Speakers

A former Georgia legislator, Abrams rose to national prominence in 2018 through a campaign to become that state’s governor and later through the creation of Fair Fight, an organization devoted to fighting voter suppression that is credited with boosting turnout for...

Agard became Dane County executive in November, 14 years after starting her political career. A Madison native and UW-Madison graduate, she was elected to the Dane County Board and then the state Assembly in 2012 as a Democrat representing an east-side district. She...

Bina has worked at Epic for over 25 years. He divides his time between strategic product planning and helping clients transform the digital health care experience for patients.

In addition to his work leading the Carbone Cancer Center, Dr. Capitini is a UW Health Kids pediatric hematologist and oncologist, and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He has a special...

Charo is professor emerita of law and bioethics at UW-Madison's law and medical schools. She was a member of President Clinton’s National Bioethics Advisory Commission and a senior policy advisor at the Food and Drug Administration during the Obama administration. She...

Corde is responsible for strategic grantmaking to advance Ascendium’s "Expand Opportunity" strategy, and leads a strategic portfolio aimed at accelerating the implementation of registered apprenticeships. She joined the organization in 2023.

Denker is the author of two books about Christian nationalism: "Red State Christians" and "Disciples of White Jesus: The Radicalization of American Boyhood," which came out in March. She is also a Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis and a columnist for the Minnesota Star...

New York Times columnist Dowd has been one of the country’s foremost commentators on presidential politics for three decades, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for a series of columns on the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. She also writes about Silicon Valley,...

DuClos joined the Cap Times in June 2024, covering investigations and enterprise news. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism with degrees in investigative reporting and political science. Before joining the Cap Times, DuClos covered...

Dugan is a limnologist who studies how climate change and land use patterns affect lakes. Some of her initial work was on Arctic and Antarctic lakes, but she has focused more recently on Madison's lakes, including the effects of road salt and shortened ice seasons.

Eisen is a co-founder of The Contrarian, a news and commentary site on Substack that is “unwavering in its commitment to truth-telling” in defense of democracy. He is also a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a CNN legal analyst and...

Evers, a Democrat, is the 46th governor of Wisconsin, defeating incumbent Scott Walker in 2018 and then winning reelection four years later. He announced earlier this year that he will not seek a third term. Prior to becoming governor, he served as Wisconsin's state...

Fanlund joined the Cap Times in 2006 to lead its newsroom and was named publisher in 2018. He was previously vice president of operations for Madison Newspaper Inc. and a reporter and editor at the Wisconsin State Journal. He is a board member of The Capital Times Co....

In addition to his work at Columbia, Freedman is a former columnist for the New York Times and the author of 10 books, the most recent of which is about Hubert Humphrey, the Civil Rights Movement, and the 1948 Democratic Party convention.

Graff is the author of a blog called Doomsday Scenario that is a powerful account of the Trump administration's attacks on democracy. Formerly, he worked as the editor of Politico Magazine and as the editor-in-chief of Washingtonian magazine. He is also the author of...

Prior to his current studio work in the National Hockey League, Granato was the coach of the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team from 2016-2023. He played four years for the Badgers and still ranks as one of the school's all-time leading scorers. Granato played...

Hicklin's department oversees the Dane County Parks system, works with farmers and rural landowners on conservation practices and nutrient management, administers county stormwater and erosion control standards, provides lake management services on the Yahara chain of...

Jacobs joined the Cap Times in April 2024 as its higher education reporter. She previously covered Wisconsin’s evolving paper industry for The Post-Crescent in Appleton and has worked for newspapers in Utah, Indiana and North Dakota.

Johnson has led the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County for 14 years, and among his achievements in that role is the creation of the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center, a joint effort with the Madison Area Builders Association that provides high school students with...

Jones is the president and founder of PRRI, which conducts research and hosts conversations about the intersection of religion, culture and politics. He is the author of three books about Christian nationalism, including "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the...

Krantz works on the workforce development team at SSM Health, where she leads strategic initiatives to close workforce gaps and foster employee growth. With over 25 years of experience in education, talent acquisition and workforce development, Krantz designs and...

Lucas has been a co-host of the weekly Cap Times podcast since its creation in September 2023. Prior to that, he was a radio color commentator for Badgers men's basketball and football for almost 30 years and also worked as a Cap Times sports reporter and columnist...

Mandell co-founded Law Forward in Madison in 2020 as a progressive law firm dedicated to battling for voting rights and fair voting maps. He was part of the legal team that argued before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the case that ultimately led to the redrawing of...

Maraniss is a New York Times best-selling author, fellow of the Society of American Historians and visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt University. After working for more than 40 years at the Washington Post, where he twice won the Pulitzer Prize, he...

Dr. McNeel is a medical oncologist and a professor in the Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He cares for people with prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancer, and...

Nelson's academic background is in the study of race and technology, and she recently served as acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she led the development of the “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.” Nature magazine named...

In addition to his work as a columnist at the Cap Times, Nichols is the author of several books about politics and the media, including "Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse." He also writes about electoral politics and public policy for The Nation magazine.

Oates has been a co-host of the weekly Cap Times podcast since its creation in September 2023. Prior to that, he worked at the Wisconsin State Journal for 40 years. He covered high school sports at first and then later the Packers and the UW Badgers men’s basketball...

In addition to his work at The New Yorker, where he covers politics and foreign affairs, Osnos is also the author of four books. His latest one paints a picture of the lives of the ultrarich and the stark inequities in Western societies. His previous books have...

A Milwaukee native, Polk started his career as a plumbing apprentice, became a third-generation licensed plumber and was formerly director of apprenticeship and trade at Milwaukee Area Technical College. He currently serves as president of the National Association of...

Pritzker is the 43rd governor of Illinois. He was first elected in 2018 and won reelection in 2022. Now considered to be a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, Pritzker has emerged as one of Donald Trump’s most forceful critics. Pritzker is a member of...

Rhodes-Conway is the 58th mayor of Madison. She won election in 2019 and reelection four years later. Prior to that she served for six years as an alder on the Madison City Council and she was the managing director of the Mayors Innovation Project at the High Road...

Ribley produces videos for the marketing and communications team at UW Health, and she is also a former award-winning reporter and news anchor at WKOW-TV in Madison, where she worked for 11 years.

Dr. Richards is a UW Health pediatric hematologist and oncologist and also an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Her clinical research focuses on caring for patients with high-risk leukemias and those who are...

Robinson worked at the Washington Post for 45 years, the last 20 as an opinion columnist, and he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2009 for a series of columns about then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential run. This year, Robinson, along with many other Post...

Rubin is a co-founder of The Contrarian, a news and commentary site on Substack that is “unwavering in its commitment to truth-telling” in defense of democracy. Prior to that, she was an opinion columnist at the Washington Post and earlier worked as a lawyer for...

In addition to her work at the university, Shaw is a co-host of a Crooked Media podcast called "Strict Scrutiny" that focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court. Shaw is also a widely published writer on issues of executive power, democracy, the Supreme Court and reproductive...

Scheufele is the Taylor-Bascom Chair and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor at UW-Madison and an investigator in the Morgridge Institute for Research. He is a widely cited expert in the fields of political communication, science communication and science and...

Previously an associate editor and columnist at the Post, Tumulty has returned to national political reporting, for which she received the 2013 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. She joined the Post in 2010 from Time magazine, where she was also the...

Tye is the founder and executive director of the Clean Lakes Alliance, a partnership of various stakeholders who work to preserve Dane County's lakes. Its projects include producing the annual State of the Lakes report and training volunteers to gather water quality...

Willis has served in various roles at Madison College since 2009, including as a full-time faculty member in the Radiography program and as department chair in the School of Health Sciences. She has been a key leader in advancing health care apprenticeship pathways to...

A Madison native, Wikler led the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 2019 until stepping down earlier this year, overseeing its efforts in support of presidential candidate Joe Biden in 2020 and Gov. Tony Evers in 2022. Before joining DPW, Wikler was the Washington...

Walz is the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was first elected in 2018 and won reelection in 2022. In 2024, he was the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Prior to becoming governor of Minnesota, Walz represented...

Zimmermann is an assistant professor of philosophy and an affiliate professor of statistics at UW-Madison, where they also co-lead the Uncertainty & AI group, an interdisciplinary research team that studies artificial intelligence with social science and...