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.

Touré

Campbell Brown

Jenan Mohajir

Laura Washington

Linda Cohn

Jud Snyder

Kelly Rizzo

Ana Belaval

Soledad O'Brien

Kate Sullivan

Mark Caro

Monica Eng

Kelly Grier

Odette Yousef

Carol Coletta

Terri Hemmert

Ted Fishman

Stephanie Gosk

Gigi Pritzker

Meredith Stricker

Dave Holmes

Anil Dash

Padma Lakshmi

Bethany McLean

Mellody Hobson

Jessica Malkin

Steve Edwards

Sandee Kastrul

Phylicia Rashad

Shannon Heffernan

Geoff Brigham

Ally Love

Celeste Headlee

Jessica Yellin

Lola Wright

Dorri McWhorter

Keisha Howard

Karen Jordan

Valerie Lies

Peggy Kusinski

Richard Stengel

Felicia Lawrence

Louisa Chu

Linda Lutton

Katherine Lanpher

Ji Suk Yi

Kevin Pang

Lin Brehmer

Cindy Mori

Kavita Shukla

Janet Bodnar

Dan Abrams

Charles Jenkins

Jessica Grose

Barbara Starr

Eddie Aruzza

Neil Stevenson

Brandis Friedman

Dustin Yellin

Tom Brokaw

Melissa Clark

Gretchen Carlson

Debbie Millman

Rachel Bronson

Nick Turner

Michael Arndt

Adam Benforado

Kelly Leonard

Chuck Salter

Heidi Stevens

Amanda Seales

Francis Slakey

Mick Dumke

Maryam Saleh

Anne Thompson

Deborah Douglas

Michael Slaby

Jason Henrichs

Eric Becker

Jane Harman

Jessica Clemons

Bobby Ghosh

Jay Smooth

David Brancaccio

Bob Morgan

Myra Greene

Tricia Eck

Val Warner

Ali Velshi

Eve Ewing

Carolina Sarassa

Ben Johnson

David Gregory

Jon Greenberg

Cheryl Corley

Charles Duhigg

Andrew Barber

Sonny Garg

Michal Lev-Ram

Laura Desmond

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