Winter Park Institute Announces Sec. Condoleezza Rice, 66th United States Secretary of State, as Spring Speaker for 2026 Speaker Series

Winter Park, Florida — January 14, 2026 — The Winter Park Institute announced today that Sec. Condoleezza Rice, 66th U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, will be the featured speaker for the April event of its 2026 Speaker Series.

The 2026 Speaker Series centers on the theme “Human Flourishing: How We Live Well Together,” inviting the community into substantive conversation about leadership, character, and the shared responsibilities that sustain free and dignified societies.

Dr. Rice brings a globally respected voice shaped by scholarship, public service, and executive leadership at the highest levels of government. Over the course of her career, she has helped guide U.S. foreign policy through periods of significant international complexity, consistently emphasizing democratic values, strategic cooperation, and principled leadership in public life.

Her life and career reflect the formative influence of family, education, faith, and community, as well as the resilience shaped by adversity. These experiences inform her conviction that human flourishing is not merely a private pursuit, but a collective endeavor rooted in responsibility to one another and to the institutions that sustain civic life.

Dr. Rice currently serves as the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where she is the first woman to lead the internationally recognized public policy research center. She is also a senior fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and a professor of political science. In addition to her academic and public service roles, she is a part-owner of the Denver Broncos.

Mark Freid, Executive Director of the Winter Park Institute, said, “Condoleezza Rice brings a rare combination of personal narrative and global perspective. Her leadership and scholarship invite us to think more deeply about how values, responsibility, and cooperation shape the kind of communities—and world—we aspire to build.”

Tony Jenkins, Chairman of the Winter Park Institute Board of Trustees, added, “Dr. Rice exemplifies leadership grounded in character, experience, and moral clarity. Her participation in our Speaker Series speaks directly to the challenge and promise of living well together with courage, humility, and shared purpose.”

The event will be presented as “A Conversation With…” and moderated by Brian Besanceney, former Chief of Staff to Dr. Rice and current Chairman of the Board of Orlando Health, the event’s title sponsor. Tickets will be going on sale soon.