Keynote Speakers

2023 Summit Dates Announced!

September 27-29, 2023 | Pittsburgh, PA

2023 Summit Dates Announced!

September 27-29, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA

Please note: speaker participation remains subject to official confirmation. Information on speakers remains subject to change.

Christine Abizaid

Director, National Counterterrorism Center

Christine “Christy” Abizaid was sworn in as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center on June 29, 2021. She is the eighth Senate-confirmed Director and the first woman to lead the United States’ counterterrorism enterprise.

Paul Ash

Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Cyber and Digital, Christchurch Call and Cyber Coordinator, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

Paul is the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Cyber and Digital, and the Christchurch Call and Cyber Coordinator, based in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Paul works closely with the technology sector and cyber and digital agencies in New Zealand and globally. Paul took up his role in March 2020.

Jeff Blattner

Board Chair, HIAS, Special Assistant Attorney General, Colorado Department of Justice, Adjunct Professor, University of Colorado Law School, Senior Fellow, Silicon Flatirons Institute Center for Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship

Jeff Blattner is Board Chair of HIAS, a Jewish humanitarian organization that works in the United States and 16 other countries, providing vital services to refugees and asylum seekers of all faiths.

Steven Dettelbach

Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

Steven M. Dettelbach was appointed by the President and sworn in as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on July 13, 2022.

Joshua Geltzer

Deputy Assistant to the President, Deputy Homeland Security Advisor

Dr. Joshua A. Geltzer serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. He served previously as Special Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Homeland Security Advisor on Countering Domestic Violent Extremism, and in that role he oversaw the development of the U.S. Government’s first-ever National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism.

Michael E. Hill

President of Chautauqua Institution

Michael E. Hill serves as the 18th President of Chautauqua Institution, a national not-for-profit that owns and animates a 750-acre campus on Chautauqua Lake in southwestern New York State and has offices in Washington, DC.

Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt

Special Envoy To Monitor And Combat Antisemitism, Office Of The Special Envoy To Monitor And Combat Antisemitism

Deborah E. Lipstadt was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 30, 2022 as the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, with the rank of Ambassador. As Special Envoy, she leads efforts to advance U.S. foreign policy to counter antisemitism throughout the world.

Alice Nderitu

Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, United Nations

Alice Wairimu Nderitu of Kenya is the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. Nderitu is a recognized voice in the field of peacebuilding and violence prevention, having led as mediator and senior adviser in reconciliation processes among communities in Kenya, as well as in other African settings.

Julie Platt

Chair, Board of Trustees of Jewish Federations of North America

Julie Platt is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) representing 146 Jewish Federation communities across North America.

R. Henry Reese

Co-Founder, City of Asylum Pittsburgh

Henry Reese is a co-founder of City of Asylum, which provides sanctuary in Pittsburgh to writers exiled under threat of persecution.

Diane Samuels

Co-Founder, City of Asylum Pittsburgh

Diane Samuels is a co-founder of City of Asylum. As a volunteer, she has led its public art, facilities development, and residency programs.

Yuval Shany

Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in International Law, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Prof. Yuval Shany is the Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in International Law and former Dean of the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee from 2013 to 2020, and during 2018-2019 he also served as Chair of the Committee.

John Tien

Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security

John Tien was sworn in as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by Secretary Mayorkas on June 24, 2021. Tien is the first Asian American to be confirmed as the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.