Wasatch Speaker Series
Speaker lineup for the 2024-2025 Season of the Wasatch Speaker Series, Presented by Intermountain Health, located in Salt Lake City, UT.
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wasatchspeakers
Anderson Cooper

Multiple Award-Winning Journalist and News Anchor of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°

Anderson Cooper is the anchor of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°, a global newscast that goes beyond the headlines with in-depth reporting and investigations. The show airs weeknights at 8:00pm ET on CNN and is simulcast to an international audience on CNN International.

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Since April 2023, he also hosts The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, airing Sundays on CNN, which showcases character-driven stories and investigative deep dives from CNN anchors and correspondents..(See Full Bio).

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Dereck & Beverly Joubert

African Wildlife Conservationists, Award-winning Filmmakers and National Geographic Explorers-at-Large

Dereck and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers, National Geographic Explorers-at-Large and wildlife conservationists, who have been filming, researching and exploring Africa for over 40 years. Their mission is the conservation and understanding of large predators and other key wildlife species that determine the course of all conservation in Africa. The Jouberts are founders of Rhinos Without Borders, an initiative that has moved 87 rhinos from high poaching areas to safety. They also co-founded the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic, which currently funds 150 projects in 28 countries. This program has now transitioned to the Great Plains Big Cats Initiative, under the Jouberts’ leadership and Great Plains Foundation management.

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The Jouberts have made over 40 films for National Geographic, published 14 books, half a dozen scientific papers...(See Full Bio)

Anthony Ray Hinton

Activist, Writer, and Author wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death, held on Alabama’s death row for 28 years before his 2015 exoneration and release.

Anthony Ray Hinton survived for 28 years on Alabama's death row. His story is a decades-long journey to exoneration and freedom. In 1985, Mr. Hinton was convicted of the unsolved murders of two fast-food restaurant managers based on the testimony of ballistics experts for the State who claimed that the crime bullets came from a dusty revolver found in Mr. Hinton's mother’s closet.

Without the benefit of a competent expert to challenge the State’s theory (Mr. Hinton’s lawyer hired a ballistics expert who was blind in one eye), an all-white jury convicted Mr. Hinton and he was sentenced to death. After years of petitioning to have the revolver re-analyzed, three independent experts concluded that the bullets could not have been fired from his mother’s revolver. With the assistance of the Equal Justice Initiative...(See Full Bio)

Hillary Rodham Clinton

67th Secretary of State of the United States (2009-2013), United States Senator for New York (2001-2009), First Lady of the United States (1993-2001); 2016 Democratic Presidential Nominee

Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent five decades in public service as an advocate, attorney, First Lady, U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of State, and presidential candidate.

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Hillary Clinton was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 1947. After graduating from Wellesley College and Yale Law School, she began her life-long work on behalf of children and families by joining the Children’s Defense Fund.

In 1974, she moved to Arkansas, where she married Bill Clinton and became a successful attorney while also raising their daughter, Chelsea.

As First Lady of the United States, from 1993 to 2001, Hillary Clinton championed health care for all Americans...(See Full Bio)

Anita Hill

Lawyer, Educator, and Author, Professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's Studies at Brandeis University

The youngest of 13 children from a farm in rural Oklahoma, Anita Hill received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1980. She began her career in private practice in Washington, D.C. Before becoming a law professor, she worked at the U. S. Education Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 1989, Hill became the first African American to be tenured at the University of Oklahoma, College of Law, where she taught contracts and commercial law. She has made presentations to hundreds of business, professional, academic and civic organizations in the United States and abroad...(See Full Bio).

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Dr. Kate Darling

Leading Expert in Social Robotics & MIT Media Lab Research Scientist

A leading expert in robot ethics, Dr. Kate Darling is a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and also heads the Boston Dynamics AI Institute’s study of ethics and societal impact, where she oversees a team of researchers who explore key societal questions related to the development of intelligent robots.

Dr. Darling explores the emotional connection between people and life-like machines, seeking to influence technology design and policy direction. Dr. Darling’s writing and research anticipate difficult questions that lawmakers, engineers, and the wider public will need to address as human-robot relationships evolve in the coming decades...(See Full Bio).

Platon

World-Renowned, Award-Winning Photographer and Founder, The People's Portfolio

After working for British Vogue for several years, Platon was invited to New York City to work for the late John Kennedy Jr. and his political magazine, George.

Shooting portraits for a range of international publications including Rolling Stone, The New York Times magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ and The Sunday Times magazine, Platon developed a special relationship with TIME magazine, producing over 20 covers for them. In 2007, he photographed Russian Premier Vladimir Putin for TIME magazine's “Person of the Year” cover. This image was awarded 1st prize at the World Press Photo Contest...(See Full Bio).