Session 1: 11:00am
Gin Dance Company
Gin Dance Company’s mission is to create and present innovative and thought-provoking contemporary dance works that explore the human experience, inspire connection and empathy, and celebrate diversity. Our Northern Virginia-based company, founded by Artistic Director Shu-Chen Cuff, is committed to fostering cross-cultural understanding through the universal language of dance. With a focus on collaboration and community engagement, we strive to make dance accessible to all audiences and to cultivate a love of the art form in future generations. Through our performances, workshops, and outreach programs, we aim to ignite the imagination, challenge perceptions, and inspire positive social change.
Gin Dance Company (GDC) is a highly respected and critically acclaimed Metropolitan DC/Northern VA based performing arts modern dance company. GDC was founded in 2011 to provide a professional environment for artists to learn, grow, and express themselves and to bring refreshing and vitalizing works of Artistic Director Shu-Chen Cuff to the community. Each of GDC’s works uniquely reflects Shu-Chen’s rich Asian Dance heritage and Eastern philosophy blended with Western fluidity of movement and culture that touch the soul through visuals arts and movement. GDC’s works have been recognized and named finalists at the Dance Metro DC Awards in the categories of Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Individual Performer. Gin Dance Company is a recipient of the Dolly Vogt Community Arts Award presented on behalf of ArtsFairfax and Capital One Hall. This distinguished award recognizes artistic merit, percentage of facility capacity and programmatic growth.
Michael McFaul
Michael McFaul is director at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995. Dr. McFaul is also an international affairs analyst for NBC News. He served for five years in the Obama administration, first as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014).
He has authored several books, most recently Autocrats versus Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder. Earlier books include the New York Times bestseller From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia, Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should, How We Can; Transitions To Democracy: A Comparative Perspective (eds. with Kathryn Stoner); Power and Purpose: American Policy toward Russia after the Cold War (with James Goldgeier); and Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin.
He teaches courses on great power relations, democratization, comparative foreign policy decision-making, and revolutions.
Dr. McFaul was born and raised in Montana. He received his B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages and his M.A. in Soviet and East European Studies from Stanford University in 1986. As a Rhodes Scholar, he completed his D. Phil. In International Relations at Oxford University in 1991. His DPhil thesis was Southern African Liberation and Great Power Intervention: Towards a Theory of Revolution in an International Context.
Deb Roy
Deb Roy is a professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT, where he directs the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC). He leads research in designing human-AI systems that foster dialogue, listening, and deliberation in ways that build civic muscle. Roy is also co-founder and unpaid CEO of Cortico, a closely affiliated nonprofit collaborator of CCC that develops, operates and supports a conversation platform designed to surface underheard voices and perspectives and create scalable dialogue networks.
Roy serves on the board of the Knight First Amendment Institute, the FRONTLINE advisory council, and is a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
Previously, Roy was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School (2021-22), and served as executive director of the MIT Media Lab (2019-2021), where CCC is based. He has served on the Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy and the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder.
While on leave from MIT, Roy co-founded and was CEO of Bluefin Labs, a media analytics company that analyzed the interactions between television and social media at scale. Bluefin was acquired by Twitter in 2013, Twitter’s largest acquisition to date. From 2013-2017 Roy served as Twitter’s chief media scientist.
Roy is the author of over 185 academic papers including a study of the spread of false news that was the cover story of Science magazine in 2018 and cited as one of the most influential academic publications of the year. His 2023 essay in The Atlantic describes his journey from studying social media to creating dialogue networks, and his 2024 Atlantic essayexplores ways to tackle truth decay. Roy’s widely viewed TED talk Birth of a Word presents his pioneering research on his son’s language development that led to new ideas in media analytics.
A native of Canada, Deb was born and raised in Winnipeg and spent large parts of his childhood in Calcutta. He received his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Waterloo and PhD in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT.
Meghan Puglia
Dr. Meghan Puglia is a neuroscientist, storyteller, educator, and data enthusiast – passionate about understanding how brains are built and how early experiences shape who we become.
In her own words, "I lead the Developmental Neuroanalytics Lab, where we use brain imaging and data science to understand how babies grow, learn, and thrive – especially those born prematurely or at risk for developmental challenges. My work looks at how biology and experience come together to influence each child’s unique development, behavior, and health – from infancy and beyond.
But I don’t think science should stay hidden in academic journals. I care deeply about making research understandable and useful for parents, health professionals, and curious minds everywhere.
It is my mission to take our science from the lab to your living room. I’m committed to writing about child development, collaborating on early childhood and health science projects, and hosting my new podcast, called Un-Hidden Curriculum – where I will be sharing behind-the-scenes insights on science, the brain, and navigating academic life.
I’m also a first-generation college graduate and a mom, and I know how challenging it can be to carve out space in places not built with you in mind. I believe everyone deserves access to knowledge, and the power to shape it. That’s why I’m devoted to building tools, stories, and resources that help people connect with science that they can trust, understand, and use to make informed decisions that will benefit current and future generations."
Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander is an Emmy® Award-winning producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 45 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, Black Star, a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book, J vs. K, an illustrated novel he penned with Jerry Craft, the motivational primer for graduates, creatives and professionals entitled Say Yes and The Crossover, his Newbery Medal-winning novel turned Disney+ TV series. He is also the executive producer Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band and Acoustic Rooster: Jazzy Jams, a PBS KIDS special and serires of shorts produced by GBH Kids based on his beloved children's book of the same name. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world, including Ghana, West Africa, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic. A recipient of the 2025 NAACP Image Award, Kwame is also the Artistic Director of Literary Arts for the Chautauqua (pronounced Shuh-Tah-Kwuh) Institution and the founder of the literacy non-profit One Word at a Time.
Tonantzin Carmona
Tonantzin Carmona is a fellow at Brookings Metro who focuses on wealth and inequality, financial and emerging technologies, and state and local policy implementation. She has been featured in Bloomberg, The Washington Post, CNN, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Axios, Fortune, Bloomberg Tax, Associated Press, NPR Marketplace, Quartz, TechCrunch, Tech Monitor, and Crain’s Chicago Business.
Carmona’s professional background spans roles in public policy, communications, politics, and philanthropy. She previously served as special assistant to the president for economic policy at the White House National Economic Council, as well as senior advisor at the Department of the Treasury’s Inflation Reduction Act Implementation Office. She has also championed federal policies as the Illinois political director for the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and as Sen. Warren’s deputy press secretary on Capitol Hill.
At the local level, Carmona spearheaded several citywide initiatives. As chief of policy for the Chicago City Clerk, Carmona led the Chicago Fines, Fees, and Access Collaborative, which culminated in significant reforms of the city’s regressive public finance policies. Additionally, she launched Chicago’s municipal ID card, which simultaneously serves as a government-issued ID, transit pass, and library card, while ensuring substantial data privacy protections for applicants. As director of the Office of New Americans at the Chicago mayor’s office, she led the development of several immigrant integration policies, including the city’s first language access ordinance. Furthermore, in her role as deputy policy director at the mayor’s office, she led the City-County Collaboration, which identified $70 million in savings and new revenue sources.
Session 2: 2:30pm
Zoë Jorgenson Trio
Zoë Jorgenson is a versatile bassist, composer, and educator whose music is deeply rooted in jazz, indie, folk, and ambient genres. She has been hailed for her innovative approach to melodic bass and vocal lines, using both to weave throughout the space of a modern jazz quartet.
She has been a working bassist for many years forming a grand catalogue of leader and side person work. While discovering her voice, she started adding vocal lines and weaving together all her influences throughout her time as a supporting role in various, multi-genre groups. You'll hear her work with tango bandoneon, indie-rock noise from her time with garage bands, classical cannons from her time in orchestras, but also maybe most of all you'll hear the sounds of her jazz roots that helped her fall in love most with the bass. As a Las Vegas native, she is constantly trying to embody the wide open skies of the desert and the jewel-toned sunsets over the mountains. Jorgenson's compositions are reflective of all of that and more with a dynamic, melodic stage presence. She has performed on stages all over the world and her most recent post was that of Strathmore Artist in Residence with the prestigious Strathmore Music Center.
Rosie Rios
Rosie Rios is Chair of America 250, the United States Congressional Commission planning the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. She served as the 43rd Treasurer of the United States in the Obama Administration from 2009-2016 managing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the U.S. Mint, including Fort Knox and was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary in the areas of community development and public engagement. She also initiated and led the efforts to place a portrait of a woman on U.S. Federal Reserve notes for the first time in history. Upon her resignation in 2016, she received the Hamilton Award, the highest honor bestowed in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Rosie was the longest serving Senate-confirmed Treasury official beginning with her time on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Team in November 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Following her tenure as Treasurer, she was a Visiting Scholar at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University with a focus on Millennials/Post-Millennials and resumed her role as CEO of Red River Associates, an investment management consulting firm and a co-host of several reality series focused on pre-IPO investments. Rosie again served on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Team during the pandemic economy of 2020 on behalf of President Biden.
Rosie is a graduate of Harvard University and is the first Latina in Harvard’s 388-year history to have a portrait commissioned in her honor. Her portrait was unveiled at Winthrop House in May of 2019. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and currently serves on the boards of American Family Insurance, Ripple Labs, and Fidelity Charitable Trust. She was previously a Trustee with the Alameda County Employees Retirement Association (ACERA). Her personal passion includes serving as Founder and CEO of EMPOWERMENT 2026, a non-profit that facilitates the physical recognition of historical American women. Its educational projects highlighting historical American women in classrooms across the country include Teachers Righting History and Notable Women, an Augmented Reality initiative in collaboration with Google. In 2020, her legislation honoring historical American women, youth sports, and the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding on U.S. quarters was passed by Congress. She was honored as one of USA Today’s Women of the Century in 2020.
Joe Trippi
Heralded on the cover of The New Republic as the man who “reinvented campaigning,” Joe Trippi pioneered bringing politics into the digital age and brings an added digital component to the Lincoln Project arsenal.
For decades he and the Lincoln Project co-founders worked against each other in partisan fights. Trippi has worked for Democrats at every level over 4 decades – from Ted Kennedy, Walter Mondale and managing Howard Dean’s groundbreaking presidential campaign in 2004. Trippi has been a media and campaign strategist for dozens of Senate and Gubernatorial campaigns including Jerry Brown’s 2010 comeback campaign for Governor of California and Doug Jones’ historic Senate victory in Alabama, where Jones became the first Democratic US Senator in Alabama in 25 years.
Trippi has served as an on-air political analyst for MSNBC/NBC, CBS Evening News, FOX News and CNN. His weekly podcast is “That Trippi Show”.
He joined the Lincoln Project because “we have to stop seeing this as Democrat vs. Republican. Right vs left. This has to be all of us coming together in a pro-democracy coalition to defeat an authoritarian movement that is using every means to seize power.”
He is also co-founder of Sez.Us, a social networking platform that seeks to improve society by promoting civic and democratic values.
Dimitrios Nikolopolous
Dimitrios Nikolopoulos is the John W. Hancock Professor of Engineering at Virginia Tech. He serves as a Professor in the Department of Computer Science while also holding a courtesy appointment in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In these roles, he is dedicated to advancing knowledge and promoting discovery in High-Performance Computing and Computer Systems. His research efforts in these fields have had a significant impact on both academia and industry, aiding in the development of industry standards and the improvement of commercial software products.
Dimitrios’s scholarly contributions have been instrumental to the OpenMP parallel programming standard and have been adopted by RedHat Enterprise Linux and a variety of commercial system software products, including parallelizing compilers, in-memory databases, and data stream processing systems. His work has also catalyzed advancements in experimental operating systems and programming languages for multiprocessor systems. Further information about his scholarly work can be found in his profiles on DBLP, Google Scholar, ORCID, Scopus, and his CV. A short bio is also available, along with a Wikipedia entry about his work.
Elizabeth Booker Houston
Elizabeth Booker Houston is a Memphis, Tennessee native who now calls Washington, D.C. home. She has performed at venues such as DC Improv and Magooby's Joke House, and worked with comedic legends such as D.L. Hughley and Tony Woods. When Elizabeth is not on stage, you can find her making witty political and social commentary on Instagram and TikTok where she has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and tens of millions of views. She also cohosts the podcast "2 Lawyers, 1 Ex-Con," and her clever and hilarious podcast cohosts, Jasmine Burton and Justo, will be featured at this standup comedy show!
In her own words: "I’m Elizabeth Booker Houston, JD, MPH. I’m a lawyer, scientist, comedian, content creator, mom, and wife living in the DC metro area by way of Memphis, Tennessee."
Rolf Mueller
Rolf Mueller is the Raymond E. and Shirley B. Lynn Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, and the Director of the Bioinspired Science and Technology Center.
Rolf Mueller's group seeks to develop robots that can mimic the superior sensing abilities and mobility of bats that are able to hunt in dense natural environments. Bats have the most complicated flight apparatus across all biological and engineered systems that fly with about 20 discrete degrees of freedom in each wing. Similarly to the complexity of the wings, bats have about 20 muscles on each ear that deform the shape of the pinna as it diffracts the incoming biosonar echoes. Biomimetic reproductions are an important tools for understanding these complex mechanical systems for mobility and sensing.
Bats live in complex environments and hence receive complex ultrasonic echoes that are superpositions of contributions from many reflecting facets (e.g., leaves in a foliage). Such "clutter echoes" have eluded interpretation in technical sonar for many decades. However, the ongoing revolution in the capabilities of deep-learning methods provide a unique opportunity to extract patterns from data that have previously resisted interpretation. Mueller's group is exploiting deep-learning methods to extract valuable information on complex environments from these "clutter echoes". Furthermore, the research employs transparent AI approaches to gain insight into what the informative signal features. Based on these insights, highly efficient neuromorphic approaches to extracting sensory information can be implemented. To tie sensing and robotics, Mueller's group is working on deep reinforcement learning methods that can integrate the control of the complex soft-robotic ears with the sensing.
Session 3: 5:00pm
Noochie + Front Porch Live
Multifaceted artist and D.C. native Noochie brings his groundbreaking series, Noochie’s Live from the Front Porch, to TEDxMidAtlantic. He has previously performed at a wide range of venues, including the Kennedy Center.
This series, which started as a humble project on the front porch of his family home in D.C., has evolved into a celebrated showcase attracting major talent and one of the most talked-about platforms globally and across the internet. Noochie’s innovative approach merges the raw energy of live performances with the intimacy of a neighborhood setting, creating a space where all genres of music converge. His platform has hosted iconic artists such as GoldLink, Raheem DeVaughn, and Backyard Band, blending hip hop, Go-Go, and R&B in an intimate, outdoor setting that has been likened to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. His performances have garnered praise from notable figures like Kevin Durant and Snoop Dogg, highlighting the cultural impact of his work.
Noochie remains dedicated to his mission: to create a platform that celebrates the rich musical heritage of D.C. while pushing the boundaries of traditional live performances. With Noochie’s Live from the Front Porch, he continues to inspire and connect with audiences, proving that the most powerful stages are often found right at home.
Tamara Cofman Wittes
Tamara Cofman Wittes became the fourth president of the National Democratic Institute in 2024. Before joining the Institute, she served as Director of Foreign Assistance in the U.S Department of State.
Previously, she led the Russia sanctions effort for the State Department's sanctions coordination office. Dr. Wittes also served in the State Department from 2009 - 2012 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, coordinating U.S. policy on democracy and human rights in the Middle East during the Arab uprisings.
Dr. Wittes spent nearly twenty years as a foreign policy scholar at the Brookings Institution, including as director of its Center for Middle East Policy. Her analysis focused on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, political and economic change in the region, and the Arab-Israel conflict.
She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where she has taught courses in international relations, Middle East policy, and security studies. Dr. Wittes was one of the first recipients of the Rabin-Peres Peace Award, established by President Bill Clinton in 1997.
Dr. Wittes has published three books, most recently Foreign Policy Careers for PhDs: A Practical Guide to a World of Possibilities (Georgetown University Press, 2023). She
holds a bachelor’s in Judaic and Near Eastern studies from Oberlin College, and master’s and doctoral degrees in Government from Georgetown University. She is a founder of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security, and served on the board of the National Democratic Institute from 2014 - 2022. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Women in International Security.
A native of Michigan, Dr. Wittes lives in Washington, D.C., where she tends a robust pollinator garden.
Yassamin Ansari
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari was sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2025, making history as the youngest woman in the 119th Congress and the first Iranian American Democrat. She also serves as Freshman Class President for Democrats in the 119th Congress.
Prior to her election to Congress, she served as Vice Mayor of Phoenix and was the youngest woman ever elected to the Phoenix City Council, representing one of the city’s most diverse districts in the fifth-largest and fastest-growing city in the country.
A long-time advocate for our environment, she sits on the House Natural Resources Committee as Ranking Member of the Energy and Minerals Subcommittee and is also a member of the House Oversight Committee.
Miles Taylor
Miles Taylor is a national security expert, New York Times best-selling author, and renowned technologist. Miles served in a variety of government posts, including as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he oversaw operations of the government’s third largest department, including 250,000 employees and a $60 billion budget. Miles also served as an aide on Capitol Hill, in the White House during the George W. Bush administration, and at the Pentagon. In the private sector, he was the Head of Advanced Technology and Security Strategy at Google, driving policy on issues ranging from artificial intelligence to quantum computing.
Today, Miles works with some of the most innovative startups in the United States focused on frontier technology and U.S. national interests. He is a senior advisor to companies leading in AGI, advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, defense tech, robotics, space systems, and beyond. Miles co-founded one of the top tech consultancies in Washington, D.C. and is a founding board member of STATION DC — the center of gravity for innovators and policymakers in the nation’s capital.
Miles is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, A Warning (2019) and Blowback (2023); the host of the iHeartRadio podcast The Whistleblowers; and a special contributor for Americast by BBC News. He is a regular commentator on CNN, MSNBC, and BBC on issues related to global security and technology policy, and he has published articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, The Economist, and more.
Miles serves on the advisory board of an array of civic groups and co-founded a technology-focused high school in the nation’s capital called Washington Leadership Academy, which was named one of America’s top 10 “Super Schools.” He has taught public policy at the University of Pennsylvania, received his M.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, and attended Indiana University as a Truman Scholar. Miles still dreams of becoming a Ghostbuster.
Florian Krampe
Dr. Florian Krampe is a Swedish-German political scientist specializing in peace and conflict research, environmental and climate security, and international security.
Florian Krampe is the Director of Studies for Peace and Development at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Director of SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme. His research focuses on the interlinkages between climate change, security, and peacebuilding, with a particular emphasis on the ecological foundations for sustainable peace and the governance of renewable natural resources in post-conflict societies.
Since joining SIPRI, Krampe has advised policymakers across multiple UN agencies and bodies, including the UN Security Council, the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the UN Peacebuilding Commission, UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), The World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Krampe equally engages with a range of regional organizations such as the African Union, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), NATO, and the European Union. He regularly provides expert input and policy advice to governments, including Germany, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Switzlerland, South Korea on the interlinkages of climate, peace and security.
Krampe is an Affiliated Researcher at the Research School for International Water Cooperation at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University. He served as a Specially Appointed Professor at the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability at Hiroshima University, Japan. From 2014 to 2016, he was Director of the Forum for South Asia Studies at Uppsala University, an interdisciplinary initiative supporting research on South Asia in the humanities and social sciences.
Crys Matthews
A troubadour of truth, Nashville resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. An award-winning, prolific lyricist and composer, Matthews blends Country, Americana, Folk, Blues, and Bluegrass into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics. She is made for these times.
Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.” Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation adds, her gift is a "reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." In her own words, Matthews says her mission is: "to amplify the voices of the unheard, to shed light on the unseen, and to be a steadfast reminder that hope and love are the truest pathways to equity and justice." Her new album is an embodiment of and a testament to that mission.
When Matthews attended a panel at Folk Alliance International in February of 2024, she heard a Scottish Folk artist inquire as to how many record labels pursue what the artist referred to as "music from my tradition," four words that intrigued Matthews. "I loved the idea of that. It seems like the best way to talk about music: what is your tradition, who are your people, what is the fabric of you?"
A daughter of the South by way of Nashville now and North Carolina forever, and the self-proclaimed poster child of intersectionality, Matthews is boldly answering those questions on her new album aptly titled Reclamation.
Recorded in Nashville, TN at Sound Emporium Studios, Reclamation was produced by Levi Lowry (co-writer of Zac Brown Band's hit song Colder Weather). The project features her partner on and off stage Heather Mae, her friends and fellow singer-songwriters Kyshona, Melody Walker, and Chris Housman, and some of the best musicians in Music City like Megan Coleman, Megan Elizabeth McCormick, Ellen Angelico, Ryan Madora, Jen Gunderman, and Michael Majett.
"This album is both sonically and ideologically the fullest representation of who I am as an artist and as a human," she says. A preacher's kid, a Black woman, a Butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner who sings social justice music right alongside 'traditional' Country and Americana music, Matthews is reclaiming not just of the space Black artists have been denied in Country and Americana music, not just of the space LGBTQ people have been denied in communities of faith, not just of the autonomy women have been denied over their own bodies, she is reclaiming the South that raised her.