THE MPSF SPEAKER SERIES:
A HISTORY OF THOUGHT-LEADERSHIP
Since 1990, we have provided the Bay Area with the best in speaker events. From President Barack Obama to Dr. Sanjay Gupta to Ken Burns to Bill Nye (The Science Guy!), you can see the rich history of who has lectured on our stages over the years in our timeline below. Our mission is to continue to enrich the local community with exciting events that stimulate the mind and prompt insightful conversations and connections. We'd love for you to become part of the long history of wonderful audiences we get to share these experiences with!
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2021-2022
President Barack Obama
Nicola Perlroth
Dambisa Moyo
Thomas Friedman
Joel Sartore
Janet Napolitano
Niall Ferguson
Peninsula, Oakland, and Marin Speaker Series 2023-2024
Dr. Anthony Fauci
John Brennan
Marlee Matlin & Henry Winkler
Dr. Michio Kaku
Mara Liasson
Kobie Boykins
Liz Cheney
Peninsula, Oakland, and Marin Speaker Series 2022-2023
Dr. David Eagleman
Fareed Zakaria
Adm. James Stavridis USN (Ret.)
Al Franken
Dr. Kathryn Sullivan
Lynsey Addario
Judy Woodruff
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2020-2021
Jane Goodall
Wynton Marsalis
W. Kamau Bell
Kara Swisher
Rick Steves
Theresa May
Michael Pollan
Michael Collopy
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2019-2020
Walter Isaacson
Dr. Robert Sapolsky
Donna Brazile & Michael Steele
Fmr. Gov. John Kasich
Bill Nye
Nina Totenberg
Ian Bremmer
Samin Nosrat & Yotam Ottolenghi
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2017-2018
Gen. Martin Dempsey
Robin Wright
Bob Beckel & Cal Thomas
Ian Bremmer
Theresa Payton
Scott Kelly
David Cameron
Anderson Cooper
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2018-2019
Annie Griffiths
James Comey
John Chambers
Vice President Joe Biden
Ken Burns
Cecile Richards
Lisa Genova
Jon Meacham
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2016-2017
Madeleine K. Albright
Paul Begala
Michael Beschloss
Paul Nicklen
​
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Alan Alda
Bill Bryson
Michael Lewis
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2015-2016
Ray Kurzweil
Diana Nyad
Jill Bolte Taylor
Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
Julia Guillard
Louise Richardson
Ross Stein
Malcolm Gladwell
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2014-2015
Robert Mueller III
Austan Goolsbee
Jon Huntsman Jr.
Steven Chu
​
President Bill Clinton
Olympia Snowe
Gloria Steinem
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2013-2014
Bob Woodward
Gwen Ifil
Leon Panetta
Steve Wozniak
Platon
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Charles Best
Mark Kelly &
Gabrielle Giffords
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2012-2013
Howard Dean & Karl Rove
Lisa Ling
Douglas Brinkley
Evening of Satire
​
Robert Gates
Jeb Bush
Zanny Minton-Beddoes
Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2011-2012
Spencer Wells
Thomas Friedman
David Brooks
David Axelrod
Richard Haas
Michelle Rhee
Simpson and Bowles
Gordon Brown
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2010-2011
David Brooks
Mark Halperin &
John Heilemann
Willie L. Brown Jr.
Bob Newhart
​
Jeannette Walls
Robert Ballard
Arianna Huffington
T. Boone Pickens
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2009-2010
Pervez Musharraf
John Hofmeister
Laura Tyson
Condoleezza Rice
Paul Krugman
Steve Kroft
Ted Koppel
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2008-2009
Sylvia Earle
Newt Gingrich
Robert Reich
Ann Compton
Dick Cavett
​
Fareed Zakaria
Andrew Weil
Jeffrey Toobin
Charlie Rose
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2007-2008
Reza Aslan
Carly Fiorina
Bill McDonough
Frank Abagnale
David Gergen
Christiane Amanpour
Ken Burns
The Capitol Steps
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2006-2007
Robert Redford
Richard Myers
Jim Lehrer
Jared Diamond
​
Stuart Varney
Maya Angelou
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Dave Barry
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2005-2006
Terri Gross
James Carville
Mary Matalin
Colin Powell
James Burke
Tom Daschle
Bill Moyers
Brian Greene
Tim Russert
Peninsula, Oakland, Marin, and Marin II Speaker Series 2004-2005
Ari Fleischer
Tommy Franks
Mark Russell
Janet Reno
​
Robert Ballard
Christie Todd Whitman
Michael Beschloss
Tom Brokaw
Peninsula, Oakland, and Marin Speaker Series 2003-2004
Judith Miller
Salman Rushdie
Rudy Guiliani
Johnathan Winters
Thomas Friedman
Karen Hughes
David & Julie Eisenhower
Garrison Keillor
Peninsula, Berkeley, and Marin Speaker Series 2002-2003
Henry Hugh Shelton
Richard Holbrooke
William J. Clinton
Tim Conway
​
Gail Sheehy
Jane Bryant Quinn
David McCullough
Robert Woodward
Peninsula, Berkeley, and Marin Speaker Series 2001-2002
Nina Totenberg
Bill O'Reilly
Madeleine Albright
Carl Reiner
Ken Burns
Bruce Babbitt
Mike Wallace
Mark Shields
Peninsula, Berkeley, and Marin Speaker Series 2000-2001
Frank McCourt
Wesley Clark
Beck Weathers
Doris Kearns Goodwin
​
Samuel Berger
Neil Armstrong
George Mitchell
Lily Tomlin
Peninsula, San Francisco, and Marin Speaker Series 1999-2000
Mike McCurry
Bill Cosby
Beverly Sills
Shimon Peres
Mario Cuomo
Alan Simpson
Desmond Tutu
Sylvia Earle
Peninsula, Berkeley, and Marin Speaker Series 1998-1999
Ian Wilmut
Mikhail Gorbachev
Chris Patten
Alice Walker
​
Benazir Bhutto
C. Everett Coop
Bill Bradley
Chris Patten
Peninsula, San Francisco, and Marin Speaker Series 1997-1998
Tom Wolfe
George Will
Colin Powell
Bill Moyers
Lea Rabin
Molly Ivins
Lawrence Eagleburger
Jane Goodall
Peninsula and Marin
Speaker Series 1996-1997
FW de Klerk
Walter Cronkite
Carl Sagan
Doris Kearns Goodwin
​
Cokie Roberts
Arthur Laffer
Jim Lovell
Leon Panetta
Peninsula and Marin
Speaker Series 1995-1996
Margaret Thatcher
Colin Powell
Calvin Trillin
Ann Richards
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
William Safire
Charles Kuralt
Maya Angelou
Peninsula
Speaker Series 1992-1993
Terry Anderson
Helmut Schmidt
Erma Bombeck
Mario Cuomo
Hugh Sidey
Abba Eban
Jane Bryant Quinn
Andy Rooney
William F. Buckley, Jr.
Peninsula
Speaker Series 1993-1994
Jimmy Carter
Lynn Martin
Bill Moyers
Lesley Stahl
Richard Leakey
Richard Cheney
Robert Bork
Mark Russell
Peninsula and Marin
Speaker Series 1994-1995
James Baker
Capitol Steps
Allistair Cooke
Hedrick Smith
​
Ken Burns
Alan Dershowitz
James Carville
Robert Novak
Peninsula
Speaker Series 1991-1992
Henry Kissinger
Leon Lederman
Jack Anderson
David Halberstam
Jean Kirkpatrick
Louis Rukeyser
Jean Michel Cousteau
Peninsula
Speaker Series 1990-1991
Malcolm Forbes, Jr.
Beverly Sills
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Art Buchwald
Sarah Weddington
Phyllis Schlafly
Gerald Ford
George Will