The Commonwealth Club of California’s
2nd Century Campaign Building a Home for Ideas
Introduction to the 2nd Century Campaign: A Home for Ideas
The Commonwealth Club launched the 2nd Century Campaign in order to purchase a permanent home for the organization, the first in the Club’s 111-year history. During the first phase of the 2nd Century Campaign, we successfully raised the funding to purchase a historic building on the Embarcadero in the city of San Francisco. We are now embarking on the second phase of the capital campaign to seek funds for the renovations of our new headquarters. We invite the you to enrich the cultural and civic vitality of San Francisco and the Bay Area by supporting The Commonwealth Club’s 2nd Century Campaign.
Our Founding and Mission
Founded in 1903 by San Francisco Chronicle editorial writer Edward F. Adams, The Commonwealth Club is the nation’s oldest and largest public forum. It is open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues, enriching civic life through public affairs programming. “We only propose to find truth and turn it loose in the world.” – Edward F. Adams, Founder
Our History
Plans to procure a building for the Club at its inception were derailed three years later by the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906. The Club is the oldest of the major cultural organizations in San Francisco, and it is the only one which does not have its own dedicated space.
Our Legacy
ennis Kucinich • Herbert Hoover • Meg Whitman • Nancy Pelosi • Herbert Hoover • John M
Cecil B. De Mille
• Robert F. Kennedy • Andre Agassi • Deepak Chopra • Theodore Roosev
n Hirsi Ali • Bill Clinton • Cesar Chavez • Walter Cronkite • Ron Paul • Desmond Mpilo Tutu
Woodrow Wilson • Michael Moore • David Brooks • Madeleine Albright • Robert F. Kennedy
• Michio Kaku
Kofi Annan Paul Allen
• Carol Chann Despite not having a permanent home of our own, The Commonwealth Club has flourished and has brought • Joan Baez thousands of prominent speakers to San Francisco • Condoleezza
m Brokaw • Khaled Hosseini • Robert Reich • Nancy Pelosi • Walter Isaacson • Audrey
achel Maddow • Muhammad Yunus • Eric Schmidt • Sal Khan • Jane Goodall • Annie L
eorge P. Shultz • Scott McClellan • Grover Norquist • Arianna Huffington • Franklin D. Roo
ita Khrushchev
• Hillary Clinton • Ronald W. Reagan • Albert Gore • Richard Nixon • Bill G
• Martin Luther King Jr. • Aida Alvarez • Bill Gates •George W. Bush • Sandra Day O’Con
Howard Shultz • Aida Alvarez • Diane Feinstein • Condoleezza Rice • Jacques Yves Cous
Commonwealth Club Figures
22,000 Members
450 Annual programs San Francisco Silicon Valley East Bay Marin
1,000,000 Listeners
Program Diversity and Reach
Climate One at The Commonwealth Club is a thriving leadership dialogue on energy, the environment and the economy.
• 539 1-hour program videos posted • 5 million+ views
INFORUM is the Commonwealth Club experience for young professionals, featuring thought leaders from tech, pop culture, politics, food and business
• 3 free weekly podcasts • 1.2 million podcasters reached each year
Week to Week is a political roundtable program that reviews the week's political news to give deeper insight into what makes the world tick.
• Weekly broadcast on 230 stations in 39 states • Since 1924, nation’s longest running radio broadcast • 1 million listeners per week
110 The Embarcadero: A Home for Ideas
The opportunity to fulfill the vision of our founders has arrived. In late 2012, the Club purchased a historic building on San Francisco’s waterfront and plans are underway for its complete renovation. The new building—including its transparent glass front along The Embarcadero— will be a physical symbol of the visions and ideals conceived by the Club’s founders in 1903, when they set out to create an Agora or “open place of assembly”.
Our New Home Will Offer
• A modern forum for civil public discourse • Dedicated space designed for optimal use • Combined office and meeting space • Production facilities for broadcasts, podcasts • Modern media technology • Eliminate more than $600,000 in rental costs • LEED Platinum or Gold Certification • Central location, high visibility • Specific design for civic forum use • First-floor, 150 seat auditorium • Second-floor, 299 seat auditorium for programs • Respectful preservation of the historic Steuart Street facade
110 The Embarcadero: From the Street The Club’s new building will truly be a gem in the crown of San Francisco’s waterfront. With unimpeded views of the Bay and the Bay Bridge, the state-of-the art facility at 110 The Embarcadero will be just south of the Ferry Building and adjacent to the Audiffred Building, two of the city’s most historic landmarks.
110 The Embarcadero: The Lobby
The building’s excellent location and stellar design will not only be instrumental assets to the Club and its mission, but will also contribute to the growing cultural and civic vibrancy of The Embarcadero, attracting residents and visitors alike.
110 The Embarcadero: The Reception Area
110 The Embarcadero: Main Auditorium
2nd Century Campaign Leadership
Honorary Campaign Co-Chairs
Board of Governors
• Hon. George P. Shultz • Charlotte Mailliard Shultz
• Anna W. M. Mok Chair • John R. Farmer Vice Chair
Finish Line Committee
Campaign Cabinet
J. Dennis Bonney William K. Bowes, Jr. Thomas Burkhart Maryles Casto Dennis A. Collins Evelyn S. Dilsaver Joseph I. Epstein John R. Farmer Chair Dr. Joseph R. Fink Leslie Saul Garvin Dr. Charles Geschke Don J. McGrath Anna W. M. Mok Fred Reid Skip Rhodes Richard Rubin Hon. Tad Taube Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Russell M. Yarrow
Maryles Casto Chair Dr. Mary G.F. Bitterman J. Dennis Bonney Mary B. Cranston Joseph I. Epstein Dr. Charles Geschke Rev. Stephen A Privett, S.J. Skip Rhodes Brian D. Riley Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Wendy Willrich
Our Leadership
2014 Board Members, Advisory Board Members, Past Presidents and Past Chairs Board Members (PC)= Past Chair, (PP)= Past President
Advisory Board Members
Past Presidents and Chairs
Carlo Almendral William F. Adams** Courtland Alves Dan Ashley Massey J. Bambara Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman (PC) John L. Boland Michael R. Bracco Tom Burkhart Helen A. Burt Maryles Casto (PC) Mary B. Cranston (PC) Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dr. Jaleh Daie Dorian Daley Alecia DeCoudreaux Evelyn S. Dilsaver Dr. Gloria C. Duffy (President & CEO) Lee J. Dutra (Treasurer) Joseph I. Epstein (PP) Jeffrey A. Farber John R. Farmer (Vice Chair) Dr. Carol A. Fleming Leslie Garvin Dr. Charles Geschke
Karin Helene Bauer Hon. William Bradley Dennise M. Carter Rolando Esteverena Steven Falk Amy Gershoni Jacquelyn Hadley Heather M. Kitchen Amy McCombs Don J. McGrath Hon. William Perry Hon. Barbara Pivnicka Hon. Richard Pivnicka Ray Taliaferro Nancy Thompson
Dr. Mary G. F. Bitterman (PC) Hon. Shirley Temple Black (PP)** J. Dennis Bonney (PP) John Busterud (Senior PP) Maryles Casto (PC) Hon. Ming Chin (PP) Mary B. Cranston (PC) Joseph I. Epstein (PP) Dr. Joseph R. Fink (PP) William German (PP) Rose Guilbault (PC) Claude B. Hutchison, Jr. (PP) Dr. Julius Krevans (PP) Richard Otter (PP) Joseph Perrelli (PP) Toni Rembe (PP) Victor J. Revenko (PP) Skip Rhodes (PP) Renée Rubin (PP) Robert Saldich (PC) Connie Shapiro (PP) Nelson Weller (PP) Judith Wilbur (PP) Dennis Wu (PP)
** Deceased
Paul A. Ginsburg Edie G. Heilman Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Frank C. Meerkamp Anna W. M. Mok (Chair) Kevin O’Brien Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J. Dr. Mohammad H. Qayoumi Frederick Reid Skip Rhodes (PP) Brian D. Riley Richard A. Rubin George M. Scalise Lata Krishnan Shah Ruth Shapiro Charlotte Mailliard Shultz George D. Smith, Jr. James Strother Hon. Tad Taube Charles Travers Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Russell M. Yarrow Jed York
Thank you
"This is an important moment not just for The Commonwealth Club and San Francisco. But this is an important moment in the history of democracy.� —Former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz