In 2009, the Center hosted events with many key players, including Hubert Joly, president and chief executive officer at Carlson; Edward Alden from the Council on Foreign Relations; Seymour Hersh from the New Yorker; Jane Mayer from the New Yorker; Lois Quam, founder and CEO of Tysvar, LLC; Speaker Margeret Anderson Kelliher from the Minnesota House of Representatives; and Minority Leader Marty Seifert from the Minnesota Senate.