James Fallows is a staff writer at The Atlantic and has written for the magazine since the late 1970s. He has reported extensively from outside the United States and once worked as President Jimmy Carter's chief speechwriter. He and his wife, Deborah Fallows, are the authors of the 2018 book Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America, which was a national best seller and is the basis of a forthcoming HBO documentary. He is an instrument-rated private pilot.

Allison Ehrich Bernstein has handled communications and written speeches and other content for local and global leaders at the U.S. State Department, Accion, Hilltop Public Solutions, and Hillary for America. A graduate of Brown University, Allison resides in Illinois and has campaigned for candidates throughout New England and in her home state of Virginia, including Senator Mark Warner, Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, and candidates including Steve Kerrigan and Creigh Deeds. Her work also supports progressive women candidates nationwide through Get Her Elected. She has previously worked with Senator Barbara Boxer, West Wing Writers, and the 2016 Democratic National Convention Committee.

Eryn Witcher Tillman is the Director of Public Affairs for the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. She has responsibility for the organization’s Media and Government Relations including their Washington DC office. Prior to joining Hoover, Eryn spent nearly three years as White House Assistant Press Secretary and Director of Television. From 2004-2006, she was Press Secretary for the Environmental Protection Agency where she led the agency’s media response to Hurricane Katrina.  She also served as a Special Assistant to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao.   Eryn has experience in the news media working as a producer for MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.  Prior to that she worked on Capitol Hill as the Press Secretary for New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith and Deputy Press Secretary for Georgia Senator Paul Coverdell. 

Wendy Univer is a writer, documentary maker and communications consultant based in Philadelphia. She has written presidential speeches, op-eds and other leadership communications for the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, American Friends Service Committee, Mural Arts of Philadelphia, and National Breast Cancer Coalition, among others. Believing in the power of great storytelling to engage and influence, Wendy has focused on media that addresses peace and social justice, education, women’s lives, and the role of the arts in social change. She is honored by this opportunity to collaborate with Constance Hockaday and the exceptional speakers in Artists-in-Presidents. 

Jim Wurst is an author, speechwriter, journalist, and scriptwriter. Currently, he is a speech writer for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. He has specialized in writing about international affairs, both while based at the United Nations and from the field. His journalism has been published by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, World Policy Journal, Arms Control Today, In These Times, and A Global Agenda. Jim is the author of The UN Association–USA: A Little Known History of Advocacy and Action (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2016) and Three Degrees, a novel about climate change (2017).

David Goodstone is Chief Communications Strategist to the General Secretary at Rotary International, and supports the work of Rotary’s Peace Centers. His writing has been published in outlets including Newsweek, Time, & National Geographic. Before joining Rotary, David worked for the Israeli Foreign Ministry from 2010-2015, in Jerusalem and San Francisco, contributing to the first resolution at the United Nations on Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development, and the first Memorandum of Understanding signed between Israel and California. 

Don Shiffrin is a Business Ghostwriter and Corporate Communications Professional. In his more than 25 years as a business writer, Don has worked with some of the world’s largest and best-known brands helping them develop and refine their brand strategies, and communicating those strategies through a variety of presentations and media. Don works extensively in the automotive sector. He has written for senior executives of numerous brands including Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, INFINITI, Hyundai and Genesis.Among non-automotive brands, Don’s work includes writing executive presentations for Lenovo, Microsoft, Mattel, Lowe’s, Oracle, Petco, HP and Motorola.  After more than twenty years in Los Angeles, Don is now based in Durham, NC. He holds a B.A. in History from The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, an M.B.A. from Duke University and a Certificate in Novel Writing from Stanford University.

Karen Wing has been the primary speechwriter for the Office of the President at Penn State for the last 12 years, and is an affiliate faculty member in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, where she teaches speechwriting. The last decade has been an unprecedented period of transition at Penn State, and she has written for the president, the Board of Trustees and senior executives during the best and worst of times. She has more than 25 years of experience in education, public relations, strategic communications, and marketing for higher education institutions, non-profits and Fortune 100 corporations. She holds a B.S. in marketing from the University of Rhode Island, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Penn State.

Eileen Willis is an editor, writer, and musician whose career in the art world began in 2001 when she joined the Brooklyn Museum’s editorial department. After a brief stint as Managing Editor for the International Center of Photography, she was recruited by the Metropolitan Museum, where she managed the web, email, and social media teams. In 2015, Eileen accepted the role of Editorial Director for Lincoln Center, where, among other projects, she launched an online magazine dedicated to the performing arts. As a musician, Eileen has performed in many different contexts, most recently as part of the bands Pistolera and Moona Luna.