This interactive keynote lecture presents current data on the demographics of public discourse, and addresses core questions of thought leadership: what do we know, why does it matter, and how can we maximize our impact? We will also do a large-group experiment in credibility. Participants will walk away with bold ideas, a deeper sense of what they, as well as their colleagues, know and stand for, and actionable steps.

What is The OpEd Project?

The OpEd Project is a think tank and leadership organization founded to ensure the full range of human voices is included in history. OpEd accelerates the ideas and public impact of underrepresented voices, including women. One near term goal is to increase the volume of women thought leaders in key commentary forums—which are a key source of history—to a tipping point. Partnering with universities, think tanks, non-profits, and corporations, OpEd targets and trains underrepresented experts (including women) to take thought leadership positions in their fields connecting them with a network of high-level journalist mentors; and channeling the best new experts and ideas to media across all platforms. Op-ed is used (which is defined broadly, to mean an idea of public value in any media platform) as a strategic metric of concrete results.

Presented by the Institute for the Humanities, College of LSA, and the U-M ADVANCE Program.