
At The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th Anniversary Celebration Event, held in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2023, president of Pew Research Center Michael Dimock shares new findings on how people are feeling about the nation’s future in a panel discussion featuring filmmaker Ken Burns (far right) and professor of practice and director of Washington programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Beverly Kirk (far left).

Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, speaks to The Pew Charitable Trusts’ staff members on Feb. 9 about Pew’s value of nonpartisanship and a pragmatic approach to policymaking.

In the foreground, from left: Pew leaders Heather Hulen (senior director and executive office chief of staff), Ralph Leslie (executive vice president, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer), and Makeba Clay (vice president, diversity, equity, and inclusion), listen to Valerie Jarrett speak.

Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, in conversation with Pew CEO Susan K. Urahn at Pew’s inaugural staff speaker series event on Feb. 9.

A celebration of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th anniversary

Only 19% of Americans are satisfied with the current state of the nation and 58% say that life for people like them is worse today than it was 50 years ago, according to an April survey from Pew Research Center. During an event on “Strengthening Democracy in America,” part of Pew’s 75th anniversary celebration, filmmaker Ken Burns, Pew Research Center president Michael Dimock, and Syracuse University professor Beverly Kirk discussed those findings before a live and online audience. The panel highlighted the challenges Americans have faced throughout history, how public opinion and civic engagement influence the perception of our democracy, and how lessons learned from the past can help inform the present and future.

Fourteenth Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden (right) discusses the importance of libraries in an informed democracy today with Susan K. Urahn (left), president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts, at Pew’s 75th Anniversary Celebration Event in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2023. Hayden was appointed in 2016 by President Barack Obama and is both the first woman and African American to lead the national library.

In celebration of Pew’s 75th anniversary, we hosted a special live event titled “Strengthening Democracy in America,” featuring a conversation between Pew’s president and CEO, Sue Urahn, and Carla Hayden, the current librarian of Congress. They discussed how libraries serve as a “bastion of equal opportunity,” providing access to unbiased information, and why an informed citizenry is essential to a strong democracy.

More than 1,000 people attended The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th Anniversary Celebration Event in person in Washington, D.C., or online through virtual webcast on April 24, 2023. The session featured a conversation with 14th Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Susan K. Urahn, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts, on the importance of libraries in an informed democracy today, as well as a panel discussion with president of Pew Research Center Michael Dimock, filmmaker Ken Burns, and professor of practice and director of Washington programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Beverly Kirk, reflecting on America’s history and its future.

At The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th Anniversary Celebration Event, held in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2023, filmmaker Ken Burns (far right) discusses the “fourth crisis” happening today and what we can learn from other periods in history when Americans have faced dire and consequential challenges. His insights from more than four decades of filmmaking about important moments in American history provided context in a panel discussion with president of Pew Research Center Michael Dimock, who shared new findings on how Americans are feeling about the future, and professor of practice and director of Washington programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Beverly Kirk (far left), who explored opportunities for rebuilding trust.

At The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th Anniversary Celebration Event, held in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2023, president of Pew Research Center Michael Dimock shares new findings on how people are feeling about the nation’s future in a panel discussion featuring filmmaker Ken Burns (far right) and professor of practice and director of Washington programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Beverly Kirk (far left).

Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, speaks to The Pew Charitable Trusts’ staff members on Feb. 9 about Pew’s value of nonpartisanship and a pragmatic approach to policymaking.

In the foreground, from left: Pew leaders Heather Hulen (senior director and executive office chief of staff), Ralph Leslie (executive vice president, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer), and Makeba Clay (vice president, diversity, equity, and inclusion), listen to Valerie Jarrett speak.

Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, in conversation with Pew CEO Susan K. Urahn at Pew’s inaugural staff speaker series event on Feb. 9.

A celebration of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th anniversary

Only 19% of Americans are satisfied with the current state of the nation and 58% say that life for people like them is worse today than it was 50 years ago, according to an April survey from Pew Research Center. During an event on “Strengthening Democracy in America,” part of Pew’s 75th anniversary celebration, filmmaker Ken Burns, Pew Research Center president Michael Dimock, and Syracuse University professor Beverly Kirk discussed those findings before a live and online audience. The panel highlighted the challenges Americans have faced throughout history, how public opinion and civic engagement influence the perception of our democracy, and how lessons learned from the past can help inform the present and future.

Fourteenth Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden (right) discusses the importance of libraries in an informed democracy today with Susan K. Urahn (left), president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts, at Pew’s 75th Anniversary Celebration Event in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2023. Hayden was appointed in 2016 by President Barack Obama and is both the first woman and African American to lead the national library.

In celebration of Pew’s 75th anniversary, we hosted a special live event titled “Strengthening Democracy in America,” featuring a conversation between Pew’s president and CEO, Sue Urahn, and Carla Hayden, the current librarian of Congress. They discussed how libraries serve as a “bastion of equal opportunity,” providing access to unbiased information, and why an informed citizenry is essential to a strong democracy.

More than 1,000 people attended The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th Anniversary Celebration Event in person in Washington, D.C., or online through virtual webcast on April 24, 2023. The session featured a conversation with 14th Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and Susan K. Urahn, president and CEO of The Pew Charitable Trusts, on the importance of libraries in an informed democracy today, as well as a panel discussion with president of Pew Research Center Michael Dimock, filmmaker Ken Burns, and professor of practice and director of Washington programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Beverly Kirk, reflecting on America’s history and its future.

At The Pew Charitable Trusts’ 75th Anniversary Celebration Event, held in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2023, filmmaker Ken Burns (far right) discusses the “fourth crisis” happening today and what we can learn from other periods in history when Americans have faced dire and consequential challenges. His insights from more than four decades of filmmaking about important moments in American history provided context in a panel discussion with president of Pew Research Center Michael Dimock, who shared new findings on how Americans are feeling about the future, and professor of practice and director of Washington programs at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications Beverly Kirk (far left), who explored opportunities for rebuilding trust.