Oct 4, 2016 "The Partisan Politics of the Congressional Budget Process," by Molly Reynolds Molly Reynolds is a fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings. She studies Congress, with an emphasis on how congressional rules and procedure affect domestic policy outcomes. Reynolds received her Ph.D. in political science and public policy from the University of Michigan and her A.B. in government from Smith College. 6:05 – 6:45 p.m.: Molly Reynolds offers her remarks. 6:45- 7:00 p.m.: Bill and Molly invite audience Q&A. 7:00 p.m.: Bill thanks the speaker and the audience. Brookings Mountain West presents Cleantech Innovation in U.S. States and Metropolitan Regions, a talk by Devashree Saha, Ph.D., senior policy associate & associate fellow, Metropolitan Policy, Brookings Institution, as part of the Fall 2016 Brookings Scholar Lecture Series. Brookings Mountain West will host, The 2016 Election: Why Las Vegas Matters, a panel discussion including experts in U.S. politics and presidential campaigns designed to highlight the increasing importance of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada in national elections. David Damore serves as professor of political science at UNLV. Damore’s research interests focus on the study of campaigns and elections and public policy at the state and national levels. John Hudak is deputy director of the Center for Effective Public Management and a senior fellow in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program

Michael Hansen, September 29, 2016 6:00 p.m.: Michael Hansen and Bill Brown receive wireless mikes. 6:00 p.m.: Bill Brown introduces the speaker. “Access to Quality Teaching: "Myths, Facts, and Potential Policy Solutions for the Future.” This research shows teacher quality varies much more within the same school than it does across schools, even looking across schools serving students from very different backgrounds. Access to quality teaching is not equal, though it is not nearly as formidable a challenge as previously believed. A variety of potential policy solutions will be presented to enhance the access of disadvantaged students to high-quality teaching. Dr. Michael Hansen is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the Deputy Director of the Brown Center on Education Policy. A labor economist by training, he has conducted original research on the teacher quality, value-added measurement, teacher evaluation, and teacher responses to incentives and accountability using state longitudinal data systems. Other areas of research include school turnaround and STEM learning. Ph.D. Economics, University of Washington, June 2009 M.A. Economics, University of Washington, June 2007 B.S. Economics, cum laude, Brigham Young University, April 2003 6:05 – 6:45 p.m.: Michael Hansen offers his remarks. 6:45- 7:00 p.m.: Bill and Michael invite audience Q&A. 7:00 p.m.: Bill thanks the speaker and the audience. PUBLIC LECTURE: "The Partisan Politics of the Congressional Budget Process," by Molly Reynolds, Ph.D., fellow, governance studies, Brookings Institution, October 4, 2016, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Ben Wittes September 21, 2016 6:00 p.m.: Ben Wittes and Bill Brown receive wireless mikes. 6:00 p.m.: Bill Brown introduces the speaker. Sextortion: How Big a Problem is It? by Benjamin Wittes, Ph.D., senior fellow, governance studies, Brookings Institution. One of the authors of a report, “Sextortion: Cybersecurity, Teenagers, and Remote Sexual Assault.” The word “sextortion” is a prosecutorial slang for a new kind of cybersecurity problem: the extortion of sexual conduct online by victims—often a great many of them—by means of threatening the release of sexually explicit images. A recent Brookings study reveals that sextortion is remarkably prevalent. The justice department has identified sextortion as the most important and fastest-growing cyber threat to children, but many victims are also adult women Benjamin Wittes is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. He co-founded and is the editor-in-chief of the Lawfare blog, which is devoted to sober and serious discussion of "Hard National Security Choices," and is a member of the Hoover Institution's Task Force on National Security and Law. He is the author of Detention and Denial: The Case for Candor After Guantanamo, published in November 2011. He is also writing a book on data and technology proliferation and their implications for security. Between 1997 and 2006, he served as an editorial writer for The Washington Post specializing in legal affairs. Before joining the editorial page staff of The Washington Post, Wittes covered the Justice Department and federal regulatory agencies as a reporter and news editor at Legal Times. His writing has also appeared in a wide range of journals and magazines including The Atlantic, Slate, The New Republic, The Wilson Quarterly, The Weekly Standard, Policy Review, and First Things. 6:05 – 6:45 p.m.: Ben Wittes offers his remarks. 6:45- 7:00 p.m.: Bill and Ben invite audience Q&A. 7:00 p.m.: Bill thanks the speaker and the audience. Access to Quality Teaching" Myths, Facts, and Potential Policy Solutions for the Future, a talk by Michael Hansen, Ph.D., senior fellow, education policy, Brookings Institution, as part of the Fall 2016 Brookings Scholar Lecture Series. Thursday - September 29, 2016, 6 - 7pm