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The George Washington University is pleased to announce the theme of this year’s Diversity Summit: Toward a More Perfect Union: With Liberty, Justice & Civility for All. This theme calls on us to recognize the diversity of our thoughts, voices, contributions, and ideas that strengthen our community and the world. As we engage in difficult conversations and intense debates, we must be willing to seek the humanity in other people, challenge ourselves to understand another point of view, and empower each other to disrupt and reject all forms of oppression. Our collective ability to make meaningful change is unstoppable. Registration for the Diversity Summit is now open. The full schedule of sessions is now live.

Keynote Speaker

6:00 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. | Jack Morton Auditorium

Negin Farsad was named one of 50 Funniest Women by Huffington Post, named one of the 10 Best Feminist Comedians by Paper Magazine, and was selected as a TEDFellow for her work in social justice comedy. She even gave a TEDTalk because they slipped up and let a comedian on their vaunted stage. She is the author of the recently released How To Make White People Laugh, a memoir-meets-social-justice-comedy manifesto which was nominated for the Thurber Prize for Humor and recommended by Oprah Magazine. Farsad is host of Fake the Nation, a political comedy podcast on the Earwolf network and she’s a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. She appears on the current season of Nat Geo’s Year Million, the upcoming season of HBO’s High Maintenance, and the last season of Netflix’s Chelsea Handler Show.

She is also the director/writer/star of the rom-com 3rd Street Blackout, starring Janeane Garofalo, Ed Weeks, and John Hodgman (now available on Amazon). She has written for/appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, PBS, IFC, Nickelodeon and others. She is director/producer of the feature films The Muslims Are Coming! starring Jon Stewart, David Cross and Lewis Black and Nerdcore Rising starring Weird Al Yankovic (both available wherever movies are streamed/downloaded). She has written good-old fashioned articles for The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Oprah Magazine, Indiewire and others. She has sued New York State’s MTA over the right to put up funny posters about Muslims and WON. She started her comedy career as a Cornell and Columbia-educated policy advisor for the City of New York.

Professor Jesse J. Holland will serve as a moderator in conversation with Negin Farsad following her keynote.  There will be an opportunity for audience Q&A.