Introduction

The Senate Presidents’ Forum convened for the start of its 29th year in La Jolla, CA, from January 4 – 7, 2023. Our non-partisan educational forum addresses major concerns and potential solutions shared by senate leaders across the country. Leadership strategies were the focus of in-depth discussions in La Jolla, with illustrations spanning from 400 BC to the latest concepts in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

​ISSUES​Plato’s Allegory of the Cave​How to Leverage Social Media​AI for the Public Sector​State of the State Budgets​Budget Roundtable​Nationalism Revived 

The participants explored how ideas originating with Plato could help senators effectively communicate new ideas; then moved to the present to assess the roles of social media in these communications; and then to the future, examining how AI may be applied to state strategies. A lively review of state budgets and projections is a perennial focus of the January meeting and was cautiously optimistic for FY2023, at least in the near term. The final session examined how growing global movements toward economic nationalism may impact the states.

​The Forum Welcomes New Senate Participant​Greg Reed
Senate President Pro TemporeAlabama 

​​Kevin Lynch (Avangrid), Sen. Page Cortez (Senate President, LA) and Bob Watkins (State Farm)     ​Melody Schopp (SAS), Anika Hagenson (Intuit) and Sen. Ann Millner (Chair, Senate Ethics Committee, UT)

​​Tyler Burr (RAI), Sen. David Sokola (Senate President Pro Tem, DE) and Stefani Millie Grant (Unilever)     ​Tommy Suter (Novartis) and Sen. Rod Bray (Senate President Pro Tem, IN)