On October 28, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs convened a national “Thought Leadership Summit” with a select group of thought leaders from the philanthropic, academic, business and civic communities as the School defines its future in a time of dynamic global change.

At the UCLA Luskin School along with other institutions of higher education, we are committed to addressing the world’s most pressing social problems during an important juncture in our nation’s history. Our society is confronting new challenges, including the ongoing debate about the role and relevance of the public sector generally, and government in particular, to meet these challenges. These developments have a significant impact on, among other public institutions, our universities.

In a highly interactive day of dialogues, 35 leaders convened to grapple with these questions:

• What are the most important problems that face us as society in next 20 or so years?
• What are the ways in which the public sector, generally, and UCLA Luskin, in particular, can contribute to the resolution of society’s most pressing problems?
• What are the innovations and knowledge-based tools/skills/practices needed to address these problems?

In the next month or so, a white paper will be produced with the findings from this summit.

Attendees included: 

Susan Bales
President
FrameWorks Institute

Kafi Blumenfield
President/CEO
Liberty Hill Foundation

The Honorable Jim Brulte
Partner
California Strategies LLC
&
Former Republican Leader, California State Assembly

Devon Carbado
Professor of Law 
UCLA School of Law

Albert Carnesale
Chancellor Emeritus
UCLA
&
Profesor of Public Policy
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Matthew S. Collier
Consultant and Lecturer
&
Former Mayor & Chief Executive Officer
Flint, Michigan

The Honorable Gray Davis
Of Counsel
Loeb & Loeb, LLP
&
Former Governor, State of California 

James de la Loza
Senior Vice President
West Region Planning Manager
AECOM

J.R. DeShazo
Professor of Public Policy and Urban Planning and Director of Luskin Center for Innovation
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Patrick Dowling, M.D.
Professor & Chair
UCLA Family Medicine

Cecilia Estolano
Principal
ELP Advisors

Michael Fleming
Executive Director
The David Bohnett Foundation

Bridget Freisthler
Professor of Social Welfare
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr.
Dean and Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Aurora Jackson
Professor of Social Welfare
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Jerry Kang
Professor of Law and Asian American Studies, & Hankook Ilbo Chair in Korean American Studies
UCLA School of Law

Karen Kaufmann
Professor of Government and Politics
University of Maryland, Department of Government & Politics

Jeffrey Kightlinger
General Manager
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Peter Long
President & CEO
Blue Shield of California Foundation

Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris
Professor of Urban Planning and Associate Dean
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Noel Massie
Vice President
Central California District
UPS

Cynthia McClain-Hill
Managing Partner
Strategic Counsel

Mark Peterson
Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Bill Pitkin
Director, Domestic Programs
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Gregory Rodriguez
Founding Director
Zόcalo Public Square

Bishwapriya Sanyal
Ford International Professor of Urban Development and Planning; and
Director of Special Program in Urban and Regional Studies/Humphrey Programs
MIT

Carol Stogsdill
Associate Vice Chancellor
UCLA Communications and Public Outreach

Michael Stoll
Professor and Chair of Public Policy and
Associate Director of Center for the Study of Urban Poverty
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Lois Takahashi
Professor and Chair of Urban Planning,
Professor of Asian American Studies, and Director of UC Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Multicampus Research Program
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Brian Taylor
Professor or Urban Planning, Director of Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, and Director of Institute of Transportation Studies
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Fernando Torres-Gil
Professor and Chair of Social Welfare and
Director for the Center of Policy Research on Aging
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Bill Watanabe
Executive Director
Little Tokyo Service Center

Chris Waterman
Dean
UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture

Kenny J. Whitby
Professor of Political Science
University of South Carolina

James Herbert Williams
Dean and Milton Morris Endowed Chair
Graduate School of Social Work
University of Denver