Previous Events

October 30, 2025

From the Classroom to the Campaign Trail

Northeastern University’s Civic Experience series features people who are shaping media, politics, and policy today. The series connects students with public leaders to explore how young people can influence policy, drive innovation in governance, and create meaningful impact early in their careers.  

The program will feature a spotlight conversation with Amanda Litman, co-founder and president of Run for Something, and an in-depth discussion with Litman, state House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, ’01, and state representatives Tram Nguyen, L’13, Manny Cruz, ’16, and Sam Montaño. Former Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo, ’72, University Fellow for Public Life at Northeastern, will offer introductory remarks. 

The first 75 Northeastern students to arrive at the event will get a free copy of Litman’s book, Run for Something.

The event will be livestreamed on YouTube.

Guests

  • Amanda Litman

    Co-Founder and President, Run for Something

  • Aaron Michlewitz '01

    State Representative, 3rd Suffolk District

Moderator

  • Dan Urman

    Director of Online and Hybrid Programs in the School of Law; Director of the Law and Public Policy Minor, Northeastern University

September 21, 2022

Moving Past Politics to Deliver Results

How do you move beyond politics to get big things done? Hear from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Steve Kadish, Baker’s former chief of staff, about the nonpartisan framework they created to tackle some of the state’s most complex policy problems. Robert DeLeo, former Massachusetts House speaker and current University Fellow for Public Life at Northeastern, will offer introductory remarks.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook.

The first 50 Northeastern students to arrive at the event will get a free copy of Baker and Kadish’s book, Results: Getting Beyond Politics to Get Important Work Done. They will also sign books at the end of the program.

Guests

  • Charlie Baker

    Governor of Massachusetts

  • Steve Kadish

    Baker’s former Chief of Staff and former Northeastern Chief Operating Officer

Moderator

  • Alicia Sasser Modestino

    Associate Professor, Public Policy and Urban Affairs and Economics, Northeastern

September 20, 2021

America’s Role in the World

Hear from one of President Barack Obama’s leading foreign policy advisors about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the global rise of authoritarianism, and what the future holds for America’s role in the world.

The event will be livestreamed on Facebook.

Ben Rhodes will sign copies of his book, After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made, available for sale, at the conclusion of the event.

Guest

  • Ben Rhodes

    Former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama; Co-host, Pod Save the World podcast

Moderator

  • Mai’a K. Davis Cross

    Edward W. Brooke Professor of Political Science and International Affairs; Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, Diversity and Inclusion, College of Social Sciences and Humanities

October 21, 2020

Forecasting Election Day

Which political party is going to have a good night on November 3, and which one isn’t? With more than 80 million absentee ballots to be counted, how long will the U.S. wait to learn who’s headed to the White House and Congress? A panel of political journalists and election data analysts will look at current polling data and share insights into how the election may turn out.

Guests

  • Steve Kornacki

    National political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC; Author of The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism

  • Sabrina Siddiqui

    National politics reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Washington, where she covers the 2020 presidential race

  • Sean Trende

    Senior elections analyst for RealClearPolitics; Author of The Lost Majority: Why the Future of Government Is Up for Grabs - and Who Will Take It; Co-author of The Almanac of American Politics 2014.

Moderator

  • Joanna Weiss

    Editor-in-chief of Experience, an award-winning national magazine published by Northeastern University; Contributing editor to Politico Magazine and regular contributor to GBH News.

September 17, 2020

Fake News and Social Media Disinformation

Social media has become an indispensable tool for political campaigns. But it’s also used to spread false information.

Find out what is real and what is not.

This virtual event will be live-streamed on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Guests

  • Tara McGowan

    Political strategist and co-founder of the digital media group Acronym

  • McKay Coppins

    Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the book The Wilderness, about the future of the Republican Party

  • Peter Hamby

    Host of the Snapchat series "Good Luck America" and former CNN political reporter

Moderator

  • Davey Alba

    New York Times tech reporter covering online disinformation

May 7, 2020

The Politics of Pandemics

Hear from former White House insiders from both political parties on how they advised presidents, how they helped manage national health crises, and how they would apply the lessons learned from past pandemics to the current crisis.

This virtual event will be live-streamed on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Guests

  • Mark Dybul

    Co-director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Practice and Impact and former U.S. Global Aids Coordinator under President George W. Bush

  • Kathleen Sebelius

    Former Governor of Kansas and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services for President Barack Obama

Moderator

  • John Auerbach

    Affiliate Professor of the Practice, Bouvé College of Health Sciences

February 25, 2020

The Future of the GOP

As the nation’s demographics continue to shift, hear from Republican leaders about how the party can build a broad, sustainable coalition for the future.

Guests

  • George P. Bush

    Texas Land Commissioner

  • Evan McMullin

    Executive director, Stand Up Republic

  • Mark Sanford

    Former governor, South Carolina

Moderator

  • Betsy Woodruff

    Political reporter, Daily Beast

January 7, 2020

A Conversation with Samantha Power

From war correspondent to Pulitzer Prize-winning author to senior presidential advisor. Hear from one of America’s top diplomats and a true global citizen about her experiences turning idealism into action on the world stage.

Power will sign copies of her memoir, The Education of an Idealist, available for sale, at the conclusion of the event.

Guest

  • Samantha Power

    Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

Moderator

  • Alison King

    Political reporter, NBC10 Boston

November 4, 2019

The Enduring Value of Military Service

Military service provides valuable training for future endeavors in civic life, teaching skills such as discipline, strategy, and compassion. Two veterans and public officials join us to talk about how their military service shaped their careers and led to personal and professional success.

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Guests

  • Former U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.)

    U.S. Army veteran and former member of Congress representing New York's 19th and 20th districts

  • U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.)

    U.S. Marine Corps veteran and member of Congress representing Massachusetts’ 6th district

Moderator

  • Stephanie Murray

    Author, POLITICO’s Massachusetts Playbook

October 28, 2019

Investigative Journalism

In today’s fast-paced and polarized news climate, investigative journalists continue to dig deep to expose the untold stories that drive the national dialogue. Join us to hear from top investigative reporters on how they break front-page news.

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Guests

  • Renee Dudley

    Technology reporter, ProPublica

  • David Fahrenthold

    Reporter, The Washington Post

  • Joe Palazzolo

    Legal affairs reporter, The Wall Street Journal

  • Patricia Wen

    Editor, The Boston Globe's Spotlight Team

Moderator

  • Walter V. Robinson

    Editor-at-large, The Boston Globe

April 3, 2019

Millennials in Politics

As activists and candidates, millennials are increasingly driving the national political agenda…How are they changing politics?

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Guest

  • Pete Buttigieg

    Mayor of South Bend, Indiana

In Conversation With

  • Kimberly Atkins

    Senior News Correspondent, WBUR

March 27, 2019

The Power of Data

Data can help us predict and understand seismic shifts unfolding in politics, from voting behavior to electoral strategy.

Guest

  • Nate Silver

    Founder and editor-in-chief of the website FiveThirtyEight, which uses statistical analysis to tell stories about politics, economics, science, and sports

In Conversation With

  • Costas Panagopoulos

    Northeastern University, Director of Big Data and Quantitative Initiatives; Professor of Political Science

March 18, 2019

Covering the Nation’s Capital

Top political reporters reveal what it’s like to cover news in today’s D.C., where a highly polarized climate and the rapid pace of social media are the new normal.

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Guests

  • Hallie Jackson

    Chief White House correspondent, NBC News

  • Ed O’Keefe

    Political correspondent, CBS News

  • Gabby Orr

    White House reporter, Politico

  • Arit John

    Congressional reporter, Bloomberg News

Moderator

  • David Shribman

    Pulitzer Prize-winning political journalist who has worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe