21st Annual President's Breakfast

For twenty one years, Westmont College has presented  some of the most fascinating and impactful individuals of our time to address Santa Barbara community leaders on significant and timely topics. This year, the college is delighted to host Bret Stephens.

SPEAKER: BRET STEPHENS

American Journalist, Pulitzer Prize Winner

Bret Stephens offers a broad view of America’s role in the world today that he has developed as an

 international journalist and author at the highest levels. He has reported from around the world and interviewed scores of world leaders.

Stephens has been an accomplished and highly regarded columnist at some of the nation’s top media outlets. He is now with the New York Times after his time with the Wall Street Journal, where he was deputy editorial page editor and a foreign affairs columnist. Before that, at age 28, he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post. At The Post he oversaw the paper's news, editorial, digital and international operations, and also wrote a weekly column.

Bret is the author of America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, released in November 2014. In it, he argues that the US has been retreating from its role as the "world's policeman" in recent decades, which will lead to ever-greater world problems. 

He is currently working on a book about the free world. 

He is the recipient of numerous awards and distinctions, including three honorary doctorates, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. And interestingly, in 2022, the government of Russia banned him for life from visiting that country.

Bret was raised in Mexico City and holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics. He sits on numerous academic advisory boards and was a co-founder, with Garry Kasparov, of the Renew Democracy Initiative, an organization dedicated to advancing democratic principles throughout the world.

Bret and Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, his wife, a music critic and entrepreneur, live near New York City and have three children. 

ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S BREAKFAST

The Westmont Foundation, businesses and individuals sponsor the President’s Breakfast to promote discussion of significant issues. For event sponsorship opportunities, contact Steve Baker, Westmont associate vice president for advancement, at (805) 565-7156.

The President's Breakfast has hosted an array of fascinating speakers: