2026 Conference Keynote Speakers

Opening Keynote

Tuesday, October 6 — 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM PDT

Charles F. "Chuck" Sams III

Chuck Sams is currently Oregon’s Council Member on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and the inaugural Oregon Tribes Scholar-in-Residence and Senior Fellow with the Native Environmental Sovereignty Project at the University of Oregon’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center. He served as the 19th director and first Native American to head the National Park Service within the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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About Chuck Sams

Wednesday, October 7 — 11:30 AM to 12:40 PM PDT

Baratunde Thurston

Baratunde Thurston is a writer, host, and speaker exploring how we live well with technology, with each other, and with the planet. He has spent nearly 40 years creating with and criticizing technology, from The Onion to The Daily Show to his Webby Award–winning project Life With Machines, focused on how we live well with AI and not just endure it. He also hosted the Emmy-nominated PBS series American Outdoors and co-created How to Citizen. At the end of the day, he's an Earthling. (Presenting virtually)

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About Baratunde Thurston

Thursday, October 8 — 11:30 AM to 12:40 PM PDT

Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy

Since 2018, Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy have hosted NHPR's Civics 101, a podcast refresher course on the basics of how our democracy works. The show has received over 35 million downloads and is used in classrooms around the world. Previously, Hannah worked as a state house reporter and producer for Outside/In, and Nick created tours and led workshops at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

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About Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy

Friday, October 9 — 12:00 to 2:30 PM PDT
Conference Closing

Esteban Gast, Moderator

Esteban Gast is an award-winning Colombian-American comedian and writer whose work has been called "irreverent but aspirational" by Variety. He's been named a Grist50 Fixer and one of the top 100 Latinos taking action on climate change, and serves as comedian-in-residence at Generation180. Esteban hosted the Spotify podcast Identity at Play and starred in VICELAND's Jungletown. He co-wrote the movie Thena and the book and lyrics for the musical Teacher of the Year.

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About Esteban Gast

More to Come

We'll close on Friday with four short, thought-provoking flash talks, moderated by Esteban Gast, designed to spark new thinking, inspire fresh ideas, and remind us that every change begins with asking, Imagine If ...

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