Chicago Ideas is a nonprofit platform built on one core belief

When audiences of every background have the same access to thought leaders and innovative ideas – people have the power to spark change in the world.

Who are our thought leaders? We thought you'd never ask.

Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair

Luis Ahn

Fawzia Mirza

Ramesh Srinivasan

Margaret Gould Stewart

Tim Ferriss

Shradha Agarwal

Bashir Salahuddin

Radha Agrawal

Edward Norton

Nick Kokonas

Massimo Lepore

Shannon Watts

Colin Powell

Shane Battier

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot

Dick Costolo

LeVar Burton

Charlamagne Tha God

Jose Antonio Vargas

Janet Comenos

Jamie Metzl

Brandon Boyd

Hillary Sale

Francoise Baylis

Emily Bear

Rahm Emanuel

Helene Gayle

Cedric Alexander

Bing Gordon

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson PhD

Liz Phair

Brian Wallach

Yusef Salaam

David Lynch

Cameron Esposito

Alec Baldwin

Bryan Cranston

Questlove

S.E. Cupp

Chicago Ideas is a nonprofit platform built on one core belief:

Chicago Ideas is a nonprofit platform built on one core belief

When audiences of every background have the same access to thought leaders and innovative ideas – people have the power to spark change in the world.

About the Organization

About the People

Who are our thought leaders? We thought you’d never ask.

Neil Stevenson

Dan Abrams

Kevin Pang

Mellody Hobson

Anne Thompson

Celeste Headlee

Kate Sullivan

Campbell Brown

Heidi Stevens

Ben Johnson

Robin Givhan

Jessica Wohl

Val Warner

Andrew Barber

Keisha Howard

Meredith Stricker

Jon Greenberg

Jessica Grose

Kavita Shukla

Rachel Bronson

Deborah Douglas

Jason Henrichs

Lola Wright

Debbie Millman

Charles Duhigg

Kate Grossman

Anil Dash

Bethany McLean

Laura Washington

Bob Morgan

Brandis Friedman

Charles Jenkins

Odette Yousef

Lin Brehmer

Padma Lakshmi

Anne Munition

Sandee Kastrul

Cindy Mori

Ted Fishman

Barbara Starr

Gretchen Carlson

Karen Jordan

Amanda Seales

Ally Love

Phylicia Rashad

Dustin Yellin

Louisa Chu

Geoff Brigham

Kelly Leonard

Stephanie Gosk

Jud Snyder

Michael Slaby

Brian Babylon

Myra Greene

Jessica Malkin

Touré

Steve Edwards

Molly Wood

Francis Slakey

Jessica Clemons

Jamil Smith

Adam Benforado

Laura Desmond

Dave Holmes

Desiree Rogers

Paris Schutz

Maryam Saleh

Valerie Lies

Soledad O'Brien

Eric Becker

David Brancaccio

Gigi Pritzker

Ji Suk Yi

Linda Cohn

Mats Lederhausen

Eve Ewing

Cheryl Corley

Peggy Kusinski

Ali Velshi

Jane Harman

Jenan Mohajir

Michal Lev-Ram

Tom Brokaw

Kelly Grier

Monica Eng

Jay Smooth

Anne-Marie Slaughter

Melissa Clark

Katherine Lanpher

Carol Coletta

Eddie Aruzza

Kelly Rizzo

Tricia Eck

Terri Hemmert

Michael Arndt

Shannon Heffernan

Ana Belaval

Bobby Ghosh

Nick Turner

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