2021 Crosscut Festival Speakers | Cascade PBS News

2021 Highlighted Speakers

Older white woman with long, white hair pulled back into a low ponytail wears a red turtleneck, an arrow pendant necklace and is casually reclined sideways against the back of a green couch.

Dr. Jane Goodall

Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute; U. N. Messenger of Peac

Older white woman with short, brown hear in a bob style cut wearing silver earrings, a white shirt and dark pink blazer against the backdrop of the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Washington memorial is visible.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

White man with mostly white short hair wearing a white button-down, dark tie and suit jacket against a grey background

Robert M. Gates

Former Secretary of Defense

White woman with light brown hair in a short haircut wearing an orange shirt under a dark blazer smiles at the camera. In the background is a blurry building with columns.

Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Senator, Minnesota

Woman with light brown skin and dark, shoulder-length straight hair wearing a royal blue top and beaded necklace with an American flag and grey background

Rep. Pramila Jayapal

U.S. Representative

Black woman with hair pulled back wears a blue button-down shirt, gold necklace and black blazer. Her arms are crossed and she is smiling at the camera. There is a blurred hallway in the background.

Carmen Best

Retired Seattle Police Chief

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Judy Woodruff

Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour

White man with short, grey hair wearing glasses and a blue button-down shirt smiles at the camera. He is standing underneath the stone arches of a long hallway of an historic building

Rick Steves

American travel writer

2021 Speakers

White woman with light brown hair in a short haircut wearing an orange shirt under a dark blazer smiles at the camera. In the background is a blurry building with columns.

Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Senator, Minnesota

White man with short, grey hair wearing glasses and a blue button-down shirt smiles at the camera. He is standing underneath the stone arches of a long hallway of an historic building

Rick Steves

American travel writer

White man with brown hair in a crew cut wearing a white button-down shirt, striped, light blue tie and dark blue suit jacket with a round, gold pink on the left lapel smiles at the camera. There is a domed building in the background.

Jon Tester

U.S. Senator, Montana

Older white man with combed back dark grey hair wearing a white striped button down, dark necktie and dark suit jacket smiles at the camera against a light grey backdrop

Stuart Elway

President, Elway Research, Inc.

White man with brown hair wearing a deep blue button-down shirt smiles at the camera. In the background there is blurred green foliage

Chris Murphy

US Senator

A white man with short, dark hair wearing a blue suit and light brown shoes is mid-jump with an excited expression on his face. Another man in a darker suit and dark brown shoes stand next to him, looking up at him quizzically. There is a dark grey wall behind them..

Brian & Mark Canlis

Owners, Canlis

A white woman with dark, curly hair pulled back into a bun on the top of her head holds a sandwich above her head. She is wearing a black and white striped t-shirt and red bandana as a headband. She is smiling and looking up at the sandwich. In the background is a restaurant's glass window advertising burgers and milkshakes.

Rachel Belle

Host of "Your Last Meal," a James Beard Award finalist for Best Podcast

Black man with short hair, beard and mustache wearing a grey shirt under a denim shirt smiles at the camera against a background of blurred, yellow-green foliage.

Alain Stephens

Investigative Reporter, The Trace

Black and white photo of a white man with thick, short, dark hair combed to the side, mustache and beard wears a white button-down shirt, dark tie and dark suit jacket. In the background is a brick wall painted with a design.

Adam Jentleson

Executive Director, Battle Born Collective & former DCS to Sen. Harry Reid

Enrique Cerna

Journalist

White woman with straight, short dark hair wearing a blue top and dark suit jacket stands in front of a corrugated metal wall

Mary Harris

Host, What Next, Slate

White man with dark short hair and goatee wearing a blue collared shirt and brown jacket against a dark background

Ross Douthat

Columnist for the New York Times op-ed page

Black man with short dark hair and facial hair is wearing a black leather jacket over a black top and smiles at the camera against a dark grey background

Teddy Phillips (AKA Stat The Artist)

Tech Founder, Artist, Activist

Light-skinned Black woman with short, curly, dark hear with reddish highlights wearing orange and white earrings, glasses and dark turtleneck smiles subtly at the camera

Errin Haines

Editor at Large for The 19th

White man with dark short hair wearing glasses, a blue collared shirt, dark tie and dark jacket against a dark brown background

Henry Olsen

Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center; Columnist, The Washington Post

White man with short, dark hair wearing glasses, a light blue button-down, dark blue necktie and dark blazer is gesticulating with his hands in front of his body as he is speaking

Reverend Rob Schenck

Dissenting Evangelical Leader

Black woman with dark, shoulder-length straight hair wearing a gold nose ring, a white t-shirt with the word "We" visible, and pink blazer against a light grey background

Alicia Garza

Principal at Black Futures Lab, Co-founder of The Black Lives Matter Global Network

Black, bald man wearing glasses, a blue button-down and dark suit jacket smiles at the camera against a white background

Dr. Jason Johnson

MSNBC Contributor, Professor and Host of A Word...With Jason Johnson, Slate

Black and white photo of a white man with short dark hair, mustache and beard wearing round-frame glasses and a white button-down shirt smiling at the camera

Andrew Marantz

Staff writer at The New Yorker

White man with greyish-white mustache and beard wearing glasses and a multi-colored checked button-down shirt against a blurry background of a building

Steven Miller

Visual Artist

White woman with long, wavy red hair and bangs, wearing red lipstick, white earrings and a blue sleeveless shirt smiles at the camera

Amanda Zamora

Co-founder and Publisher of The 19th

White man with mostly white short hair wearing a white button-down, dark tie and suit jacket against a grey background

Robert M. Gates

Former Secretary of Defense

White woman with long, straight, auburn hair wearing a white shirt and dark blazer smiles at the camera against a light grey background

Monica Nickelsburg

Freelance journalist and contributing editor at GeekWire

Black woman with hair pulled back wears a blue button-down shirt, gold necklace and black blazer. Her arms are crossed and she is smiling at the camera. There is a blurred hallway in the background.

Carmen Best

Retired Seattle Police Chief

White man with short dark hair wearing glasses and a peach-colored button-down top has his arms crossed and resting on a table. He is smiling at the camera and there are bookshelves filled with books in the background

Paul Constant

Founder, Seattle Review of Books [and/or] Fellow, Civic Ventures

White man with dark short hair wearing glasses, a wristwatch, a black t-shirt and jeans sits on a round red cushion with a blue wall and a large pair of googly eyes in the background

Richard Florida

Urbanist, Professor University of Toronto, Author Rise of the Creative Class

Asian woman with long, straight, dark hair wearing an orange off-the-shoulder top that reveals a tattoo on her right shoulder gazes off to the side. She is standing against a wall tiled with yellow posters of the same design

Monyee Chau

Artist, illustrator, storyteller

White woman with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing gold earrings, a black v-neck shirt smiles at the camera against and dark blue backdrop

Emily Ramshaw

Co-founder and CEO of The 19th

Black man with goatee wearing a black button-down shirt and royal blue blazer looks off to the side against a dark grey background

Michael Harriot

Sr. Writer at The Root

Black man with a short, grey affro wearing glasses, a light blue button-down and dark blue blazer stands with his arms crossed against an outdoor backdrop with shrubs and an American flag on a pole

Elie Mystal

Justice Correspondent at The Nation

White woman with shoulder-length, straight auburn hair wearing a burnt-orange sleeveless turtleneck and gold bracelets has her arms crossed and smiles at the camera against a light grey background.

Katharine Wilkinson

Co-host of A Matter of Degrees

White woman with straight, shoulder-length brown hair wearing a dark blazer over a white shirt with beaded necklace and orange lanyard stands smiling at the camera. There is an outdoor, formal government celebration in another country taking place in the background

Mary Kay Magistad

Creator, "On China's New Silk Road" podcast

White woman with long wavy hear wearing a black v-neck 3/4 shirt stands with her arms crossed. She is outside and there is a tree and building in the background

Heather Cox Richardson

Professor of History at Boston College and the author of "How the South Won the Civil War"

Asian woman with dark, shoulder-length hair wearing a black button-down top smiles at the camera against a white background

Cecilia Kang

National Technology Correspondent, New York Times

Brown-skinned man with short, dark hair wearing a grey button-down shirt stand with his hands behind his back against a pink background

Julian Brave NoiseCat

Vice President of Policy & Strategy, Data for Progress

White man with dark, short hair wearing glasses and a white collared button-down shirt looks at the camera with a serious expression against a light grey background

Abrahm Lustgarten

Senior Reporter on Climate, ProPublica

Asian woman with dark hair pulled back wearing a deep purple short-sleeve top stand sideways with her arms crossed. She is in a dark room with several people standing in the background

Vivian Hua 華婷婷

Writer, Director, Executive Director of Northwest Film Forum

A brown-skinned woman with long dark hair wearing an orange pantsuit sits on a white seat with her arms and legs crossed and smiles at the camera.

Soledad O'Brien

CEO of Soledad O'Brien Productions

Older white woman with short, brown hear in a bob style cut wearing silver earrings, a white shirt and dark pink blazer against the backdrop of the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Washington memorial is visible.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Black man with long, thin dreadlocks pulled back into a low ponytail, wearing a checked button-down shirt and grey blazer shits at a table covered with a cream tablecloth against a grey background

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

Professor at Boston University, Author & News Correspondent

Older white man with short, white hair and glasses wearing a light blue button-down stands with his arms crossed and smiles at the camera against a light grey backdrop

Peter Singer

Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, Author

White woman with dark hair in a bob style wearing a striped blue and black shirt under a black blazer standing in front of a wall with broad brush-type strokes of blue, black and brownish purple

Jillian C. York

Author, Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism

Black man with slight growth of facial hair wearing dark glasses and a blue and white checkered button-down shirt against a black background

Tim Lennon

Executive Director, LANGSTON

White woman with long, dark hair wearing glasses, a blue button-down shirt, a light brown cardigan and necklace with large blue and brown cylindrical beads smiles at the camera. There are trees in the background.

Leah Stokes

Assistant Professor, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB

Black man with short dreadlocks and a goatee wears blue sunglasses and a pink button-down shirt. He is standing with his left hand on the back of his head. In the background there is a wall with colorful graffiti.

Reverend Lenny Duncan

Reverend, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Black woman wearing glasses with long, dark braids with a few blonde braids in front smiles at the camera. She is wearing a dark blazer and her background is the inside of a living room

Dr. Keisha N. Blain

Associate professor of history, University of Pittsburgh

White woman with long, wavy dirty-blonde hair wearing a burnt-orange turtleneck smiles at the camera against a dark foliage background

Michelle Nijhuis

Project editor at the Atlantic; Author

Brown-skinned woman with dark, straight hair past her shoulders wearing a gold necklace, white button-down shirt and gold bracelets has her arms crossed and looks at the camera, standing against a white background

Sonia Shah

Science journalist and author

White woman with short, wavy dark hair wearing glasses, a silver pendant necklace and white top smiles at the camera against a tan background

Erin Johnson

Interim Managing and Artistic Director, Velocity Dance Center

Black woman with thin, curled, dreadlocks pulled halfway up stands sideways in a field, looking over her shoulder at the camera. She is wearing a blue shirt and dark blazer.

Heather McGhee

Chair of the board of Color of Change

Black woman with dark, shoulder-length curly hair and glasses wearing a purple top and black leather jacket stands with her hands on her hips against a brick wall with an industrial style garage door

Crystal Paul

Seattle Times journalist

White woman with brown curly hair pulled into an updo wearing a beaded necklace and dark shirt smiles at the camera. She is sitting in a restaurant.

Dahlia Lithwick

Senior Legal Editor, Slate Magazine

White woman with shoulder-length dark hair with highlights wearing a black top against a blurry background

Kirsten Powers

CNN Political Analyst + USA Today Columnist

Older white woman with long, white hair pulled back into a low ponytail wears a red turtleneck, an arrow pendant necklace and is casually reclined sideways against the back of a green couch.

Dr. Jane Goodall

Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute; U. N. Messenger of Peac

White woman with shoulder length wavy hear wearing glasses, a red shirt with a geometric design and navy blue cardigan against light grey background

Kristin Kobes Du Mez

Author of Jesus and John Wayne

White woman with salt and pepper shoulder-length, curly hair wearing glasses and a black turtleneck with a blurred background

Robin DiAngelo, PhD

Woman with light brown skin and dark, shoulder-length straight hair wearing a royal blue top and beaded necklace with an American flag and grey background

Rep. Pramila Jayapal

U.S. Representative

White man with salt and pepper hair, short beard and mustache wearing a light blue button down shirt and dark suit jacket against a light grey background

Robert Reich

Author of The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It

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Judy Woodruff

Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour