Sen. Bill Cassidy, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, and economist Heather Boushey are joining the Vox Conversations unconference

We’re excited to announce our first round of featured participants for Vox Conversations, our two-day unconference series that unites voices around the country to talk about new ideas for the future.

With President Trump’s 100th day in office approaching, we looked for speakers who could address the real-world implications of the administration’s initiatives and policies in Washington and beyond.

Our program will explore the health care debate and try to find solutions on both sides of the aisle; we’ll dive into America’s cities and hear how leaders are leveraging their resources on a local level; and we’ll get an inside view of the opioid epidemic and its devastating impact on communities both big and small.

Vox Conversations is our semiannual unconference series that takes place in Washington, DC. Over two days, we assemble 200 thinkers and doers, representing the worlds of government, health care, technology, academia, media, and more, to participate in on-the-record and off-the-record sessions designed to encourage meaningful dialogue and novel ideas.

Last year’s speakers included Service Employees International Union President Emeritus Andy Stern, then–White House Chief Data Scientist D.J. Patil, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) — they covered topics such as universal basic income, the power of precision medicine, and the importance of a free and open internet.

For next month’s series, we’re thrilled to welcome:

From Capitol Hill, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). As a physician, Sen. Cassidy is personally invested in the health care debate and has put forward his own plan to maintain coverage while repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Cities are of rising importance to the policy conversation, and in Atlanta, the country’s ninth-largest city, Mayor Kasim Reed is leading a path to resiliency through new infrastructure and crime reduction. Since being elected, he has increased core services while turning around the city’s deteriorating financial situation.

Heather Boushey is the executive director and chief economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Boushey focuses her research on economic inequality and public policy. In her work, she looks at what’s behind the decline of economic mobility in America and the erosion of the American dream, as children are no longer faring better than their parents.

We’ll have more speakers and updates to the agenda to share next week. You can read more details about Vox Conversations and apply for an invitation to attend here.