Trinity Announces Policy Maker Breakfast Guests

A retired Navy admiral, former White House chief of staff, former chairman of economic advisers, and a broadcast journalist will headline the 2017-2018 Policy Maker Breakfast Series held annually by Trinity University.

The breakfasts and presentations are at a new venue, the Grand Ballroom at the Omni Colonnade, 9821 Colonnade Blvd. The breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. and the program begins at 8 a.m. A question and answer session will follow.

Tickets for the series cost $170 for all four breakfasts. A limited number of tickets to individual breakfasts will be available for $50. For information or to register by telephone, call Trinity University's Office of Conferences and Special Programs at 210-999-7601. Advance registration is required.

The first guest is retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis, who will present “Beyond the Horizon: 21st Century Global Security and Risk” on Thursday, Oct. 5. Stavridis attended the U.S. Naval Academy and spent more than 30 years in the Navy, rising to the rank of 4-star Admiral. He served as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, overseeing operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and the Balkans. Stavridis also served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense, and he led the Navy’s premier operational think tank, Deep Blue, immediately after 9/11. He earned his doctorate from The Fletcher School at Tufts, and he has published six books and more than 100 articles in leading journals. He is currently the chair of the board of the U.S. Naval Institute, a monthly columnist for TIME magazine, and the chief international security analyst for NBC News.

Denis McDonough, White House chief of staff from February 2013 to Jan. 20, 2017, will visit Thursday, Nov. 30 to speak on “Innovation, Automation, and Education in the Digital Economy.” McDonough advised President Obama and managed a 4,000-member White House staff as well as cabinet secretaries and agency leaders. Prior to that role, McDonough served as assistant to the president and principal deputy national security advisor and chaired the National Security Council’s Deputies Committee. During the 2008 presidential campaign, McDonough was senior foreign policy advisor for the organization Obama for America. Before his stint in the White House, McDonough served in senior leadership and policy-making positions in the U.S. House of Representatives, on the International Relations Committee, and in the U.S. Senate. McDonough was appointed senior principal at the Markle Foundation in February to address the skills gap in light of the artificial intelligence revolution. In that role, McDonough will chair the Rework America Task Force.

Jason Furman, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2013-17, will speak Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, on “Global Economic Outlook: What’s Next?” He served as President Obama’s chief economist and a member of the Cabinet. Prior he was economic policy director for the president’s campaign in 2008 and a member of the presidential transition team. Previously, he worked at the Council of Economic Advisers and National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration and also at the World Bank. He was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and also served in visiting positions at various universities. Furman has conducted research in fiscal policy, tax policy, health economics, Social Security, and macroeconomics. Since leaving the Obama Administration, Furman has joined the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) as a senior fellow.

The final series speaker will be Soledad O’Brien, broadcast producer and journalist, on Wednesday, April 4, 2018, with the topic of, “Matter of Fact.” Through the power of storytelling, O’Brien brings a fresh perspective on diverse and contemporary issues to foster change in communities and organizations. O’Brien has established herself as one of the most recognized names in broadcasting by telling the stories behind important issues, people, and events of the day. A champion of diversity, she gives voice to the underserved through her Emmy-winning reporting and acclaimed documentary series, Black in America and Latino in America. O’Brien draws from her life and career to stimulate thoughtful conversation on the roles we each play within our communities and organizations, leaving audiences with memorable takeaways on the power of individuals and companies to make lasting change.