Presidential Primary Speaking Series

Primary Series Speaker Biographies

Presidential candidate Deval Patrick served as Governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the state’s first black Governor. By the end of his second term, Massachusetts ranked first in the nation in energy efficiency, healthcare coverage, and student achievement. Prior to successfully running a campaign for Massachusetts governor, Patrick graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School; served on the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; and led the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on issues like racial profiling, police misconduct, and prisoner abuse.

Presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar has served as U.S. Senator of Minnesota since 2007. During her tenure, she’s worked on a number of Senate committees, including the committees on Rules and Administration; Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet; and Commerce, Science and Transportation. Prior to her work in Congress, Klobuchar worked as an attorney and was elected county attorney for Hennepin County, Minnesota.

Senator Michael Bennet currently serves as the senior U.S. Senator from Colorado. He has served in this capacity since 2009 and has sat on the U.S. Senate committees for Finance and for Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Bennet previously oversaw the Denver Public Schools as superintendent of schools, and he served as counsel to the Deputy Attorney General of the United States under the Clinton administration.

Presidential candidate John K. Delaney is a former entrepreneur and U.S. Congressman, having represented Maryland’s 6th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. Prior to serving in Congress, Delaney founded and led two publicly traded companies that provided capital to small- and medium-sized businesses. In the House, he established the Artificial Intelligence Caucus, a bipartisan group dedicated to educating policymakers on technology and issues related to the future of work.

Rep. Gabbard is the first female combat veteran to run for President and one of the first elected to Congress. She is a major in the Army National Guard, having served for 16 years and been deployed twice to the Middle East. In Congress, Gabbard has sat on the Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services committees, in addition to serving as Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Presidential candidate Bill Weld is a former two-term Governor of Massachusetts, elected in 1990 and then again in 1994. He was the first Republican to be elected Governor of Massachusetts in 20 years and was ranked the most fiscally conservative governor in the country by The Wall Street Journal and the Cato Institute. Prior to being elected governor, Weld served as the United States Attorney for Massachusetts and as Assistant U.S. Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division.

Marianne Williamson is a bestselling author, lecturer and non-profit activist. She is the author of 13 books, four of which made #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. They include Healing the Soul of America and A Politics of Love: Handbook for a New American Revolution. She has also founded two nonprofits: Project Angel Food and The Peace Alliance.

Presidential candidate Andrew Yang is an American entrepreneur and the founder of Venture for America. From 2000 to 2009, he worked in startups and early-stage growth companies as either a founder or executive officer. In 2012, he was selected as a “Champion of Change” by the Obama administration and, in 2015, as a “Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.”

Admiral Joe Sestak represented Pennsylvania's Seventh Congressional District from 2007 to 2011. He served for over 31 years in the U.S. Navy around the world, including commanding an aircraft carrier battle group of 30 ships and 15,000 sailors, and SEALs and Marines in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. He worked for President Clinton as Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council in the White House, headed the Navy’s strategic anti-terrorism unit (Deep Blue) after 9/11 and was the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Warfare Requirements. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy (second in his class) with a Ph.D. in both Economics and National Security from Harvard University.

Tom Steyer is a self-made billionaire who founded Farallon Capital Management. He went on to found NextGen America, a nonprofit group that combats climate change, promotes social justice and increases participation in our democracy through voter registration and grassroots organizing, in 2013. Mr. Steyer graduated from Yale and earned his MBA at Stanford.