Lessons of Leadership (Audio)

"You mean to tell me that me, Toni Novello, the little kid from Puerto Rico who has been in the National Institutes of Health all her life has been picked?" When President George H.W. Bush tapped Dr. Antonia Novello to be Surgeon General from 1990 to 1993, she could hardly believe her ears. She was both the first woman and the first Latin American ever to serve as the nation's number one public health officer. She had come a long way from the little town of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, where her widowed mother had struggled to raise a child who was sick from birth. Overlooked in the public health system of her native island, Antonia waited 18 years for the operation that allowed her to live a normal life. Undaunted by illness, discomfort or hardship, she excelled in school and embarked on the study of medicine, determined to spare other children the neglect she had suffered for so long. Dr. Novello has specialized throughout her career in the health problems of children and adolescents. It was her work in pediatric AIDS that led to her appointment as Surgeon General. In that role, as representative of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, and as Commissioner of Health for the State of New York until 2007, Dr. Novello has been a tireless campaigner for children's health, and an inspiration to young men and women around the world.

In 1995, when retired General Colin Powell took himself out of the running for President of the United States, he was leading every candidate in every poll. At the time, his autobiography, My American Journey, was a national bestseller. Millions of Americans have been inspired by his life story, from his boyhood in the South Bronx, through service in Vietnam, to his term as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. General Powell was the first African-American and the youngest officer ever to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ranking officer in the United States military. Most Americans got their first vivid impressions of General Powell in this role, at his televised press briefings during the 1991 Gulf War. His articulate, forthright manner and unassuming dignity made him a favorite of statesmen, journalists and the general public. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him Secretary of State, a position that placed him at the head of America's foreign policy, and fourth in line of succession to the Presidency itself. He served throughout the first term of the Bush administration, a period that included the September 2001 attacks on the United States and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He remains one of the most admired Americans, a leader whose prestige transcends party and ideology. For over 20 years, he has been at the center of the most momentous events of our time.

In 1995, when retired General Colin Powell took himself out of the running for President of the United States, he was leading every candidate in every poll. At the time, his autobiography, My American Journey, was a national bestseller. Millions of Americans have been inspired by his life story, from his boyhood in the South Bronx, through service in Vietnam, to his term as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. General Powell was the first African-American and the youngest officer ever to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ranking officer in the United States military. Most Americans got their first vivid impressions of General Powell in this role, at his televised press briefings during the 1991 Gulf War. His articulate, forthright manner and unassuming dignity made him a favorite of statesmen, journalists and the general public. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed him Secretary of State, a position that placed him at the head of America's foreign policy, and fourth in line of succession to the Presidency itself. He served throughout the first term of the Bush administration, a period that included the September 2001 attacks on the United States and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He remains one of the most admired Americans, a leader whose prestige transcends party and ideology. For over 20 years, he has been at the center of the most momentous events of our time.

For two months of his life Paul Rusesabagina held insanity at bay as he watched his country fall into the grips of genocide in 1994. A Hutu manager of a luxury hotel in Rwanda, he sheltered over 1,200 people, including his own Tutsi wife and children, saving their lives at a time when extremists massacred more than 800,000 members of the Tutsi tribe, along with more moderate Hutus, in just 100 days. His wrenching story is chronicled in the critically acclaimed film, Hotel Rwanda, a riveting account of a man finding courage within himself to save others in the midst of his country's darkest moment. When Rwanda descended into madness, Rusesabagina took action. While militants threatened and surrounded the hotel, he spent hours on the phone, pleading with influential leaders, his international connections his only defense against attack. He bartered luxury items -- such as money, gold, cigars, and aged bottles of wine he had hoarded in the hotel -- for the lives of strangers seeking refuge in the chaos. Miraculously, no one housed in the hotel died. As the world turned its back on the horrific tragedy, Rusesabagina was one man who saved few among the many lost. Through the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, he supports the survivors of the genocide in Rwanda, and attempts to raise the world's awareness of similar horrors now unfolding in the Congo and in the Darfur region of Sudan.

At age 44, George Tenet became the youngest man ever to lead the CIA. He studied at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and Columbia's School of International Affairs and took a job on the staff of Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz. Two years later, he became staff director of the Senate Intelligence committee where he helped create the independent audit unit which oversees the CIA's secret accounts. He left the Senate Intelligence committee to work on President Clinton's national security transition team. After the inauguration, he was the principal adviser on intelligence in the National Security Council. In 1995, President Clinton named him deputy director of central intelligence. Two years later, he was nominated for the top job at the CIA. The U.S. Senate approved his nomination without a single dissenting vote. As Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet enjoyed the trust and respect of both political parties. Though it has become customary for incoming Presidents to replace the sitting CIA director, George Tenet was considered so essential that President George W. Bush gladly retained him in office. When he returned to private life in 2004, Director Tenet was awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Here, we hear George Tenet in conversation with the host of MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews.

At age 44, George Tenet became the youngest man ever to lead the CIA. He studied at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and Columbia's School of International Affairs and took a job on the staff of Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz. Two years later, he became staff director of the Senate Intelligence committee where he helped create the independent audit unit which oversees the CIA's secret accounts. He left the Senate Intelligence committee to work on President Clinton's national security transition team. After the inauguration, he was the principal adviser on intelligence in the National Security Council. In 1995, President Clinton named him deputy director of central intelligence. Two years later, he was nominated for the top job at the CIA. The U.S. Senate approved his nomination without a single dissenting vote. As Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet enjoyed the trust and respect of both political parties. Though it has become customary for incoming Presidents to replace the sitting CIA director, George Tenet was considered so essential that President George W. Bush gladly retained him in office. When he returned to private life in 2004, Director Tenet was awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Here, we hear George Tenet in conversation with the host of MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews.

At age 44, George Tenet became the youngest man ever to lead the CIA. He studied at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and Columbia's School of International Affairs and took a job on the staff of Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz. Two years later, he became staff director of the Senate Intelligence committee where he helped create the independent audit unit which oversees the CIA's secret accounts. He left the Senate Intelligence committee to work on President Clinton's national security transition team. After the inauguration, he was the principal adviser on intelligence in the National Security Council. In 1995, President Clinton named him deputy director of central intelligence. Two years later, he was nominated for the top job at the CIA. The U.S. Senate approved his nomination without a single dissenting vote. As Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet enjoyed the trust and respect of both political parties. Though it has become customary for incoming Presidents to replace the sitting CIA director, George Tenet was considered so essential that President George W. Bush gladly retained him in office. When he returned to private life in 2004, Director Tenet was awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Here, we hear George Tenet in conversation with the host of MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews.

Tom Daschle led the Democrats in the United States Senate from 1994 to 2005. From May 2001 to January 2003, with his party in control of the upper house, Daschle became Senate Majority Leader. Born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Tom Daschle was the first member of his family ever to graduate college. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, to the Senate in 1986. As Congressman and Senator, he was well know for his "unscheduled driving" tour of his home state, visiting each of its 66 countries. Traveling alone, he stopped at cattle auctions, health clinics, schools and diners, wherever people gather, to hear what was on their minds. A tireless advocate for rural America, he worked to ensure fair competition for family farmers and ranchers, to make quality education and health care available to rural communities, and to protect the rights of Native Americans. A former Air Force intelligence officer, Daschle also fought to preserve and extend benefits for veterans. After the 2002 election, he continued to serve as Minority Leader, until leaving the Senate in 2005. During the 2008 presidential election campaign, he served as a close advisor to Senator Barack Obama.

When Vaira Vike-Freiberga was a small child, her family was forced to flee the Soviet occupation of their native Latvia, and she began school in a refugee camp in Germany. After World War II, her family moved to Morocco and young Vaira completed high school in Casablanca, far from her captive homeland. As a Professor of Psychology at the University of Montreal, she became a leader in her profession, serving as President of the Canadian Psychological Association, of the Social Science Federation of Canada, and of the French branch of the Royal Society of Canada. Despite this success, she never forgot the land of her birth. She remained active in the expatriate community and worked tirelessly to preserve the endangered heritage of Latvian folksong. When her country once again won independence from the Soviet Union, Dr. Vike-Freiberga's work was honored with the Grand Medal of Latvia's Academy of Sciences.Dr. Vike-Freiberga finally returned to live in Latvia in 1998, and within a year was sworn in as President, the first female head of state in the former Eastern Bloc. Driven from her country by war, the refugee child had returned at last from a lifetime of exile to become president of her beloved homeland.

In this audio podcast, recorded for the Academy of Achievement in Pebble Beach, California in 2005, Michael Kaiser shares his passion for the performing arts. He addresses some of the challenges facing funding for the arts and describes his efforts to promote on-site training in arts organizations around the world.