
Where new perspectives come into frame.
Saturday, April 20
10am – 6pm
KQED Headquarters, San Francisco
Sponsors
Program
10:00 – 10:15 AM
Welcome
Michael Isip, President & CEO, KQED
10:15 – 11:00 AM
New Approaches to Corporate Responsibility
Apple executive and former Obama-appointed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson leads the company’s efforts to go carbon neutral by 2030. As one of the most senior women and African Americans in tech, she also heads up a $200 million investment in racial equity and justice programs. These directives intersect in critical ways under her leadership, reflecting larger realities about the role corporations can play in climate justice. But how can one of the world’s most valuable companies balance achieving ambitious goals for the common good with its mandate to make a profit?
Speakers
- Lisa Jackson, Vice President for Environment, Policy & Social Initiatives
- Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor, PBS NewsHour
11:00 – 11:30 AM
Tribal Lessons on Climate Resilience
California’s Native American tribes and indigenous-led organizations are responding to the climate crisis with models of resilience and adaptation born from generations of traditional knowledge and practices. Bringing together tribal, state, and academic perspectives, this panel looks at how returning lands to indigenous stewardship can not only addresses historic injustices but also correct legacies of environmental mismanagement, exploring examples of traditional conservation practices leading to watershed restoration, wildfire mitigation, and other practical solutions that can spur our collective effort to care for our planet.
Speakers
- Beth Rose Middleton Manning, Professor of Native American Studies, UC Davis
- Christina Snider-Ashtari, Secretary of Tribal Affairs, State of California
- Bill Tripp, Director of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy, Karuk Trib
- Stephanie Sy, Anchor, PBS NewsHour West
11:30 AM – 12:15 PM
CANCELLED: View from Capitol Hill
*Due to Congressional calendar change and Saturday vote.*
As a Democrat representing Silicon Valley in Congress, Rep. Ro Khanna has focused on issues where innovation and progressive economic and social agenda meet. He joins for a conversation looking at many of the day’s themes from his position in Washington, D.C., including what thoughtful regulation to balance the promise and potential disruption of emerging technologies might look like; what policies could shape an inclusive and sustainable economy; how conflicts abroad are transforming conversations from the kitchen table to the halls of Congress; and what role California will play in national politics and the future of our democratic institutions as we approach the 2024 election.
Speakers
- Ro Khanna, U.S. Representative, D-CA 17th District
- Stephanie Sy, Anchor, PBS NewsHour West
REPLACED BY: Covering Modern Wars
PBS NewsHour co-anchor Amna Nawaz has just returned from a week reporting from Ukraine, where she interviewed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukrainian citizens enduring the ongoing war with Russia. She shares her full interview with the man steadfastly leading his country through the conflict and speaks with her colleague Stephanie Sy about what it took to produce the rare interview with the embattled leader.
Speakers
- Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor, PBS NewsHour
- Stephanie Sy, Anchor, PBS NewsHour West
12:15 – 2:00 PM
– BREAK –
2:00 – 2:45 PM
Next Steps with AI
We explore the massive potential of generative AI technologies and their implications for everyday users. This conversation with OpenAI’s Mira Murati, who helped bring tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E to the public, will show how users can leverage their opportunities to transform the ways we learn, work, communicate and create. We’ll also examine the responsibilities developers, businesses, and policymakers have in overseeing their safe and equitable deployment, especially in a global election year, and how these tools can power growth.
Speakers
- Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer, OpenAI
- Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor, PBS NewsHour
2:45 – 3:00 PM
– BREAK –
3:00 – 3:45 PM
America at a Crossroads: The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom
Rabbi Amy Eilberg and pediatrician Dr. Lama Rimawi found friendship through the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, an organization that fosters understanding and mutual support between Muslim and Jewish women. Before the events of October 7, and especially since, the organization and their relationship has faced the hard conversations of this decades-old conflict by countering reductive narratives and stereotypes with personal stories that emphasize the complex humanity and create bridge building dialogue, offering a model for overcoming polarizing conflicts.
Speakers
- Rabbi Amy Eilberg, Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom
- Dr. Lama Rimawi, Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom
- Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent, Former Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour
3:45 – 4:00 PM
– BREAK –
4:15 – 5:00 PM
Week in Politics: California Edition
California political journalists examine the week’s news to help us understand why the state exerts significant influence over national politics. As the 2024 election cycle intensifies, some of California’s most recognizable figures emerge as pivotal surrogates on the campaign trail; and with pressing issues like the soaring cost of living and housing, to the complex challenges of drug policy and immigration reform, California’s diverse concerns acutely reflect the wider nation. This round table conversation explores the impact of California’s dynamics on shaping the narratives, policies, and people driving the upcoming national elections.
Speakers
- Marisa Lagos, Politics & Government Correspondent, KQED
- Melanie Mason, Senior Political Report, POLITICO
- Scott Shafer, Senior Politics & Government Editor, KQED
- Amna Nawaz, Co-Anchor, PBS NewsHour
5:00 – 5:45 PM
Moving Ballet Forward
In her inaugural season as Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet, renowned dancer and director Tamara Rojo has staked out a bold vision for the future of ballet. Having led London’s English National Ballet as Artistic Director and Principal Lead and was a principal dancer at The Royal Ballet for more than a decade, her pedigree is impeccable. But with her first season featuring an acclaimed new ballet exploring the promise and perils of artificial intelligence on a mythic scale, and with a newly secured $60 million to fund the development of new works, her leadership promises to bring new energy to a hallowed institution and to reframe a classic art form for contemporary concerns and sensibilities.
Speakers
- Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director, San Francisco Ballet
- Stephanie Sy, Anchor, PBS NewsHour West

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

FEATURED SPEAKERS
