Ploughshares Fund Chain Reaction 2017 with Headliner John Kerry

Former Secretary of State John Kerry will be the keynote speaker of Ploughshares Fund’s annual event, the global peace and security group announced today. Chain Reaction 2017 will take place at Fort Mason Center, Cowell Theater at 6 pm on June 5.

For the past 35 years, Ploughshares Fund has worked to make the world safe from the dangers posed by nuclear weapons wherever they come from – whether North Korea, Iran, Washington, DC or elsewhere.

During his years in the US Senate and throughout his tenure as Secretary of State in the Obama administration, Kerry provided skillful leadership on matters of global security. As Secretary, Kerry’s leading role in negotiating the Iran nuclear agreement and the Paris Climate Accord demonstrated his commitment to solving the two biggest threats to our planet today: nuclear weapons and climate change.

Both of these groundbreaking agreements are now at risk. Secretary Kerry will sit down with Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione to discuss how we can save these landmark victories – and stop other nuclear threats – in the current political climate.

"We are deeply honored that John Kerry will join Ploughshares Fund to discuss our growing global security threats,” said Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione.

“As a Senator and as the Secretary of State, John Kerry, worked tirelessly and heroically to reduce nuclear dangers and reverse climate change. Without his leadership and negotiating stamina, we may never have secured the historic agreement with Iran that stopped a bomb and prevented a new Middle East war. We might not have the Paris Climate Accord that will slow the warming of the planet. Both ensure a much safer future, and both are now under grave threat. We must do everything we can to protect these great achievements,” Cirincione added.

In addition to Kerry and Cirincione, the evening’s speakers include Meredith Horowski, global campaign director for the anti-nuclear weapons advocacy group, Global Zero. The program will be followed by a hors d’oeuvres and cocktail reception.

Tickets
Individual tickets for Chain Reaction start at $250. Sponsorships, some of which include access to the VIP reception, tickets and recognition are $2,500, $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000. Call Ploughshares Fund at (415) 668-2244 or visit http://www.ploughshares.org/chainreaction2017 for more information or to purchase tickets online.

Speaker Bios

John Kerry, Former Secretary of State (2013-2017)
A decorated combat veteran, activist, best-selling author, five-term United States Senator, John Forbes Kerry was sworn in as the 68th Secretary of State of the United States on February 1, 2013, becoming the first sitting Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman to serve as Secretary in over a century. Kerry drew from this experience to provide the State Department with global stewardship on issues ranging from nuclear nonproliferation to radical extremists, to humanitarian challenges and the rising threat of climate change. In 2013, Kerry became the first Secretary of State to meet with Iran’s Foreign Minister since the Iranian revolution of 1979. This meeting was the highest-level U.S. diplomatic contact with Iran in more than six years, and a key moment on the journey towards the eventual signing of the landmark 2015 agreement to prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon. Faced with the rising threat of global climate change, Kerry was also a key architect of the Paris Climate Accord, signing the historic agreement to reduce carbon emissions in 2016. Earlier this year, Secretary Kerry announced plans for a memoir, expected in 2018.

Meredith Horowski, Global Campaign Director, Global Zero
Ploughshares Fund grantee, Global Zero, is building an international movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons, making a point to focus on young people. Horowski leads their public mobilization efforts and global field strategy, engaging activists and reigniting Global Zero’s grassroots work on campuses across the country and around the world.

Joe Cirincione, President, Ploughshares Fund
Joe Cirincione is a highly regarded nuclear policy expert. Cirincione served on Secretary Kerry's International Security Advisory Board and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late, among other books, and frequent commentator in the media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC News, CNN and MSNBC.

About Ploughshares Fund
Ploughshares Fund is a global peace and security foundation that believes everybody has the right to a safe and secure future. It is the nation’s largest publicly-supported foundation dedicated exclusively to fighting the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. With offices in both Washington, DC and San Francisco – where it was founded in 1981 at the height of the Cold War – Ploughshares Fund invests in initiatives that strive to reduce nuclear weapons threats. They include efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate the world’s nuclear stockpiles, to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to promote stability in regions of conflict where these weapons exist. The successful civil society campaign to support diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb through peaceful means is one such initiative.

WHAT: Ploughshares Fund Chain Reaction 2017


WHEN: Monday, June 5, 2017

Program: 6:00pm

Reception: immediately following program

WHERE: Program: Fort Mason Center, Cowell Theater

Reception: Fort Mason Center Gallery 308, Landmark Building A

2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123

venue can be reached via municipal transit lines (map)

WHO: Special Guests:
Former Secretary of State John Kerry

Global Zero Meredith Horowski,

Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione

TICKETS AND EVENT INFO:

Individual tickets start at $250

Sponsorships are $2,500, $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000

Call (415) 668-2244 or visit http://www.ploughshares.org/chainreaction2017

for more information or to purchase tickets online