Speakers

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who is widely considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of morality. His early research radically transformed the field, pulling it away from its earlier focus on moral reasoning. Haidt showed that moral intuitions and emotions come first—flashes of gut feelings that people then strive to justify, after the fact. This explains why it is so difficult to win a moral argument with good reasoning. Haidt’s research has helped people to understand those who differ from them morally—not just across nations, but across the political divide within each nation. In his latest work, he is applying his research on moral psychology to the study of business ethics. He is developing tools and techniques that leaders can use to improve the ethical functioning, trust and ultimately profitability of their companies.

Haidt is the author of more than 90 academic articles and two books: The Righteous Mind and The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom.

Join Irshad Manji, Idriss Aberkane, and Yong Zhao for Three Perspectives on the Future of Education on Thursday afternoon at the conference. 

A New York Times bestselling author, professor, and media personality, Irshad Manji teaches at Oxford University's Initiative for Global Ethics and Human Rights. She is also founder of Moral Courage College, which equips people to do the right thing in the face of their fears. Her latest book, Don't Label Me, shows how all of us can reclaim our humanity—and each other's—in a time of trenchant tribalism.

Idriss Aberkane is President of the Bioniria Foundation (Swiss Foundation for Bioinspiration), President of General Bionics SA, President of Chréage SA and Founder of the zero interest microcredit operator Eirin International in Senegal (which planted more than 20,000 trees and accompanies more than 40 families in the Senegal River Valley).

Yong Zhao is Foundations Distinguished Professor in the School of Education with an appointment in the School of Business at the University of Kansas. He is also the Global Chair Professor of Education at East China Normal University, a global chair professor at the University of Bath in the U.K., and a Professorial Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Education Policy at Victoria University, Australia.

Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She can also still rap if needed.

She is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr. Her second novel, On the Come Up, is on sale now.

Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness and human nature. She’s known for her ability to distill and convey complex ideas with humor and clarity, in a way that’s accessible to a wide audience.

She’s the author of many books, including the blockbuster The New York Times bestsellers The Four Tendencies, Better Than Before, and The Happiness Project. She has an enormous readership, both in print and online, and her books have sold almost three million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages. (The Happiness Project spent two years on the bestseller list.)