News Releases

SXSW EDU® Announces Opening Keynote David Brooks, Dan Porterfield, Darius Baxter, Lisa Fitzpatrick And Additional Featured Speakers
- Dan Rather, Priscilla Chan, Mitchell Baker, Jean Chatzy, Jamaal Charles, and more added to the Featured Speakers Lineup -

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The SXSW EDU Conference & Festival (March 4-7, 2019) has announced the opening keynote and additional featured speakers for the 2019 programming lineup.

The opening keynote for this year's SXSW EDU Conference & Festival is Building Community: Weaving America's Social Fabric featuring remarks by David Brooks, executive director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute and Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, who will be joined by Dan Porterfield, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute and former president of Franklin & Marshall College; Darius Baxter, president and chief engagement officer of GOODProjects; and Rev. Lisa Fitzpatrick, co-founder and executive director of APEX Community Advancement, Inc. / APEX Youth Center, and senior pastor of APEX Ministries United Methodist Church. Bringing to life the Aspen Institute's initiative, Weave: The Social Fabric Project, this keynote will confront the premise that social fragmentation is the central problem of our time—isolation, alienation, and division. Fortunately, all across the country groups and individuals are rebuilding communities and creating social capital. This conversation will address how Weave seeks to work with these groups to spur a movement to repair the national fabric—to identify and celebrate these groups, synthesize the values that move them, and help forge a common identity.

This year's SXSW EDU showcases a diverse group of voices across more than 1,000 speakers providing a range of perspectives across key issues impacting education today. New voices added to the lineup address issues from learning science to financial literacy to student advocacy, inclusion, and more. New featured speakers added to previously announced sessions include:

Dan Rather, president and CEO, News and Guts, joins previously announced featured speaker David Hogg in the session Young People Win: Rethinking Advocacy in a New Era.

Jamaal Charles, global ambassador for the Special Olympics and retired National Football League (NFL) running back, joins Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics; Erika Guerrero, Alamo Heights High School; and Tajha Ilerant, Imokalee High School in the session A Unified Perspective.

New Featured Sessions Include:

With an introduction by Priscilla Chan, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the session Translating Research into Practice will discuss the field of learning science and how it is constantly evolving. In this moderated discussion by Betsy Corcoran, EdSurge; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's Bror Saxberg and K. Brooke Stafford-Brizard will delve into why applying learning science and human development to education can equip every young person with the knowledge, skills, habits, and agency to thrive in an ever-changing world.

How to Teach Financial Literacy, & Why We Must tackles the critical life skill of being able to manage your money—pay bills, make a budget, and maintain good credit. This panel addresses what can be done to bring financial literacy and personal finance into the educational mainstream. This panel features Andrea Delbanco, Time for Kids; Jean Chatzky, HerMoney Media; and Drew Willis, Time for Kids.

In Hacking the STEM Syllabus, Yoav Schlesinger, Omidyar Network, and Mitchell Baker, Mozilla, will bring a new perspective on STEM education and discuss how to re-imagine the way we teach STEM education. This is an effort to restore the internet's positive potential and ensure that those who drive its progress learn to assess the social, economic, and political consequences of their work.

Please click on the links to learn more about the exciting lineup of speakers and the robust programming schedule.

About SXSW EDU
The SXSW EDU® Conference & Festival cultivates and empowers a community of engaged stakeholders to advance teaching and learning. The annual four-day event affords registrants open access to engaging sessions, immersive workshops, interactive learning experiences, film screenings, early-stage startups, business opportunities, and networking. SXSW EDU is a component of the South by Southwest® family of conferences and festivals. Join the passionate and innovative community at SXSW EDU, March 4-7, 2019 in Austin, Texas.

Contact:
Liz Stein, SXSW EDU Press & Publicity
press@sxswedu.com
512-467-7979