On Education with discussants William H. Gates, Sr., Gov. Tommy G. Thompson and Education Sec. Margaret Spellings speaking at the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival. David Gergen moderates the discussion.
Some of the most inspired and provocative thinkers, writers, artists, business people, teachers and other leaders drawn from myriad fields and from across the country and around the world all gathered in a single place - to teach, speak, lead, question, and answer at the 2006 Aspen Ideas Festival. Throughout the week, they all interacted with an audience of thoughtful people who stepped back from their day-to-day routines to delve deeply into a world of ideas, thought, and discussion.
Bio
William H. Gates Sr.
Bill Gates Sr. was an attorney who co-founded his own firm and was on the board of Planned Parenthood. Since retiring from law in 1998, he has served as the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and as director for Costco Wholesale. He’s also the author of Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime as well as Wealth and Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes.
David Gergen
David Gergen is Public Service Professor of Public Leadership and director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Over the past three decades, he has served as a White House advisor to four presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.
In the mid-1980s, he began a career in journalism, becoming editor of U.S. News & World Report. He joined the Kennedy School faculty in January 1999, while remaining editor-at-large for U.S. News and a frequent television analyst.
He is the author of Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.
Margaret Spellings
Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009, is the President and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company and a leading national expert in public policy. Spellings also serves as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Executive Vice President of the National Chamber Foundation, and Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group.
Her prior positions include White House Domestic Policy Advisor (2001-05) and Senior Advisor to Governor George W. Bush (1995-2000).
Tommy G. Thompson
Tommy Thompson is a Senior Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a Washington, D.C., law firm, and is former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In his position as Secretary, he served as the nation's leading advocate for the health and welfare of all Americans.
He worked to modernize and add prescription drug coverage to Medicare for the first time in the program's history. A leading proponent of welfare reform, Secretary Thompson also focused on expanding services to seniors, the disabled and low-income Americans.
Additionally, he was Chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and as such helped elicit unprecedented investment to stop the spread of these diseases worldwide. Prior to these positions, Secretary Thompson served as the Governor of Wisconsin, working to expand health care access across all segments of society. He earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a Republican candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
member. 
