Since Mayor Sam Liccardo took office in 2015, San Jose has thrived. In his very first year, Liccardo settled intense battles over pension reform with 11 unions, saving taxpayers US$3 billion over the next three decades and enabling the restoration of San Jose’s police force. Since then, he has led the most successful period of economic growth in the City’s history, announcing major expansions from employers like Adobe, Apple, Broadcom, and Google. Liccardo has also implemented innovative approaches to reduce homelessness—such as converting motels, expanding work-first programs, and building “tiny home” villages—while working with community partners to house more than 1,000 homeless veterans. Furthermore, he has helped broaden prosperity in San Jose by launching after-school programs in less affluent neighborhoods, providing jobs for 2,000 at-risk teens, teaming with community colleges to eliminate tuition for low-income students, and lifting the minimum wage across the region. Liccardo has also co-led successful measures to bring Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and other transit improvements to San Jose and protect its hillsides and open spaces from sprawling development. In 2018, San Jose residents overwhelmingly re-elected Liccardo, with 76% of the vote.

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Stephen Badger serves as Chairman of Mars, Incorporated’s Board of Directors. He was a key investor in Seeds of Change, an organic seed and food company, and also served as President. As Global Director of Corporate Affairs, Badger led Mars to be the first company among its food and confectionery peers to eliminate marketing its products to children under 12, a move which has since shaped industry-wide practices. Badger also financed and produced the film Muscle Shoals which premiered at Sundance to a standing ovation in 2013.

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Greg Dalton founded Climate One at The Commonwealth Club in 2007 after traveling to the Arctic aboard a Russian ice breaker with climate scientists and journalists. Today, Climate One produces a weekly radio show broadcast on public stations in California and around the country, in addition to a rapidly growing weekly podcast. Climate One is the only regular talk show that engages high-level leaders from business, policy, advocacy, and academic circles in a conversation about building resilient communities, sustainable economies, and a healthier future. Previously, Dalton was a journalist for 12 years covering news in Beijing, Vancouver, New York, and San Francisco for the Associated Press, South China Morning Post, McNeil-Lehrer News Hour, and Industry Standard magazine.

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Kevin Roose is a bestselling author and award-winning technology columnist for The New York Times. His column, “The Shift,” examines the intersection of tech, business, and culture. In his new book, Futureproof: 9 Rules for Machine-Age Humans (forthcoming from Random House, 2020), Roose lays out a practical guide to human survival in the age of A.I., automation, screen overload, and other worrying technological trends. His previous books, Young Moneyand The Unlikely Disciple, explored the worlds of young Wall Street bankers and evangelical Christian college students. Previously, Roose was a writer at New York magazine and the executive producer and co-host of “Real Future,” a documentary TV series about technology and innovation. His work has been published in GQ, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and other publications, and he is a regular guest on “The Daily,” the New York Times’s daily news podcast. He lives in the Bay Area.

Follow Kevin @kevinroose.