Centennial Celebration

President Obama’s years of public service are marked by his belief in America’s indispensable leadership and strong, principled diplomacy. On the world stage, his administration ushered in an end to US war in Iraq, oversaw the capture of Osama bin Ladin, negotiated the Iran nuclear deal, and included the United States in global coordinated action to combat climate change. He delivered his first major foreign policy speech from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ stage as a US Senate candidate for Illinois in 2004 and spoke to Council audiences two more times on his path to the White House and once as President. He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and was re-elected in 2012. President Obama and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Photo by Pari Dukovic courtesy of Penguin Random House.

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris, where he began to study the cello with his father at age four. Three years later, he moved with his family to New York City, continuing his studies at the Juilliard School. After his conservatory training, he sought out a liberal arts education, graduating from Harvard in 1976. Ma’s career is a testament to his faith in culture’s power to generate the trust and understanding essential to a strong society. This belief inspired him to establish the global cultural collective Silkroad, and, more recently, to set out on the Bach Project — a six-continent tour of J. S. Bach’s suites for solo cello and an invitation to a larger conversation about culture, society, and the themes that connect us all. Photo by Jason Bell.

Carol Marin is an award-winning reporter and was the political editor at NBC5 News in Chicago as well as a regular contributor on WTTW's Chicago Tonight. In addition, she worked for CBS News, 60 Minutes II, 60 Minutes, WMAQ-TV, and WBBM-TV. Marin was named a director of the DePaul University Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence in 2016.