jhacova Williams
Economist, RAND Corporation
Lauren Williams
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Zak Williams
Mental-Health Advocate and Son of Robin Williams
Chris Womack
Chair, President, and CEO, Georgia Power
Underwriter Session
Katherine J. Wu
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Aretae Wyler
Chief Operating Officer, The Atlantic
Ed Yong
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
AgendaSep. 22-30
The Big Story: Planet
Summary
“Planet” is The Atlantic’s guide to life on a warming planet.
Join the Atlantic staff writer Robinson Meyer, the author of a weekly newsletter on climate change, for a conversation about the most pressing environmental issues facing our world today. How does climate change affect our daily lives—and what can we do about it?
Virtual or In-Person
Virtual / In-Person
Speakers
Robinson Meyer
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
James Puerini
Wildland Firefighter and Graduate Researcher in Wildfire Management
Senator Tina Smith
(D-MN)
Building a Racial-Equity Ecosystem
Underwritten by BCGSummary
Addressing racial inequities is one of the most pressing issues of our time. The conversation has shifted from intent to impact. Advancing sustainable solutions demands bold initiatives, immediate policy changes, multisector collaboration, and strategic community engagement.
The Atlantic Festival will gather economic and social-justice leaders to outline what’s needed to create a racial-equity ecosystem that builds equal opportunities for all Americans.
Virtual or In-Person
Virtual / In-Person
Underwriter
Speakers
Ron Brownstein
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Joe Davis*
Chair, North America; Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG
Cat Goughnour
Director, Racial Wealth Equity Strategy, Prosperity Now
Tulaine Montgomery
Co-CEO, New Profit
Xavier Morales
Executive Director, The Praxis Project
John Rice*
Founder and CEO, Management Leadership for Tomorrow
Lyneir Richardson
Executive Director, The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
Susan Saulny
Contributor, AtlanticLIVE
Health Equity
Underwritten by GenentechSummary
The global COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the racial inequities in health. Communities of color and low-income and rural communities continue to suffer from racial bias and a lack of access to quality care. The Atlantic will explore how policy makers, the medical community, and business leaders can work to improve health outcomes for all Americans regardless of race, age, gender, and sexual orientation.
Virtual or In-Person
Virtual / In-Person
Underwriter
Speakers
Allison Arwady
Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health
Quita Highsmith*
Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Genentech
Ruben Mesa*
Director, UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center
Stephanie Monroe*
Executive Director, African Americans Against Alzheimer’s
Vann R. Newkirk II
Senior Editor, The Atlantic
Marcella Nunez-Smith
Senior Advisor, White House COVID-19 Response Team
Benjamin Perkins
CEO, Wholesome Wave
Stacey D. Stewart
President and CEO, March of Dimes
Hector Vargas
Executive Director, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality
Katherine J. Wu
Staff Writer, The Atlantic
A New Vision for What We Eat
Underwritten by Walton Family FoundationSummary
Food production accounts for about a quarter of the planet’s green-house-gas emissions. At the same time, more than 2 billion people around the world go hungry. So although the food system encompasses a tangle of complex issues—including agricultural and cultural norms, corporate practices, and government regulation—the stakes are simply too high to ignore the need for rapid and holistic reform.
In this timely forum, The Atlantic brings together scientists, restaurateurs, activists, businesses, and foodies to outline a bold new vision for a more sustainable future of food.
Virtual or In-Person
Virtual / In-Person
Underwriter
Speakers
Sophie Ackoff
Co–Executive Director, National Young Farmers Coalition
Heber Brown
Pastor, Pleasant Hope Baptist Church and Founder, Black Church Food Security Network
Yvette Cabrera
Director, Food Waste, Healthy People & Thriving Communities Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Lori Gottlieb
Contributing writer, The Atlantic and author, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Hubert Hamer
Acting USDA Chief Scientist and Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics
Hannah Heimbuch*
Senior Consultant, Ocean Strategies
Moira McDonald*
Environment Program Director, Walton Family Foundation
Nate Mook
CEO, World Central Kitchen
underwriters
Founding
Presenting
Supporting
Contributing
Exclusive Media Partner
Event Details
Virtual Event
September 22-24 & 27-30, 2021
Questions?
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