Journalists from NBC News, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press to moderate panels at the Sedona Forum May 3-4 in Arizona
Register for the livestream HERE
The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) today announced media participants for the 2024 Sedona Forum taking place May 3-4 in Sedona, Arizona. Six prominent journalists from NBC News, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press will moderate panels at the event.
“Sen. McCain celebrated the free press, calling it ‘one of the key pillars of democracy,’” said McCain Institute Executive Director Dr. Evelyn Farkas. “We’re excited to continue our tradition of welcoming award-winning journalists to Sedona to help navigate complex conversations on the state of the world.”
Media participants include NBC News Senior White House Correspondent Kelly O’Donnell, NBC News Correspondent Courtney Kube, The Washington Post Senior Congressional Correspondent Paul Kane, The Washington Post Columnist Josh Rogin, The Washington Post Democracy Reporter based in Arizona Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, and Associated Press White House Reporter Seung Min Kim.
Inspired by the McCain family, the Sedona Forum is held each spring to advance the mission of the McCain Institute: fighting for democracy, human dignity, and security. As the McCain Institute’s signature annual event, the forum provides a unique opportunity for U.S. and world leaders to have informal, face-to-face discussions about real solutions to the problems facing our world today. This year’s theme, “Securing Our Insecure World,” will examine the greatest challenges to democracy, human rights, and global security and generate solutions for bringing stability to our increasingly insecure world.
Panels will be available to watch via livestream. To learn more about the event and register for the livestream, visit TheSedonaForum.org.
Media Participant Biographies:
Kelly O’Donnell, Senior White House Correspondent, NBC News
Kelly O’Donnell is Senior White House Correspondent for NBC News. She contributes to all of the network’s platforms including “TODAY,” “Nightly News,” MSNBC and NBC News NOW. She is also the 2023-2024 White House Correspondents’ Association President. O’Donnell’s award-winning reporting has taken her to all 50 states and to 58 countries. Her experience spans the Rose Garden to Baghdad, four Olympic Games, campaigns and Capitol Hill. A veteran of presidential politics, O’Donnell has covered four administrations: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. She has been on the trail for seven presidential cycles covering both parties. Among her varied assignments: O’Donnell was embedded with the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq. She covered Britain’s Royal Family and followed Pope John Paul II on international tours. She followed major domestic events including the September 11th attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing and the OJ Simpson saga. In 2019, O’Donnell was honored with the Radio Television Correspondents Association Career Achievement Award. Her work has earned the Emmy, National Headliner and Edward R. Murrow awards among her honors. On the lighter side, O’Donnell appeared in “House of Cards,” competed on “Jeopardy!” and was spoofed in a skit on “Saturday Night Live.”
Courtney Kube, Correspondent, NBC News
Courtney Kube is an NBC News correspondent covering the Pentagon and the Department of Defense. Kube regularly breaks exclusive reporting on military operations around the world and foreign policy and appears across all NBC News and MSNBC programs. Kube was the first to report on the Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States in 2023,the Chinese government spying ahead of the Singapore summit between former President Trump and Kim Jong-un, multiple exclusive details surrounding the ambush of U.S. soldiers in Niger, a recent CIA report concluding North Korea does not intend to denuclearize, Russia jamming U.S. drones over Syria, and more. For the past decade, Kube was NBC News’ Pentagon producer, covering wars in the Middle East, including in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, and reporting from U.S. military bases around the world. She has been embedded with troops from across all military branches and has travelled alongside secretaries of defense, secretaries of state, vice presidents, and other senior U.S. military officials. Kube joined NBC News in 2000, working in the Washington bureau as a researcher, production assistant and associate producer. She holds degrees in political science and psychology from the University of Michigan. Recently, she accepted the Medal of Honor Celebration Committee’s “Tex” McCrary Award for Excellence in Journalism, as well as an honorable mention for her work in 2023 from the Gracie Awards.
Paul Kane, Senior Congressional Correspondent, The Washington Post
Paul Kane has covered Congress since 2000, when he started at Roll Call with a beat focused on the Senate. He started with The Washington Post in 2007, covering the 2008 financial crisis and the Obama-GOP fiscal wars. He began writing a regular column, @PKCapitol, on Congress and its interactions with the Trump administration in 2017. He’s covered Washington’s response to the global pandemic, the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, two impeachments and now writes about the Biden administration’s legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. Kane grew up outside Philadelphia, attended the University of Delaware and wrote for several local papers before starting at a regional wire service in Washington, D.C., States News, in 1995. Go Eagles. Honors and Awards: Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, 2005; part of the team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service.
Josh Rogin, Columnist, The Washington Post
Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of the Washington Post. He is also the author of “Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the 21st Century,” released in March 2021 by Mariner Books. Previously, Josh has covered foreign policy and national security for Bloomberg View, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy magazine, Congressional Quarterly, Federal Computer Week magazine, and Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. His work has been featured on outlets including CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, MSNBC, NPR, and many more. Josh has been recognized with the Interaction Award for Excellence in International Reporting and as a Finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. He has also received journalism fellowships from the Knight Foundation, the East-West Center, and the National Press Foundation. Josh holds a BA in international affairs from George Washington University and studied at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Ali Rogin of the PBS News Hour and their daughter Anne.
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Democracy Reporter, The Washington Post
Yvonne is an Arizona-based voting issues reporter for The Post, focusing on how state and local officials navigate pressures on the administration of elections, while tracking legislative and legal battles over voting rules and access to the polls. Yvonne has also helped to lead coverage on abortion, reporting on Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban, and she highlights the role that Arizona politics are playing in the overall 2024 presidential election. She previously covered politics for the Arizona Republic.
Seung Min Kim, White House Reporter, The Associated Press
Seung Min Kim is a White House reporter for The Associated Press, specializing in the nexus of the Biden administration and Capitol Hill. Before joining the AP in July 2022, she had the same beat at The Washington Post, where she led the publication’s coverage on President Biden’s legislative agenda, Donald Trump’s relationships — and battles — with Congress, and three Supreme Court confirmation fights. She has also served as a political analyst for CNN since 2018. Seung Min’s first major reporting role in Washington was as a congressional reporter for Politico. She has also worked at USA Today; The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the St. Petersburg Times and The Des Moines Register. She earned undergraduate degrees in journalism and political science from the University of Iowa, which named her its Distinguished Recent Graduate in 2021, and a graduate degree in journalism from American University in Washington, D.C.
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About the McCain Institute at Arizona State University
The McCain Institute is a nonpartisan organization inspired by Senator John McCain and his family’s dedication to public service. We are part of Arizona State University and based in Washington, D.C. Our programs defend democracy, advance human rights and freedom, and empower character-driven leaders. Our unique power to convene leaders across the global political spectrum enables us to make a real impact on the world’s most pressing challenges. Our goal is action, not talk, and like Senator McCain, we are fighting to create a free, safe, and just world for all.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.
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