Advocates for Balance at Chautauqua

Our Mission:  "To Achieve a Balance of Speakers in a Mutually Civil and Respectful Environment Consistent with the Historic Mission of Chautauqua."
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Announcing Our 2026 Lectures!!

Peter Schweizer
​Monday, June 29th 3PM

Peter Schweizer is the co-founder and President of the Government Accountability Institute, which was formed to fight and expose cronyism and corruption in government.  He is the author of eight New York Times bestsellers, including five #1 best sellers “The Invisible Coup,” “Blood Money,” “Red Handed,” “Profiles in Corruption,” and “Secret Empires”.

Naomi Schaefer Riley
Monday, July 6th 3PM

Naomi Schaefer Riley is an American conservative commentator and author.   She is an American Enterprise Institute fellow. Writings have appeared in NYT, LA Times,the New York Post and Washington post. For the WSJ writing on religion, higher education, and philanthropy.

Jonathan Turley
​Monday July 13 3PM

George Washington University Law School professor, legal scholar, attorney, writer, commentator and legal analyst on national TV broadcasts and in print. Simon & Schuster selected his February 2026  book Rage and the Republic as their only 250th anniversary release. ​

Allen West
​Monday, July 20th 3PM
​Athenaeum Parlor

Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former member of the US Congress. His life has been defined as one of service, sacrifice, and commitment to the United States of America.  He has held many leadership roles in the Republican Party, and he believes it will be conservative, free market policies, not politics that secures a sound economic future for Americans.

Paul Kengor
​Monday, July 27th 3PM
​Athenaeum Parlor

Paul G. Kengor is an American author and professor of political science at Grove City College and the senior director of the Institute for Faith and Freedom, a Grove City College think tank. He is a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace. Kengor has focused much of his work on Ronald Reagan, faith and the presidency, conservative politics, the Cold War, Communism, and Catholicism.

Salena Zito
​August 3, 2026
​Athenaeum Parlor

Salena Zito is a veteran political reporter with more than twenty years of award-winning experience in print and broadcast journalism. She has been a columnist for the New York Post and has contributed to The Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Well known as one who listens to the stories of everyday Americans in places far outside the bubbles of Manhattan and the Beltway. Her book "Butler" debuted last July as the #1 New York Times best seller. 

Josh Kraushaar
​Monday, August 10th 3PM
​Athenaeum Parlor

A Washington political analyst with a track record on knowing election trends before they become conventional wisdom.  Author of Axis weekly Sunday Sneak Preview newsletter. A political analyst FoxNews,  Josh is also the editor-in-chief of the Jewish  Insider.

Ben Franklin (Bryan Austin)
​Monday, August 17th 3PM
​Athenaeum Parlor

Bryan Austin is an actor and historian known for bringing historical figures to life, particularly as Benjamin Franklin in his podcast "Let's Be Frank", where he uses primary sources to humorously explore Franklin's life and times.  He's also known for portraying James Madison in Colonial Williamsburg and is a story teller who aims to connect people with history through authentic, first-person accounts. 

Ivan Pongracic
​Monday, August 24th 3PM
​Athenaeum Parlor

Ivan Pongracic, Jr. is the William E. Hibbs/Ludwig von Mises Professor of Economics at Hillsdale College, where he has been teaching since 2000.  He came to truly appreciate the importance of free markets to human liberty and prosperity because of growing up in communist Yugoslavia, where he spent the first fourteen years of his life.  He was involved with various classical liberal and conservative institutions, such as the Foundation for Economic Education, the Independent Institute and the Cato Institute among others.  His book “Employees and Entrepreneurship” came out in 2009.
The topic of his lecture is “A Century of Socialist Failures.”
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 ADVOCATES FOR BALANCE AT CHAUTAUQUA TESTIMONIALS
"Dear ABC,
Your meetings have been a particular pleasure to me. Can't help but wonder if it's because they confirm what I already believe. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed them. I do like to hear other sides, but not ONLY one other side. What I don't understand is the strong animosity toward the ones that you arrange. Even a close friend who happens to be a Democrat, I was shocked to hear that I attended such meetings. I told her that..."  Tell me more ... 
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