Inside the US Elections

Matt Bennett

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS, THIRD WAY

As a 23-year-old campaign staffer, Matt Bennett helped stage the infamous “Dukakis in a tank” photo-op that helped sink Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential campaign. Matt would never again put a candidate in a tank (other than a think tank), but now he is a long-serving veteran of many political wars.

His pursuit of center-left politics has taken Matt from the campaign trail to the White House, and from the pages of The New York Times to appearances on Meet the Press and 60 Minutes. He worked on both of the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton, his political hero. He served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Clinton White House, where he was the principal White House liaison to governors and covered issues ranging from disaster response to Medicaid to immigration. Prior to that, Matt traveled with Vice President Al Gore on his White House staff. He was Director of Communications for Wesley Clark’s presidential campaign in 2004, and from 2001-2004 he was Director of Public Affairs for Americans for Gun Safety.

In 2005, Matt joined his three fellow co-founders in establishing Third Way, believing that there is a tremendous need for fresh thinking and moderate ideas in a time of extreme political immoderation. Matt earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia – School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Pennsylvania. He lives outside Washington, DC with his wife Susan Lambert. They have two sons in their twenties. Matt also is proud to serve as the Chair of the Board of Sandy Hook Promise, a gun violence prevention and school safety organization.

Roberto D'Alimonte

PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, LUISS GUIDO CARLI UNIVERSITY, ROME: LECTURER, NYU FLORENCE

Roberto D’Alimonte is professor of political science  at Luiss-Guido Carli in Rome where he has also been chair of the department of political sciences. He is also adjunct professor in the Florence campus of New York University. Until 2010 he has taught for over 30 years at the University of Florence.  Professor D’Alimonte has  been Ford Foundation Fellow at Yale and American Council of Learned Societies Fellow at Harvard  and  taught as visiting professor in the political science department at Yale. In the Fall of 1989 he gave his first course in the political science department at Stanford University in Palo Alto and has continued to teach there as a visiting professor  for a number of years. At Stanford he has also given courses on Europe in the MBA program at the Graduate School of Business and he has been for many years a speaker in the Stanford Business School’s Executive Program.

His most recent research interests have to do with political and electoral change in Western democracies, particularly Italy. In 2005 he founded the Italian Center for Electoral Studies and has been its director until March 2019. Well-known  as a political journalist, Professor D’Alimonte covers political events for Il Sole 24 Ore, Italy’s major financial newspaper. He is often sought out by international media for commentary on current Italian and European affairs. His quotes have appeared in the New York Times, Financial Times, The Times, New Yorker, Le Monde, Asahi Shimbun, Bloomberg, Reuters. He has collaborated with former Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on electoral reform.

Morgan Fiumi

TECHNOLOGY ENTREPRENEUR AND INNOVATOR

Morgan Fiumi is a Florentine-American technology entrepreneur and innovator. After launching his career in finance, Morgan transitioned into tech in the media and entertainment industry, where he founded and led two startups to successful exits. His expertise spans a wide range of platforms and disruptive technologies, earning him multiple patents for his innovations. Recently, he co-founded and now serves as CEO of a startup focused on AI-enabled localization, driven by a mission to make content more accessible to audiences worldwide.
Now based in Florence with his family, Morgan continues to collaborate with startups while being deeply involved in the city’s cultural and entrepreneurial scene. He founded the Lungarno Chats, a dynamic forum for thought leaders to explore topics ranging from art and culture to science and technology. He is also an active member of ConnectUS, a network dedicated to connecting Florence’s startup ecosystem with US and global resources.
Passionate about advocating for education, Morgan serves as Chairman of the Board at the International School of Florence and actively supports the arts. He holds a B.S. in Finance from New York University, an MBA from the University of Southern California, and a Master’s in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies

Rogan Kersh

ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Rogan Kersh is Academic Director of NYU Florence, Associate Vice Chancellor of NYU Global Programs, and Professor of Public Policy at NYU Wagner School. Rogan served from 2006-12 as academic dean of NYU Wagner, then departed to serve as Provost at Wake Forest University until rejoining NYU this past summer in Florence. Rogan has also taught at Yale (where he received his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D.), DIS Copenhagen, and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of public affairs.

As Wake Forest provost, Rogan helped lead a $1.1 billion capital campaign, and oversaw academic program launches of engineering and biomedical sciences, the heart of a 1.25-million square foot Innovation Quarter. He was also a key leader of the University’s successful navigation of the COVID pandemic. Prior to his role at Wake Forest, as NYU Wagner academic dean Rogan was instrumental in launching the Wagner undergraduate program in 2009-10; he also worked on global programs including the planning and launch of NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU Shanghai, and NYU’s Washington, DC, campus.

Rogan’s professional experience includes service in the U.S. Senate and British Parliament, and at think tanks in Washington, DC, and Tokyo; he also has lobbying experience with the DC office of Price Waterhouse Coopers. He has published more than 50 academic articles and three books, on US politics and on health policy; a 7th edition of his top-selling college textbook on U.S. government will be out in early 2025 from Oxford University Press. His current book project is on the politics & culture of the rising generation of young Americans.

Sarah Longwell

LONGWELL PARTNERS & THE BULWARK

Sarah Longwell is the President and CEO of Longwell Partners Longwell Partners & The Bulwark, a full-service communications firm in Washington, D.C. Sarah is a Co-Founder of the organization Defending Democracy Together and president of Republican Accountability PAC. Notable past projects are Republican Voters Against Trump and Republicans for the Rule of Law.

Sarah is also the Publisher of The Bulwark and host of The Focus Group Podcast. A long-time Republican strategist and former national board chair of the Log Cabin Republicans, Sarah launched Longwell Partners to rebuild Americans’ trust in our institutions…and each other. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her family and is a graduate of Kenyon College.

Alexander Monge-Naranjo

PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE

Alexander Monge-Naranjo is a Professor of Economics who joined the European University Institute in 2021. He has also held positions at Northwestern University, Penn State, INCAE Business School and visiting positions at the University of Tokyo, Goethe University in Frankfurt and Universidad de Chile. His research is on human capital and its role in macroeconomic outcomes and income distribution, including structural transformation, misallocation of resources, growth and international trade and investment. His work has been published in Econometrica, American Economic Review and Quarterly Journal of Economics among other leading journals.

Lorenzo Ricci

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Lorenzo Ricci is an accomplished business strategist with over two decades of experience driving growth and innovation across a variety of sectors, particularly in education, human resources, and business consulting. Currently serving as the Associate Director of Administration at NYU Florence, Lorenzo brings a wealth of expertise in business operations, talent development, and strategic leadership to his role.

Prior to joining NYU, Lorenzo spent nearly five years as the Business and Operations Manager at the International School of Florence, where he was instrumental in optimizing operational processes and fostering a high-performance culture.

Lorenzo’s leadership extends beyond individual organizations—he has also been a significant force in regional business development, serving as Vice President of the AIDP Toscana Group (2008-2018), where he advocated for best practices in human resource management. He has also contributed to educational leadership as the Director of Scuola di Scienze Aziendali, providing mentorship to students and aligning academic programs with industry needs.

Earlier in his career, Lorenzo gained valuable consulting experience as an Area Leader for The European House-Ambrosetti leading projects of business strategy for local industries and as Deputy Director at Confindustria Firenze, where he focused on education and training policies, talent management, and fostering connections between businesses, schools, and universities.

With a strong commitment to shaping the future of education and workforce development, Lorenzo is passionate about fostering open-minded leaders and forward- thinking professionals who can thrive in today’s complex global environment

Laura Sparavigna

FLORENCE MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONER

At the age of 20 Laura Sparavigna was elected in the 4th District of Florence, where she was Vice President of the Sport and Youth Policies’ Commission. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work, she did a first internship at the External Criminal Execution Office in Florence where she discovered the potential of a cohesive and inclusive community, and then a second internship at the European Parliament in Brussels, an international context with which she continued to collaborate through the European Committee of the Regions. In 2019, she was elected to the Florence City Council where she holds the position of President of the 9th Commission “Education, Training and Labur”. She has always been active and committed to transgenerational and sustainable development, so in 2022 she founded the association “Tocca a noi”, promoter of the “TamponTax Tour” with which we obtained the reduction of VAT on sanitary products