Michael writes and lectures on political and national security issues, ranging from the war in Afghanistan, the rise of private military contractors and reforming the national security bureaucracy.  He is an expert on counter-insurgency and the growing influence and impact of non-state actors in global affairs.

In addition, Michael writes and speaks frequently on political affairs, with a particular focus on the role of speechwriting in the political process (the subject of his first book).  His January, 2010 Newsweek piece examining the question of whether America is “ungovernable” was picked up by numerous news outlets and is typical of his insightful political analysis.

A regular blogger at democracyarsenal.org where he pens the influential “Afghanistan Mission Creep Watch,” Michael also writes a regular column for AOL News. He is a frequent contributor to Politico, the New York Daily News, Newsweek and a host of foreign policy blogs and periodicals. During the 2008 presidential campaign he was the main contributor to the New York Times “Campaign Stops” blog.

Michael also served in the U.S. Department of State as chief speechwriter for U.S. Representative to the United Nations Bill Richardson and Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat. He was also a chief speechwriter for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and previously was a Senior Research Fellow at New America Foundation. Michael serves on the board of the National Security Network and has taught at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Here is a clip of Michael discussing Blackwater and private contractors on Al Jazeera English’s “Inside Story”.  He first appears at around the 5:00 mark.

Bio

A frequent commentator on politics and international affairs Michael’s work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, the St. Petersburg Times, the World Policy Journal, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the New York Daily News, Forbes.com, Courier de la Planete, Talkingpointsmemo.com, Politico, Worth Magazine. He has also been featured on ABC News, Fox News, BBC TV and radio, South African television, Al Jazeera, Air America and XM Radio’s “Potus ‘08”.  Michael serves on the board of the National Security Network and has taught at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.  Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University and a master’s degree from Columbia University.

Yet what happened over the next eight years was a roller-coaster of inspiration, confusion, doubt, and soul-searching as his reporting and experiences slowly chipped away at his faith. While reporting on hundreds of stories, he witnessed a disturbing gap between the tenets of various religions and the behaviors of the faithful and their leaders.

He investigated religious institutions that acted less ethically than corrupt Wall St. firms. He found few differences between the morals of Christians and atheists. As this evidence piled up, he started to fear that God didn’t exist. He explored every doubt, every question—until, finally, his faith collapsed. After the paper agreed to reassign him, he wrote a personal essay in the summer of 2007 that became an international sensation for its honest exploration of doubt.

Losing My Religion is a book about life’s deepest questions that speaks to everyone: Lobdell understands the longings and satisfactions of the faithful, as well as the unrelenting power of doubt. How he faced that power, and wrestled with it, is must reading for people of faith and nonbelievers alike.

Bio

An award-winning journalist, author, blogger, speaker, college lecturer and media consultant, William Lobdell worked for 18 years with the Los Angeles Times and its sister newspapers. Lobdell covered the religion beat for The Times for eight years, first as a columnist and then as a beat reporter. He earned several national awards for his work before becoming a metro editor for the paper in 2006. He left the paper in 2008.  He also has been a visiting faculty member for 12 years at the University of California, Irvine, where he teaches “Religion and the Media” and “The Internet, Blogs and Politics.”

Garry began her professional career as part of the management team that launched MTV in 1981 and it is that experience that shaped her view that the media profoundly influence the attitudes and opinions of people on nearly every issue.  With her 1997 appointment as executive director of GLAAD, a position she held for eight years, Joan realized she had connected her professional experience with her powerful voice.

Whether it was debating Jerry Falwell and Bill O’Reilly, or taking on The New York Times and persuading the Times to change its policy to include gay and lesbian couples on its wedding pages, Garry has been at the forefront of issues that mean something to her family and to countless other families across America.  This was never more evident than during the transformational election of 2008, when Garry was the Co-chair of the National LGBT Finance Committee for Obama for America, leading a committee of 75 fundraisers nationwide to engage and mobilize the LGBT community to champion the candidacy of President-elect Obama.

Currently a featured blogger at The Huffington Post, Garry is working to help Americans connect the front page to the world in their own back yards. She offers commentary on issues of relevance to the gay community as a columnist with The Washington Blade, and her personal essays have been published in The Newark Star Ledger, The New York Times and elsewhere.

Program Descriptions

The Civil Rights Issue of Our Time:  LGBT Equality

As one of America’s most prominent gay rights leaders, Garry offers thoughts on the current state of the movement,  examines it in terms of historical context and considers its trajectory over the next 5-10 years.  She addresses the opportunities and challenges facing the next generation of leadership, and proposes (and answers) difficult questions about the most effective ways to achieve success.

Goal-Oriented, Team-Driven Leadership

After a decade at the helm of one of the most visible gay rights organizations in America, Garry’s perspectives on leadership are authentic and unique.  From debating Jerry Falwell to persuading the New York Times to include gay and lesbian couples on its wedding pages, Garry has demonstrated leadership attributes that are forceful, effective and at the same time empathetic and respectful.  In her lecture, she shares the lessons gleaned from both her tenure as the Executive Director of GLAAD, and during the preceding fourteen years as a cable television executive with positions in strategic planning and new business development.

Media and its Impact on Changing Hearts and Minds

Historically, civil rights movements have focused on government, politics and the law to effect change.  The gay civil rights movement may have been the first to recognize and understand the power of the media to shape attitudes and opinions.   Garry shares the history and successes of this media activism, offering valuable lessons on the power of media advocacy to bring an issue to light and in so doing, change hearts and minds.

Activism: A How-To Guide

As a prominent civil rights leader with demonstrated success in effecting change, Garry speaks about what it means to be an activist, the forms activism can take and the strategies and tactics that can be employed to move people to action.

Making a Difference in Non-Profit America:
Can You Really Making A Living Doing Something You Care About?

Garry tells her own story – diving into a non-profit leadership role after a successful career as a media executive – and offers insight into non-profit work – the skills and expertise she brought with her from corporate America and the new ones she unearthed.

Bio

Garry plays a critical role as a visible media spokesperson and critic.  In 1999, Entertainment Weekly featured her on its list of the “100 Most Influential People In Entertainment.”  Garry’s articulate advocacy has been featured across all national news networks, with notable media appearances including NBC’s “Today;” ABC’s “World News Tonight;” PBS’ “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer;” CNN’s “NewsNight with Aaron Brown;” CNBC’s “Dennis Miller Live;” numerous appearances on CNN, CSPAN, MSNBC (including “Hardball” with Chris Matthews) and Fox News Channel (including “The O’Reilly Factor” and “Hannity & Colmes”).

Her comments are frequently sought by leading newspapers, magazines and news services, including The New York Times, the Associated Press, Reuters, the Washington Post, USA Today, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Advertising Age and PR Week, among others; and her thought-provoking op-ed essays have appeared in outlets such as The New York Times and USA Today.

During her eight-year tenure at GLAAD, Garry led the organization through a series of high-profile campaigns, most notably GLAAD’s highly successful public education initiative to combat and expose the defamatory rhetoric of “Dr. Laura” Schlessinger.

Garry lives in New Jersey with her partner of 27 years and their three children. Her landmark 1993 court challenge to New Jersey’s second-parent adoption law made Garry the first lesbian in the state to adopt her partner’s biological children.  She also blogs with and about her kids at www.whosthegrownup.com, and on her own at www.joangarry.com.  In the spirit of using her voice to advocate for change, Garry is the first and only female singing member of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.

Prior to the 2008 season, the Smith Center Redmen graduated its twelve seniors, who never lost a high school football game and were responsible for the four consecutive state championships, the shutouts and the records. But Smith Center takes its high school motto seriously: “Tradition Never Graduates.” As the 2008 season’s record indicates, the motto has proven true.

Our Boys chronicles how the Smith Center schools became the center of the town’s universe, how its educators, coaches and students fight to hold on to a way of life that is rich in values but dirt poor in economic opportunity.

It also focuses on an extraordinary coach named Roger Barta, who is in his 31^st season, has captured seven titles and has 289 victories against 59 defeats. He is the opposite of a win-at-all-costs Coach, instead telling his players he loves them and focusing on life lessons.  “Life is basically doing the same thing everybody else does every day,” Barta said. “Fulfilling lives come with doing these things with passion, working constantly on the details that no one but you really sees, and living in harmony with others.”

This is a story of uplift, of how old-time values never really go out of fashion, and about how a beaten down Kansas town refuses to surrender. It is a book about the hard work and accountability a whole town invests in its most valuable asset: its children.

Bio

Joe Drape is a reporter for the New York Times. He has won numerous national awards for news and sports writing, including the 2001 Eclipse Award for outstanding achievement in horse racing writing. His book, Black Maestro: The Epic Life of an American Legend (William Morrow, 2006), a biography of African-American jockey Jimmy Winkfield, won the 2006 Castleton Lyons-Thoroughbred Times Book Award.  He is also the author of The Race for the Triple Crown (Grove Atlantic, 2000), and the screenwriter of The Place That Hits The Sun, which begins production in April of 2009.  Drape has won national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for breaking news about illegal agent activity in college basketball in 2001, feature writing in 2006, as well as deadline writing in 2006 and 2008. A native of Kansas City, MO, and graduate of Southern Methodist University, Drape previously worked at the Dallas Morning News and Atlanta Journal Constitution. He also was the University of Iowa’s, Professional-In-Residence, 2002.

Program Descriptions

From the Locker Room to the Classroom/Boardroom:
Lessons in Teamwork and Leadership

Rhoden uses the team concept and its superstructure as the model of how differences are put aside to achieve winning results.  He addresses the reasons why the “better” team often loses, and illustrates how the “less talented” team often triumphs because of the belief in a shared goal and the execution of each participant’s individual role, leading to the greater reward.  Rhoden also examines the specter of race, diversity and inclusion in the locker room setting, and how those lessons are applicable in off-the-field situations like the class room or conference room; i.e. the black quarterback having to lead a team on which some of the players are uncomfortable with his race, or a white coach getting the most out of his team populated by mostly black players, or a team made up of players of many different ethnic backgrounds who must all find common ground.  Rhoden also looks at practical issues that affect student-athletes in a university setting, or employees in a corporate setting, and couches them in metaphorical terms while getting to the root of each issue.  For example, he demonstrates how studying History/a company’s history is like watching game film, and extrapolates out from there.

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Black Athlete

Rhoden tackles the challenging issue of the status of the black athlete in contemporary America. Using the pervasive metaphor of the plantation, Rhoden describes a modern sports industry defined by white ownership and black labor.  Beginning with examples of slaves securing privilege, or even freedom, by feats of athletic prowess, Rhoden traces the history of athleticism and race from the early stages of athletic integration at major colleges up through the huge compensation paid to athletes today.

His assessment of the current state of athletic affairs isn’t limited to a critique of the white power structure, however.  Rhoden also targets the millionaire black athletes, and their acceptance of the status quo.  He argues that black athletes need to assert their financial power through individual and collective ownership of businesses and franchises, as a way to restore the balance that existed in the black community prior to integration.

The changing face of Journalism, Media and Society

As one of the nation’s most respected journalists, Rhoden, whose career spans more than three decades, talks about his career and the challenges facing journalists and journalism on a number of fronts.  Again, he is able to use sports metaphors as a jumping off point to bring home his message.  In addressing the very stark changes that confront the shifting journalistic landscape, Rhoden compares the print medium to a pro franchise that is making the monumental transformation of having been a defensive-oriented team (and culture) to an offensive team, in the space of only a couple of seasons.  These changes generally involve a jarring shift in personnel, leadership and strategy.  And even as Rhoden uses this metaphor to describe the impending shake-up facing journalism and journalists, he uses the same metaphor for the shifting face of our society, and the changes that we must all face on a daily basis.

Bio

During a career that spans more than three decades, award-winning New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden has been a jazz critic, sports columnist and social commentator. He has played college football at Yankee Stadium, accompanied a federal agent on an interdiction mission along the US-Mexican border, been a road manager for a jazz quintet and taken a 17 hour drive across Cuba.

Rhoden joined The New York Times in 1982 as an editor in the Week-In-Review section. A year later he moved to sports where he wrote about issues in high school and colleges. His assignment culminated in 1990 with a riveting, three-part front page series called “The Student Athlete on Campus,” which described the complex relationship among colleges, college sports and college athletes. He has written “The Sports of the Times” column since 1990, and his work has been included in a number of anthologies including The Best American Sports Writing 2007.  Rhoden is also a frequent guest on ESPN’s long-running Sunday morning show, “The Sports Reporters.”

In 1996 Rhoden won a Peabody Award for Broadcasting as a writer of the HBO documentary “Journey of the African American Athlete,”  and most recently, wrote the HBO documentary “Breaking the Huddle,” about the integration of College Football, which won a 2009 Emmy® for outstanding Documentary Film.  He has also written two critically acclaimed books, the New York Times bestseller, Forty Million Dollar Slaves and Third and A Mile: The Trials and Triumphs of The Black Quarterback.