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Arizona Speaker Series
2022-2023 Speakers
Malala Yousafzai
Global Ambassador for Girls’ Access to Education, Youngest Nobel Laureate, Co-Founder of Malala Fund
“I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.” -Malala
If Malala Yousafzai has anything to do with it, every girl in the world will have the opportunity to learn and lead. Her immediate focus is providing access to 130 million girls who have been denied the right to education. Through the work of Malala Fund, co-founded with her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, this seemingly audacious goal is, in Malala’s words, a matter of “ambition and intention.” What to do is then easy.
There are not many young women who have survived an assassination attempt, or become the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate, or opened the largest library in Europe declaring “pens and books are the weapons that will defeat terrorism." Even with these accomplishments, Malala does not consider herself extraordinary. That is “simply Malala,” as she would describe herself....(See Full Bio)
John Brennan
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2013-2017
John O. Brennan served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from March 2013 until January 2017. As CIA Director, he was responsible for intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence, and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services. From January 2009 to March 2013, Mr. Brennan was Deputy National Security Advisor and Assistant to President Obama for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, shaping and coordinating Obama administration policies on counterterrorism, homeland security, pandemics, cyberattacks, and natural disasters.
Mr. Brennan began his government service at the CIA, where he worked from 1980 to 2005. He served as CIA’s daily intelligence briefer to President Clinton, Chief of Staff to then Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, and Deputy Executive Director. In 2003, he led a multi-agency effort to establish the National Counterterrorism Center and served as the Center’s first Director. After retiring from the CIA in 2005, he worked in the private sector for three years....(See Full Bio)
Cecile Richards
President of Planned Parenthood (2006-2018), New York Times Bestselling Author, Co-Founder of Supermajority
Cecile Richards, Co-Founder of Supermajority and Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund (2006-2018), is a globally respected activist and social justice leader.
Named to TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World”, Richards is celebrated for her vocal, dedicated and strategic leadership as well as her extensive advocacy experience at grassroots organizations in the non-profit sector and in Washington....(See Full Bio)
Marlee Matlin
Academy Award-winning Actress & Activist
Marlee Matlin is one of the most dynamic and inspiring keynote speakers in the world, with several impassioned presentations suited for groups and events of all kinds. In one talk, Matlin takes audiences through the highs and lows of her Hollywood career and journeys as an activist. In separate presentations, as a renowned advocate for diversity, Matlin boldly challenges audiences to advocate for equity, inclusion, acceptance, and access for all people and to endeavor to live a life without judgment of others —everybody’s different, and nobody’s perfect. Listeners come away informed and empowered to make a difference in the world, with the knowledge that they can begin by changing just one person’s life.....
Henry Winkler
Emmy Award-Winning Actor, Author, Director & Producer
Audiences always leave Henry's presentations inspired and entertained. Through humorous anecdotes and inspirational life lessons about overcoming adversity to his storied career in television and entertainment, groups of all ages can learn from Henry's speeches. His passion for supporting others is the result of a lifetime struggle with undiagnosed dyslexia. Henry has worked tirelessly to bring awareness and support to children who learn differently by advocating for changes in the education system and informing parents and teachers about learning challenges.....
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Thomas Friedman
Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times
Bestselling author of The World is Flat and New York Times foreign affairs columnist Tom Friedman is renowned for his direct reporting and accessible analysis of complex issues shaping the world. According to Foreign Policy magazine, “Friedman doesn't just report on events; he helps shape them.” Winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, he has covered monumental stories from around the globe for The New York Times since 1981. Vanity Fair called him “the country’s best newspaper columnist.”
With clear and compelling language, Friedman discusses the opportunities and challenges that profound “accelerations,” including technology and connectivity, pose for society as well as for individuals, businesses, and governments. He also explores solutions — on a local and global level — to ensure the future of work, skills, income, and prosperity.
Dr. Michio Kaku
Theoretical Physicist, Futurist, & Popularizer of Science
Dr. Michio Kakuis one of the most widely recognized figures in science in the world today. He has written five New York Times Best-Sellers. His latest best-seller is The God Equation: The Quest for the Theory of Everything.
He is the science correspondent for national CBS This Morning TV. His weekly science radio show is heard in 100 cities across the country. He has 4.5 million fans on Facebook and one million people follow him on Twitter. He has hosted numerous science specials on the Discovery Channel, Science Channel, BBC-TV, and has appeared on the David Letterman Show, Good Morning America, Today Show, CBS Late Show with Stephen Colbert, HBO, Stephen Colbert Report, CNN, the History Channel, PBS-TV, National Geographic, and all the major news media....(See Full Bio)
Rob Reiner
Actor, Filmmaker, Activist
Rob Reiner first came to fame as a two-time Emmy Award-winning actor on the landmark television series All in the Family. He went on to become an acclaimed director of some of the most popular and influential motion pictures. His work ranges from the satire This Is Spinal Tap to dramas like Stand By Me, Misery, A Few Good Men, and Ghosts of Mississippi to romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally, to the enduring uncharacteristic The American President, to The Princess Bride. His now 20 films also include The Bucket List, Flipped, LBJ starring Woody Harrelson, and most recently Shock and Awe, about the run-up to the war in Iraq, also starring Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Biel, James Marsden, and Reiner himself.