OCON 2026 Speakers

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New Orleans

June 26-30, 2026 • Sheraton New Orleans Hotel

June 26-30, 2026

Sheraton New Orleans Hotel

Speakers

Amesh Adalja

Dr. Adalja, a board-certified physician in infectious disease, critical care medicine, emergency medicine, and internal medicine, specializes in the intersection of national security with catastrophic health events. He publishes and lectures on bioterrorism, pandemic preparedness, and emerging infectious diseases. Dr. Adalja is a frequent guest on national radio and television programs. During the COVID pandemic, he treated patients and engaged in high-level policy discussions, advising various organizations and communicating extensively with the public.

Ben Bayer

Dr. Bayer is a fellow and director of content at the Ayn Rand Institute. He teaches at ARU and gives talks and interviews for ARI. He writes and edits for ARI’s online publication, New Ideal. Dr. Bayer’s writing focuses primarily on the application of philosophy to contemporary cultural and political controversies.

Harry Binswanger

Dr. Binswanger, Ph.D. in philosophy, was an associate of Ayn Rand’s and is editor of The Ayn Rand Lexicon and co-editor of the revised edition of Ayn Rand’s Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. He is the author of How We Know and The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts and was the founding editor/publisher of The Objectivist Forum. In addition to owning and moderating the Harry Binswanger Letter, he is an instructor at the Ayn Rand Institute.

Yaron Brook

Dr. Brook is chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute. He is co-author, with Don Watkins, of In Pursuit of Wealth (2017), Equal Is Unfair (2016), and of the national bestseller Free Market Revolution (2012). He is the host of The Yaron Brook Show on YouTube. He is a frequent guest on national radio and television programs.

Alex Epstein

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Onkar Ghate

Dr. Ghate is senior fellow, chief philosophy officer, and a board member of the Ayn Rand Institute. He specializes in Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, and is ARI’s senior instructor and editor. He publishes and lectures on Rand’s philosophy and fiction, including application of Objectivism to cultural issues, and has been a guest on national radio and television programs.

Gena Gorlin

Dr. Gorlin is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, a practicing licensed psychologist, and a coach for entrepreneurs and other ambitious innovators. She has published numerous academic and popular articles on her research examining the moral psychology of self-creation, and she writes a popular Substack newsletter titled Building the Builders. 

Audra Hilse

Miss Hilse is the archivist at the Ayn Rand Archives, where she manages the Archives’ collections and staff. She holds a BA in History, an MLIS, a Digital Archives Specialist certificate from the Society of American Archivists and is a graduate of the Objectivist Academic Center. Prior to joining ARI, she worked at corporate archives and county historical societies.

Brandon Lisi

Mr. Lisi is a historian who manages the physical holdings of the Ayn Rand Archives and assists with digital archival projects. He also writes articles for ARI’s online journal, New Ideal, and for Ayn Rand Today, based on his archival research. Mr. Lisi holds a master’s degree in history and is a graduate of ARU.

Kieth Lockitch

Dr. Lockitch is ARI vice president of education and a senior fellow. Dr. Lockitch trains students in how to communicate philosophic ideas and uses his background as a physicist to apply Ayn Rand’s ideas to crucial issues in science and technology. Dr. Lockitch received his PhD in physics from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and has conducted postdoctoral research in relativistic astrophysics.

Robert Mayhew

Dr. Mayhew, a member of ARI’s board of directors, teaches philosophy at Seton Hall University. He is the author or editor of nine books in his area of specialization, ancient philosophy (for instance, his recent Aristotle’s Lost Homeric Problems), and author or editor of ten books related to Ayn Rand and Objectivism.

Michael Mazza

Dr. Mazza is an associate fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute. He specializes in the philosophy of science with a particular interest in causality. Dr. Mazza received his PhD in philosophy from Saint Louis University.

Shoshana Milgram

Dr. Milgram, associate professor of English at Virginia Tech, specializes in narrative fiction and film. Her scholarship includes introductions to Victor Hugo’s novels, a study of Ayn Rand’s life up to 1957, and articles on Dostoevsky, George Eliot, Nabokov, and others. She relishes the roles of literary detective and cheerleader.

Steven Pinker

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Greg Salmieri

Dr. Salmieri teaches philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Brigham Fellowship for the Study of Objectivism and directs the Salem Center’s Objectivity Program. Dr. Salmieri is the co-editor of A Companion to Ayn Rand (2016), Foundations of a Free Society (2019), and Two Philosophers: Aristotle and Ayn Rand (2026).

Blake Scholl

Blake Scholl is founder/CEO at Boom Supersonic, which he founded in 2014 with the goal of making supersonic flight mainstream. Boom has built and flown XB-1, the first-ever independently-developed supersonic jet and the first new civil supersonic airplane since Concorde. Prior to founding Boom, Blake held leadership roles at Amazon and Groupon and co-founded the mobile technology startup, Kima Labs (acquired by Groupon).

Peter Schwartz

Mr. Schwartz is the author of The Tyranny of Need: Examining the Code of Self-Sacrifice—and the Alternative of Rational, Non-Predatory Self-Interest (Expanded Second Edition). He is a former chairman of the board at ARI, and is currently a distinguished fellow there.

Tara Smith

Dr. Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, where she specializes in moral and legal philosophy. Dr. Smith has published numerous books and articles, including, most recently, Egoism Without Permission: The Moral Psychology of Ayn Rand’s Ethics and The First Amendment: Essays on the Imperative of Intellectual Freedom.

Tal Tsfany

Mr. Tsfany is president and CEO of the Ayn Rand Institute. Previously, he was an entrepreneur and executive in the software world in Israel and the United States. Mr. Tsfany runs the Happiness Team and the Hero Mastermind programs, guiding participants to rationally and passionately pursue their values. His latest book is Secrets of a Passionate life.

David Bakker

Mr. Bakker is a master’s student at Utrecht University in the Netherlands where he is pursuing a double degree in mathematics and history and philosophy of science. He graduated from the OAC (the precursor to ARU) in 2023 and has been a teaching assistant for the ARU course Foundations of Physical Science. Next year he will be writing his master’s thesis on Joseph Fourier and Fourier analysis.

John Cerasuolo

Mr. Cerasuolo is CEO of Leap Partners, a private equity-backed rollup of HVAC and plumbing businesses across the Southeast. He launched Leap Partners in 2022 after selling ADS Security, the 17th largest electronic security company in the US. Mr. Cerasuolo is chairman of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a state-based free-market think tank.

Robertas Bakula

Mr. Bakula is an associate fellow and program specialist in ARI’s Intellectual Incubator. He writes and speaks as a teaching assistant in the Ayn Rand Institute’s educational programs.

Loren Corle

Mr. Corle, a recently retired entrepreneur, started as a piping contractor in 1982 and grew his business into an international concern. His company, RELCO LLC, provides customized, design-build processing systems and equipment for dairy and food manufacturing plants in over 30 countries and on all six inhabited continents. He sold the company in 2020. Today, he maintains a consulting business and is involved in local business organizations, including a business-funded and -directed high school accredited course for young entrepreneurs where he is vice chair of the board.

Tristan de Liège

Dr. de Liège is a junior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute. He received his PhD from the University of California, Riverside, in 2021. His research centers on productive work and its relationship to well-being, Aristotle’s ethics, and virtue ethics.

Thomas Eiden

Mr. Eiden is a nuclear engineer-turned-entrepreneur who is tackling the global radioisotope shortage. His career began as a graduate researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying advanced nuclear fuels and operating both the university’s reactor and its particle accelerator. After graduating, Mr. Eiden became a reactor engineer at the Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory. He founded Atomic Alchemy Inc. in 2018 and received his first investment from the storied startup accelerator Y Combinator. In February, Atomic Alchemy was acquired by Oklo Inc.

Elan Journo

Mr. Journo is a senior fellow and vice president at ARI, overseeing content, advanced intellectual training, and the Ayn Rand Archives. His books include What Justice Demands: America and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism: What Went Wrong after 9/11, and Illuminating Ayn Rand.

Nicolas Krusek

Mr. Krusek is a speaker and educator with twenty years of experience teaching music, literature, and history. He has given educational talks to audiences at opera performances and symphony concerts and has taught courses for the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Studies and the Simon Fraser University Liberal Arts and 55+ Program.

Jason Rheins

Dr. Rheins is a scholar of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. He has taught or held professorships at the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, UNC Chapel Hill, St. John’s University, and Loyola University Chicago. He has published articles and book chapters on the history of philosophy, the philosophy of science, and metaphysics. He is currently writing a monograph on Plato’s theology.

Ray Schram

Dr. Schram holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park, specializing in harmonic analysis. He is currently co-authoring a book on the philosophical foundation of the real and complex number systems.

Alex Silverman

Dr. Silverman earned his PhD in philosophy from Yale University in 2014, writing a dissertation on Benedict de Spinoza. He has taught broadly in the history of philosophy and has published on Spinoza in various academic journals.

Nikos Sotirakopoulos

Dr. Sotirakopoulos is a visiting fellow at ARI. His main research interest is the history of political ideas, and he teaches two courses at ARU on Marxism and the modern Left. He is the author of Identity Politics and Tribalism: The New Culture Wars.

Derek Sutherland

Dr. Sutherland is an applied physicist and nuclear engineer who has focused his professional career on R&D of fusion energy technologies for both terrestrial power generation and advanced space propulsion. Beyond his technical work, Dr. Sutherland is involved in U.S. nuclear energy policy development and serves as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy on their fusion energy program.

C. Bradley Thompson

Dr. C. Bradley Thompson is professor of political philosophy at Clemson University and is the executive director of the Clemson’s Snow Institute for the Study of Capitalism. He is the founder and director of the Lyceum Scholars Program at Clemson. Dr. Thompson is currently finishing his next book, titled America’s Constitutional Mind: On the Origin and History of the Idea of a Written Constitution as Fundamental Law. You can read Dr. Thompson’s public writings at his Substack, “The Redneck Intellectual,” where he writes on current intellectual and cultural trends, politics, and K-12 education.

Agustina Vergara Cid

Ms. Vergara Cid writes and speaks for ARI, and is a teaching assistant at ARU. Ms. Vergara Cid focuses on the application of Rand’s philosophy to public policy issues with an emphasis on American immigration policy. She speaks to Latin American audiences about the importance of freedom, its ethical foundations, and the importance of rejecting collectivism. Her writings have appeared in publications such as Newsweek, The Hill, and RealClearPolitics. She has been interviewed in various media in English and Spanish, and often speaks at events for American and Latin American audiences. Ms. Vergara Cid holds an LLB from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina, and an LLM from the University of Southern California; she is a graduate of ARU.

Don Watkins

Mr. Watkins is vice president of fundraising and marketing at the Ayn Rand Institute. He is the best-selling author of books such as Equal Is Unfair (co-authored with Yaron Brook) and, most recently, Effective Egoism.

Steven Warden

Mr. Warden is a graduate student in moral philosophy at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, a research assistant at the Salem Center for Policy at the University of Texas at Austin, and a member of the ARU Graduate Center. His research focuses on moral values, individualism, and Objectivism.

Sam Weaver

Mr. Weaver writes, speaks, and teaches for ARI. As the first recipient of the Conceptual Education Fellowship, he applies Ayn Rand’s philosophy to issues related to the field of education. He has written and spoken about the reading crisis in American schools, controversies over indoctrination in public schools, and the value of educational freedom, among other issues. He applies Objectivism to other areas as well, most notably literature. His work regularly appears on New Ideal and The Ayn Rand Institute Podcast. For ARU—ARI’s distance-learning program—Mr. Weaver worked as co-lead instructor and as a teaching assistant for courses on writing, literature, and Objectivism. He has played a leadership role in other educational initiatives. Mr. Weaver is a graduate of ARI’s education program and holds a BA in English from Davidson College. Currently, he is pursuing an MA in liberal arts from St. John’s College.

Josh Windham

Mr. Windham is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice where he litigates nationwide in defense of property rights and economic liberty. He is the co-director of the Institute for Justice’s Fourth Amendment Project and is currently litigating cases involving warrantless searches of private land, baseless traffic stops, and dragnet camera surveillance.

Jeff Britting

Mr. Britting is a leading authority on Ayn Rand’s life and cultural impact. A composer, filmmaker, and playwright, he is the author of the 2004 short biography Ayn Rand, the first biographical work based on unrestricted access to the Ayn Rand Papers (held at the Ayn Rand Archives).

Dihann Geier

Ms. Geier is a former ballroom dance studio owner. She has taught many forms of dance to different age groups, from kids to seniors, and has performed nationally and internationally in ballroom, swing, and line dancing competitions. She’s been a choreographer and team captain for competitive youth and adult line dance teams. Ms. Geier taught the popular Miami Dance and Salsa class at OCON 2023.

James Lennox

Dr. Lennox is professor emeritus of history and philosophy of science, University of Pittsburgh. He has published widely on the history and philosophy of biology with a special focus on Aristotle, Charles Darwin, and evolutionary biology. He is a founding member of the Ayn Rand Society and co-editor of the Ayn Rand Society Philosophical Studies series.

Scott McDonald

Mr. McDonald is a retired US Marine Corps China specialist and PhD candidate at The Fletcher School of Tufts University. He has taught at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Tufts University, and Wellesley College. He is co-editor of and a chapter author in The Future of the United States–Australia Alliance (2021).

Bendrix Bailey

Mr. Bailey is a seasoned entrepreneur and investor with decades of experience in technology and commercial real estate. He founded Measurement Computing Corp. and led the company to a $34M acquisition, later building a successful real estate business focused on airport properties. He is entering law school in 2026 with the goal of practicing law by December of 2029, which he intends to do not for financial profit, but to fight censorship and government tyranny inflicted upon those who lack the resources to defend themselves.

Jean Moroney

Ms. Moroney, president of Thinking Directions, teaches ambitious people the psycho-epistemological skills they need to achieve challenging, selfish goals. This material is available to individuals in her Thinking Lab, an online membership program.

Evan Picoult

Dr. Picoult has had a long, successful overlapping career at Columbia University and Citigroup. He has been affiliated with four departments at Columbia University: Physics (PhD), Psychology (assistant professor), Business (MBA, adjunct professor), and Engineering and Applied Science (adjunct professor). Dr. Picoult retired as managing director of Citigroup (1980–2018), where his work focused on developing methods for measuring financial risks.

Thomas Shoebotham

Mr. Shoebotham is principal conductor of New Ballet in San Jose, California. Previous conducting engagements have included Berkeley Opera, Opera San José, Palo Alto Philharmonic and many others. He has lectured on music, taught in school music programs, and performed numerous recitals as a cellist and pianist over the last thirty years.
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