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# David Brooks
David Brooks has a gift for bringing audiences face to face with the spirit of our times with humor, insight and quiet passion. He is a keen observer of the American way of life and a savvy analyst of present-day politics and foreign affairs. He holds several prestigious positions as a commentator including bi-weekly Op-Ed columnist for the *New York Times* and regular analyst on *PBS NewsHour* and NPR’s *All Things Considered*.
Brooks’ newest book, *The Road to Character*, explains why selflessness leads to greater success. He tells the story of ten great lives that illustrate how character is developed, and how we can all strive to build rich inner lives, marked by humility and moral depth. In a society that emphasizes success and external achievement, *The Road to Character* is a book about inner worth.
His previous books include *The Social Animal*, *On Paradise Drive*, and *Bobos in Paradise*. David worked at *The Wall Street Journal* for nine years and has written for *The New Yorker*, *Forbes*, *The Washington Post*, and many other periodicals.
David Brooks’s book
## Other 2018 Authors & Speakers
## Akbar Ahmed
Chair of Islamic Studies, American University; former Pakistani High Commissioner to the U.K. and Ireland
## Douglas Brinkley
Douglas Brinkley is a bestselling author, professor of history at Rice University, a Grammy-award winning producer and presidential historian for CNN. Eight of his books have been selected as *New York Times* Notable Books of the Year, and each of his most-recent publications have been *New York Times* bestsellers.
## Jeffrey Brown
Jeffrey Brown is Senior Correspondent and Chief Arts Correspondent for PBS *NewsHour*, public television’s prestigious nightly news program viewed by millions. During his career with *NewsHour* he has served as co-anchor, studio moderator, and field reporter on a wide range of national and international issues.
## Tim Brown
Tim Brown is CEO and president of IDEO. He frequently speaks about the value of design thinking and innovation to business people and designers around the world. He participates in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and his talks Serious Play and Change by Design appear on TED.com.
## Billy Collins
Two-time US Poet Laureate, dubbed “the most popular poet in America” by the New York Times
## Lukman Faily
Lukman Faily recently served as Ambassador to the United States for the Republic of Iraq from May 2013 until June 2016. He has been a high-profile spokesperson for his government and Iraqi affairs, engaging with members of Congress, academia and think tank communities.
## Lisa Fenn
Three-time winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award and six-time Emmy Award–winning feature producer with ESPN for thirteen years
## Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson, MA, DPhil, FRSE, writes and lectures on international history, economic and financial history and British and American imperialism. He is known for his positive views concerning the British Empire.
## Sally Fernandez
Sally Fernandez, a novelist of provocative political thrillers, wasn’t always twisting facts with fiction. Heavily endowed with skills acquired in banking, she embarked on her writing career.
## Alex Filippenko
Filippenko is an Astrophysicist on a Nobel Prize winning team, as well as the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize, 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics to all team members. He was voted the “best professor at UC Berkeley 9 years!”.
## Chris Flink
Chris Flink has always found the Exploratorium phenomenally inspiring. He was honored to become its Executive Director in the summer of 2016 and is thrilled to be leading the innovative institution into its next half-century.
## Doris Kearns Goodwin
A Pulitzer-Prize winning biographer, presidential historian, former sports journalist and political commentator.
## J. Douglas Holladay
J. Douglas Holladay is the author of *Rethinking Success: Eight Essential Practices for Finding Meaning in Work and Life* in which he shares how to find meaning, balance, and purpose throughout your career while reaching the highest levels of professional achievement—how to do well without losing yourself.
## Pedro Irazoqui, Ph.D.
Head, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins, Whitney School of Engineering. Pioneer in wireless implantable devices for treatment of epilepsy, glaucoma, depression, PTSD
## Captain Scott Kelly
Military Fighter Pilot, Test Pilot, Engineer; veteran of four space flights including one year on the International Space Station; had just solo orbited earth 5,440 times over 340 days when he visited
## Julie Lythcott-Haims
Julie Lythcott-Haims is the author of the *New York Times* best-selling book *How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success* (2015), and *Real American: A Memoir* (2017).
## Bill Milliken
Bill Milliken, Founder and Vice Chairman of Communities In Schools, Inc., is one of the nation’s foremost pioneers in the movement to give young people the help they need to graduate from high school and go on to rewarding lives.
## R.J. Palacio
Author of *Wonder*, NY Times bestseller list 6 years having sold over 12 million copies worldwide
## Bill Petrocelli
Bill is the co-owner with his wife, Elaine, of the nationally known-bookstore Book Passage. Book Passage has three bookstores in California in Corte Madera, Sausalito, and at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.
## Dr. Stanley B. Prusiner
Dr. Stanley B. Prusiner is Director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and Professor of Neurology and Biochemistry at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
## Dr. Ramon Resa
Acclaimed Author and Physician, “Out of the Fields: My Journey from Farmworker Boy to Pediatrician” has for over 35 years taken care of children like himself as a child
## Richard Rhodes
Richard Rhodes is the author of twenty-six books including *The Making of the Atomic Bomb*, which won a Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction, a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award.
## Joseph Rodota
Joseph Rodota’s new book *The Watergate* tells the story of this iconic building and its most famous residents over the span of more than 50 years. The Watergate called itself “a city within a city” and offered residents a wide array of amenities — from a barber shop and beauty salon to a wine shop and grocery store, all on the premises.
## Daniel Rodriguez
Veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, Author, football player, motivational speaker
## Rebecca Rosenberg
Rebecca Rosenberg, author of the new historical novel nominated for the Best New Novel for the Center for Fiction, *The Secret Life of Mrs. London*, revealing the love triangle between Houdini, Charmian and Jack London.
## Darcey Rosenblatt
Darcey Rosenblatt writes for middle grade and teenage people because she believes for them stories can be life changing – they were for her. Her debut novel *Lost Boys* (Henry Holt for Young Readers) was released in August 2017 and has been named a notable book for 2018 by the National Council for Social Studies.
## Lisa See
In her beloved New York Times bestsellers *Snow Flower and the Secret Fan*, *Peony in Love*, *Shanghai Girls*, *Dreams of Joy*, and, most recently, *China Dolls*, Lisa See has brilliantly illuminated the strong bonds between women.
## Michael Shellenberger
Michael Shellenberger’s just released *Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All* has been called, “an extremely important book,” by none other than historian Richard Rhodes, who won the Pulitzer Prize for *The Making of the Atomic Bomb*.
## Deepa Thomas
Deepa Thomas combines her passion for journalism with her love of cooking to create New Indian cuisine that can be found in her cookbook, *Deepa’s Secrets*. She is one of three nominees for the prestigious James Beard Award.
## Dr. Eric Topol
Pioneering cardiologist, geneticist, and digital health innovator Dr. Eric Topol has profoundly influenced the landscape of contemporary medicine. His groundbreaking new book, *Super Agers*, reveals a transformative revolution in human longevity.
## Amor Towles
The author of *A Gentleman in Moscow* and *Rules of Civility* has captivated readers around the world. *Rules of Civility* ( 2011) was a *New York Times* bestseller and was named by the *Wall Street Journal* as one of the best books of 2011.
## Les Vadasz
Les was Executive Vice President and President of Intel Capital until his retirement in 2003. With Intel since 1968, Les was part of the founding management team of Andy Grove, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore.
## Jesmyn Ward
MacArthur Genius and two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward has been hailed as the standout writer of her generation, proving her “fearless and toughly lyrical” voice in novels, memoir, and nonfiction.
## Wells Whitney, Sc.D.
Wells Whitney was born in 1933 and brought up in New York City and Boston. He received his BA from Harvard College and MS and ScD from MIT, and did a Postdoc year in Strasbourg, France.
## Dr. R. Sanders Williams
Dr. Williams is President of the Gladstone Institutes & Gladstone’s Robert W. & Linda L. Mahley Distinguished Professor. The Gladstone Institutes have been actively working with Dr. Jennifer Doudna & her team in CRISPR technology, a form of genome editing.
## Charles E. Young, Ph.D.
Dr. Charles E. Young is Chancellor Emeritus, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles.
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