How do you change your mind about politics?, Eric Liu (Citizen University)

In his book Live Like a Citizen, Eric Liu ’90 (Citizen University) sets forth eight elemental verbs — ways of being and being with that we have forgotten. One of those is how to change. In an age when so many cultural incentives reward righteous certitude, what does it take to change one’s mind or heart? What are we afraid of and what have we got invested in not changing? In this session you will get a chance to consider these questions in your life as a student, a citizen, and a human.  

Eric Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He is the author of numerous acclaimed books, including most recently Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy — a New York Times New & Notable Book — and Live Like a Citizen: 8 Ways to Change Your Mindset and Our Country, to be published in October 2026. Liu served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and as the President’s deputy domestic policy adviser. He was later appointed by President Barack Obama to the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. A graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School, Liu was elected in 2020 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and co-chairs its Our Common Purpose commission. He lives in Seattle, where he has served on the boards of the Seattle Public Library and the Washington State Board of Education.