The Philadelphia Citizen’s Ideas We Should Steal Festival® presented by Comcast NBCUniversal returned for its eighth year on November 13 and 14. As always, we scoured the country for the changemakers and innovators whose transformative ideas could fuel much-needed progress in our city. The mission: Expand the problem-solving table, inspire change, and bask in hope.
FESTIVAL SPEAKERS | SPONSORS & PARTNERS | WHAT WE’VE SEEN SINCE 2018
Thursday, November 13 & Friday, November 14
2025 Festival recap coming soon!
THE 2025 PROGRAM
WHO WILL WIN THE FIGHT FOR THE WORKING CLASS? Joan Williams, author of Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back with Sean O’Brien, Teamsters General President and Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania’s 2nd District. Moderated by Ali Velshi, MSNBC Chief Correspondent and Citizen Board Member
DECLARING WAR ON TRASH. Pam Harris, President, NYC’s Sanitation Foundation
HOW WOMEN’S SPORTS CAN GROW A CITY. Alex Niedbalski-Sykes, Co-Founder and President of the Philadelphia Sisters™ and Sisters Sports Group™ with Jason Wright, Managing Partner and Head of Investments, Project Level®. Moderated by Dalila Wilson-Scott, EVP and Chief Impact & Inclusion Officer, Comcast Corporation and President, Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation
HOW TO TURN A HOUSING PLAN INTO … ACTUAL HOUSING. Bruce Katz, Senior Advisor to the National Housing Crisis Task Force
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? Former Chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile, and Washington Post columnist and best-selling author of Reagan: His Life and Legend Max Boot
HOW YOU CAN FIX THE DAMN POTHOLES. Nathaniel Weyand-Geise, Cincinnati problem solver and urban planner
HOW TO REALLY RUN A CITY: THERE’S NO REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRATIC WAY TO BE A MAYOR. Bryan Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hill, MI with podcast hosts Michael Nutter, former Mayor of Philadelphia, Kasim Reed, former Mayor of Atlanta and The Citizen’s Larry Platt
THE KEY TO ECONOMIC MOBILITY? HOPE. Michele Howard, Chief Program Officer, Hope Chicago and Bill Golderer, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey
WHAT PHILADELPHIA CAN LEARN FROM … APPALACHIA? Dreama Gentry, President & CEO, Partners for Rural Impact
IF THESE TWO COULD BECOME FRIENDS . Joe Walsh, Former Tea Party Republican Congressman and Fred Guttenberg, Gun Safety Advocate and author. Moderated by MSNBC’s Ali Velshi
SCENES FROM THE 2024 FESTIVAL
