Pete Buttigieg

In 2021, Pete Buttigieg was sworn in as the nation’s 19th Secretary of Transportation and is the first openly gay person confirmed to serve in a president’s Cabinet. During his tenure from 2021-2025, he worked to launch over sixty thousand infrastructure projects across the country, improve transportation safety and technology, expand airline passenger protections, and resolve pandemic-related supply chain disruptions.

At the age of 29, Buttigieg was elected for his first of two terms as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He also served for seven years as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, taking a leave of absence from his role as mayor in 2014 to deploy to Afghanistan. A candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020, his historic campaign won the Iowa caucuses and finished second in the New Hampshire primary.

In his thought-provoking talk, Buttigieg will unpack the complexities of today’s political landscape—exploring what this moment demands from leaders in policy, politics, and communication, and how they can navigate an era defined by rapid change, deep polarization, and global uncertainty.