We Are Facing History: Democracy — Past, Present & Future

Stacey Abrams is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, and political leader. She served eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as minority leader, and was the first Black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history. As a nonprofit founder Abrams has launched multiple organizations devoted to voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social and economic issues at the state and national levels including Fair Fight Action, Fair Count, and the Southern Economic Advancement Project. 

A small business owner, Abrams co-founded the financial services firm NOWaccount Corp., Insomnia Consulting with a focus on infrastructure and energy, the beverage company Nourish, Inc., and she launched the production company Sage Works Productions, Inc. in 2020. 

Abrams sits on both nonprofit and corporate boards, and she is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A tax attorney by training, Abrams holds degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, and Yale Law School.

Hannah Nguyen is an educator committed to empowering youth to be critically conscious leaders in their communities and curious learners for life. She is currently the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at Castilleja School, an independent girls school in Palo Alto. Before this role, she served the incredible students and families of ARISE High School in East Oakland as the Ethnic Studies teacher. In her classroom, Hannah builds a vibrant learning community where students come to confront history with courage and compassion, discover their untold stories, and determine their role in making history.

Born and raised in San Jose by a family of Vietnamese refugees, Hannah graduated from Notre Dame High School, a girls school where she discovered her passion for learning people's history and her calling to education through her engagement in Facing History's programs. She then went on to earn a BA in Sociology at the University of Southern California and a MA in Teaching: Urban Education & Social Justice at the University of San Francisco. At the core of her educational philosophy is the idea that the world was shaped by people who came before, and that it can be reshaped into something new. As an educator, Hannah's goal is to push students to understand this and to recognize the power they have in transforming their world.

When she isn't planning a workshop or working with students, she enjoys cooking, exploring new restaurants, singing at open mics and karaoke, and playing with her two cats, Sirius and Remus.