The Council of the Great City Schools’ 67^th Annual Fall Conference in San Diego will feature former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, journalist Jemele Hill, and actor/playwright John Leguizamo as speakers.    

Cheney served in Congress from Wyoming from 2017 to 2023. For two years, she chaired the House Republican Conference and then served as vice chair of the Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Last year she was awarded the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s Profile in Courage Award commending her “courageous voice in defense of democracy.”  

Hill is author of Uphill: A Memoir, hosts the podcast Jemele Hill Is Unbothered, and is a contributing writer at The Atlantic. She formerly reported for ESPN, where she was co-anchor of “SportsCenter.” In 2018 she was named journalist of the year by the National Association of Black Journalists.  

Leguizamo, comedian, actor, and playwright, is hailed as a highly visible champion of Latinx culture, including his one-man Broadway show Latin History for Morons and a new MSNBC six-part series, “Leguizamo Does America,” which focuses on Latinx history and culture in various U.S. cities.  

Under the banner “Sailing Into the Future of Urban Education,” the conference, scheduled for Oct. 25-29, will give big-city school superintendents, board members, senior administrators, and college deans of education a forum to discuss issues and share information and best practices to improve teaching and learning. Hosted by the San Diego Unified School District, the five-day conference will be held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel.