Willie L. Brown, Jr.
Two-term Mayor of San Francisco, legendary Speaker of the California State Assembly, and widely regarded as the most influential African-American politician of the late twentieth century, Willie L. Brown, Jr., has been at the center of California politics, government, and civic life for an astonishing four decades. His career spans the American Presidency from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush, and he’s worked with every California Governor from Pat Brown to Arnold Schwarzenegger. From civil rights to education reform, tax policy, economic development, health care, international trade, domestic partnerships, and affirmative action, he’s left his imprimatur on every aspect of politics and public policy in the Golden State. As Mayor of California’s most cosmopolitan city, he refurbished and rebuilt the nation’s busiest transit system, pioneered the use of bond measures to build affordable housing, created a model juvenile justice system, and paved the way for a second campus of the University of California, San Francisco, to serve as the anchor of a new development that will position the City as a center for the burgeoning field of biotechnology. Today, he heads the Willie L. Brown, Jr., Institute on Politics and Public Service, where this acknowledged master of the art of politics shares his knowledge and skills with a new generation of California leaders.
Fr. John Hardin
Fr. John Hardin, O.F.M. has served as the fifth executive director of St. Anthony Foundation, a nonprofit social service organization serving the needs of San Franciscans. Fr. John was mentored by St. Anthony’s founder, Fr. Alfred Boeddeker and felt called to continue the work Fr. Alfred had started. As executive director, Fr. John is able to continue to sustain the community by leading the foundation in its social service, justice education, and advocacy programs. A leader in the community, Fr. John strives to build bridges between San Francisco’s corporate, government and nonprofit sectors, creating rewarding opportunities for the community to work collectively. He is member of the 10-Year Planning Council to end chronic homelessness, Homelessness Coordination Committee, and Health Care Task Force.
Dr. Stephen Privett
Dr. Rev. Stephen Privett, S.J. is the 27th President of the University of San Francisco. He also serves as a trustee at Schools of the Sacred Heart, Seattle University, and Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Club of California, Board of Directors of the American Council on Education, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, Public Architecture, and the Fromm Institute. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1960 and is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and Gonzaga University. Prior to his appointment at USF, Father Privett served as provost and academic vice president at Santa Clara University. Throughout his career, Father Privett has demonstrated a commitment to “wholeperson education,??? a traditional hallmark of Jesuit education. On January 4, 2007, Father Privett was invited and delivered the Congressional Invocation at the opening of the 110th United States Congress and the inauguration of Rep. Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
