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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251014T190000
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DTSTAMP:20260406T061016
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UID:60800-1760468400-1760472000@bigtentusa.org
SUMMARY:Rising Signal: Powering Media for the People
DESCRIPTION:BigTentUSA brought together an incredible audience for a powerful conversation about how media paywalls\, profit models\, and political pressures are shaping what Americans see—and don’t see—in the news. \nOur panelists\, Daniella Ballou-Aares of Leadership Now Project and Heidi Przybyla of Get Real News\, unpacked the growing tensions between political power\, corporate media\, and democracy itself. From newsroom crackdowns to the dangers of media consolidation\, they explored how misinformation spreads when access to trusted journalism is limited—and why rebuilding public trust starts with reimagining how news is funded and shared. \nThe discussion also offered hope: independent media is rising to meet the moment—harnessing the reach of social media influencers\, the power of new technologies like AI\, and the energy of engaged audiences to deliver thoughtful\, fact-based reporting that connects with people where they are. \n  \nABOUT THE SPEAKERS \nDaniella Ballou-Aares is Founder and CEO of the Leadership Now Project\, a national membership organization of business and thought leaders committed to fixing American democracy. She began her career at Bain & Company\, working in the US\, South Africa\, and the UK\, then became a founding Partner at Dalberg\, where she led the Americas business and helped grow the startup into the largest social impact strategy firm with 25 offices worldwide. Daniella later served five years in the Obama Administration as Senior Advisor for Development to the Secretary of State under Secretaries Clinton and Kerry. Her perspectives have appeared in the Harvard Business Review\, The New York Times\, Fast Company\, POLITICO\, and the World Economic Forum. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a 2014 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Daniella holds an MBA from Harvard\, an MPA from the Kennedy School\, and a BS from Cornell. \nHeidi Przybyla is an award-winning investigative and television correspondent championing new approaches to reporting that put Americans first. A veteran journalist\, she has regularly broken exclusive stories on how White House\, congressional\, and presidential policies affect everyday people. Her reporting has spanned top newspaper\, digital\, radio\, and TV outlets\, with appearances on CNN\, PBS\, NPR\, CBS\, ABC\, FOX\, and across NBC News platforms. She was part of a team honored with a George Polk Award\, Batten Medal\, and Toner Prize for reporting on dark money in the making of the Supreme Court\, which was also a Pulitzer finalist. Previously\, she was an investigative correspondent at NBC and senior political reporter at USA TODAY\, where she led coverage of Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the 2016 presidential field. In late 2024\, Przybyla founded Get Real News\, a platform using new technologies and independent journalists to deliver reliable local and national news.
URL:https://bigtentusa.org/event/pressure-test/
LOCATION:BigTent Zoom Room
CATEGORIES:BigTent Spotlight Speaker Series,BigTent Events,Preserving Democracy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://bigtentusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/169Recap_Przybyla-Leadership-Now.webp
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251015T130000
DTSTAMP:20260406T061016
CREATED:20251007T224814Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251026T201506Z
UID:60817-1760529600-1760533200@bigtentusa.org
SUMMARY:Mobilize Virginia: Students Rising for Democracy
DESCRIPTION:BigTent hosted a TentTalk on Wednesday\, October 15 at 12:00pm ET featuring Sandy Radoff and Claire Ullman\, co-founders of Students for Voting Justice\, and Andrea Miller\, founding board member of Center for Common Ground. The discussion offered an in-depth briefing on the state of the 2025 Virginia elections and highlighted effective Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) strategies. Speakers shared how young leaders across the Commonwealth are mobilizing voters through grassroots tactics\, youth-focused outreach\, and strong partnerships with community and campus networks to drive turnout and civic engagement. \n  \nABOUT THE SPEAKERS \nSandy Radoff is a researcher and statistician who had her own business as a marketing and opinion research consultant for over 20 years. She has a Masters Degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and went back to graduate school to indulge her passion by completing all the coursework towards a Masters Degree in political science. For the past several years\, she has spent considerable time as an activist focusing on the environment and social justice. Being Co-Director of Students for Voting Justice has brought the most meaningful pieces of her life together in one place. Sandra lives in New York City with her husband and has two grown children\, a son and a daughter\, both Millennials. \nClaire Ullman taught political science and public policy at Barnard College and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs until co-founding Students for Voting Justice in 2020. She has a Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University and a BA from Harvard University. Before she went to graduate school\, Claire helped found an emergency shelter for homeless women and children in Seattle as a VISTA volunteer and then stayed on as its development officer and then its Assistant Director. She served on the board of the Grand Street Settlement in New York City from 1995 to 2008. Finally\, and perhaps most relevant to her current job as Co-Director of Students for Justice\, Claire is the parent of three recent college graduates. \nAndrea Miller is the Founding Board Member of the Center for Common Ground\, Executive Director of People Demanding Action\, Founding President of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Virginia\, and a member of the Democracy and Governance working group of the Virginia Green New Deal. Andrea is an IT and Political Director and a digital and elections strategist. She designs and administers digital phone banks and texting programs. From 2013 to 2015\, she led the Progressive Round Table on Capitol Hill\, bringing together members of Congress\, activists\, and non-profit leaders. Her expertise is in voting rights\, climate\, and the Equal Rights Amendment. She has successfully advocated for legislation on both the Federal and State level. In 2008 she was the Democratic nominee for the Virginia 4th Congressional district.
URL:https://bigtentusa.org/event/mobilize-virginia/
LOCATION:BigTent Zoom Room
CATEGORIES:Tent Talks,BigTent Events,Preserving Democracy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://bigtentusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/169Recap_Students-for-Voting-Justice-1.webp
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20251022T200000
DTSTAMP:20260406T061016
CREATED:20251007T154033Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251024T184659Z
UID:60809-1761159600-1761163200@bigtentusa.org
SUMMARY:Justice Over ICE: Fighting for Fair Immigration
DESCRIPTION:On October 22\, BigTentUSA hosted a thought-provoking conversation with Kerry Kennedy\, President of ‪RFK Human Rights and ‪Senator Chris Murphy‬ (D-CT)\, moderated by ‪The Bulwark‬’s Sam Stein. \nRather than focusing solely on policy reform\, the speakers explored how decades of broken promises from both Democrats and Republicans — coupled with the lack of a shared understanding of what it truly means to be American — have fueled the intolerance underlying today’s immigration crisis. They reflected on how this erosion of shared values has weakened trust in institutions and deepened divisions across the country. \nThe discussion also examined the broader democratic moment\, from the real-world impact of the ongoing government shutdown to the growing threats posed by authoritarianism. Kennedy and Murphy emphasized that lasting progress depends not only on government action but on the collective power of citizens and civil society organizations to push for accountability and justice. \nIt was an illuminating and deeply human conversation — a call to restore our sense of common purpose and to harness the power of civic engagement in defense of democracy and human rights. \n  \nABOUT THE SPEAKERS \nKerry Kennedy is president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights\, where she partners with courageous activists around the world to advance justice and human dignity. A human rights lawyer and author of the New York Times bestsellers Being Catholic Now and Speak Truth to Power\, Kennedy has spent more than four decades championing causes from women’s rights and criminal justice reform to freedom of expression and environmental justice. \nThe seventh child of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy\, she has led hundreds of human rights delegations globally and appears frequently as a commentator and contributor in national media. Kennedy serves on the boards of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation\, among others\, and has received numerous international honors for her advocacy. She is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School and the proud mother of three daughters. \nSenator Chris Murphy (D-CT)\, the junior United States Senator from Connecticut\, has dedicated his career to public service as an advocate for Connecticut families. Senator Murphy has been a strong voice in the Senate fighting for job creation\, affordable health care\, education\, sensible gun laws\, and a forward-looking foreign policy. \nSenator Murphy is a consensus builder and many times throughout his political career has worked to bridge the political divide. He led a bipartisan effort to reform the mental health system\, working across the aisle to craft the first comprehensive mental health bill in the Senate in decades. Following the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012\, Senator Murphy became one of the leading proponents of commonsense reforms to reduce gun violence. He has championed a number of bipartisan bills aimed at expanding background checks and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. And most recently\, he was the lead Democratic negotiator of the breakthrough bipartisan border reform agreement. \nSam Stein is managing editor for The Bulwark. Prior to then he was Deputy Managing Editor for Politics at Politico. He held similar posts at both The Daily Beast and HuffPost\, where he founded the site’s D.C. bureau. He has been a longtime contributor on MSNBC. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College\, where he met his wife!
URL:https://bigtentusa.org/event/justice-over-ice/
LOCATION:BigTent Zoom Room
CATEGORIES:BigTent Spotlight Speaker Series,BigTent Events,Preserving Democracy
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://bigtentusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/169Recap_Kennedy-Murphy-1.webp
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