About
The Cato Institute and the Sphere Education Initiatives are excited to announce the return of Sphere Summit for the Summer of 2021! Sphere Summit, a full‐scholarship professional development program for grades 5–12 educators, will be offered both June 27–July 1 and July 25–July 29. The Summits will offer a hybrid experience, which will allow for both in‐person and online attendance.
Program Schedule
Sunday, July 25
REGISTRATION
WELCOME RECEPTION
WELCOME AND OPEN REMARKS
Peter Goettler
President and CEO, Cato Institute
DINNER PROGRAM:
A conversation with Jane Coaston
Jane Coaston
Host of “The Argument,” New York Times
DINNER
Monday, July 26
BREAKFAST AND NETWORKING
OPTIONAL DC EXCURSIONS WITH CATO STAFF
WELCOME AND NETWORKING BREAKOUTS (ONLINE ATTENDEES)
CIVIC CULTURE AND FOUNDATION
Divided Politics, Divided Nation
Darrell M. West
Vice President and Director of Governance Studies, Brookings Institution
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
Is Free Speech Being Chilled in the Classroom–and Beyond?
Jonathan Rauch
Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution
Nadine Strossen
Former President, American Civil Liberties Union; and John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita, New York Law School
BREAK
APPLICATION WORKSHOP
Resolved: Debate Can Revolutionize Education and Help Save Our Democracy
Robert Litan
Non‐Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; and Partner, Korein, Tillery
David Trigaux
Program Director, Washington Urban Debate League
Moderated by Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution
| UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER A Federal Right to Education? Caroline Fredrickson Distinguished Visitor from Practice, Georgetown Law; and Senior Fellow, Brennan Center for Justice Ilya Shapiro Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute Ilan Wurman Associate Professor, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University |
BREAK
RECEPTION
DINNER PROGRAM:
The Future of Democracy
Yascha Mounk
Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University; and Founder, Persuasion
DINNER
Tuesday, July 27
BREAKFAST AND NETWORKING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS
Ryan Bourne R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics, Cato Institute |
BREAK
Tom G. Palmer Executive Vice President for International Programs, Atlas Network |
| HUMANPROGRESS.ORG AND SPHERE RESOURCES FOR YOUR CLASSROOM Sean Kinnard Psychology and AP World History Teacher, Yorktown High School Marian L. Tupy Editor, HumanProgress.org; and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, Cato Institute |
BREAK
POLICY DISCUSSIONS
Has Immigration Weakened or Strengthened the United States?
Daniel Garza
President, The LIBRE Initiative
Silva Mathema
Associate Director for Policy, Center for American Progress
Alex Nowrasteh
Director of Immigration Studies and the Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute
| PUTTING “JUSTICE” BACK IN OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM Clark Neily Senior Vice President for Legal Studies, Cato Institute Rashawn Ray David M. Rubenstein, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution Amy Swearer Legal Fellow, Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation Somil Trivedi Senior Staff Attorney, Criminal Law Reform Project, American Civil Liberties Union |
BREAK
RECEPTION
| A CONVERSATION WITH IRSHAD MANJI Irshad Manji Director of Moral Courage, Let Grow |
DINNER
Wednesday, July 28
BREAKFAST AND NETWORKING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS
| LUNCH AND APPLICATION WORKSHOP Video remarks by Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership, Stern School of Business, New York University; and Cofounder, Heterodox Academy Application Workshop by Samantha Hedges, K‑12 Program Manager, Heterodox Academy |
| APPLICATION WORKSHOP Harpeth Hall: Starting the Center for Civic Engagement Joseph Croker Upper School English and Media Arts Teacher, Harpeth Hall Bonnie Moses Upper School Social Science Teacher, Harpeth Hall |
| POLICY DISCUSSIONS Educating for American Democracy Paul Carrese Founding Director, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, Arizona State University Jane Kamensky Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History, Harvard University and Pforzheimer Foundation Director, Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Harvard Radcliffe Institute |
| POVERTY AND INEQUALITY: SOURCES AND SOLUTIONS Michael A. Lewis Professor, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, CUNY Partrice Onwuka Director, Center for Economic Opportunity, Independent Women’s Forum Michael D. Tanner Senior Fellow, Cato Institute |
BREAK
THE HEALTHCARE DIVIDE
Michael Cannon
Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute
Jonathan Cohn
Senior National Correspondent, HuffPost
| SOCIAL MEDIA, FREE SPEECH, AND TECH POLICY Matthew Feeney Director, Project on Emerging Technologies, Cato Institute John Samples Vice President, Cato Institute Carrie Sheffield Senior Fellow, Independent Women’s Forum |
BREAK (in‐person attendees)
SPHERE ON THE ROAD AND CLOSING REMARKS (online attendees)
| DINNER PROGRAM: A Conversation with Members of Congress U.S. Representative Lou Correa (D‑CA) U.S. Representative Young Kim (R‑CA) |
DINNER
Thursday, July 29
BRUNCH
SPHERE IN THE CLASSROOM AND ON THE ROAD
CLOSING REMARKS
Peter Goettler
President and CEO, Cato Institute