Carson Cooper Moderator and Workshop Panelist
Carson Cooper, host of "Morning Edition" on WUSF 89.7 since 2000, has worked in Tampa Bay radio for more than two decades. Cooper also hosts 89.7's weekly public affairs program, "Florida Matters," and reports for other 89.7 broadcasts. He began his radio career in the 1970s in Knoxville, Tennessee.
David E. Klement Moderator and Workshop Panelist
David E. Klement, a prominent commentator on public policy in the Sarasota-Manatee area for three decades, serves as director of the Institute for Public Policy and Leadership at University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee. A prize-winning journalist with
broad newspaper experience, Klement was editor of the editorial page of the Bradenton Herald for 30 years before joining USF and the IPPL in fall 2007. He has interviewed presidents, senators, generals, state legislators, and countless local elected officials including every candidate for public office in Manatee County from 1977–2007. He also chaired many public policy forums and served on numerous panels in his role as editorial page editor, experience that is reflected in this "Civility in Democracy" series that he created in collaboration with Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice and Collins Center for Public Policy.
Susan MacManus Moderator and Workshop Panelist
Dr. Susan MacManus is a Distinguished University Professor in the University of South Florida Department of Government and International Affairs. She is nationally renowned for her commentary on public opinion and intergenerational politics and has
appeared on ABC, NBC, Fox, CNN, the BBC, NHK (Tokyo), Australian television, C-SPAN, National Public Radio, and in various print media. During election seasons, she serves as a political analyst for numerous media outlets and has published extensively.
MacManus chaired the Florida Elections Commission and served on Gov. Bush's Council of Economic Advisors.
MacManus designs and analyzes surveys of public opinion on a wide range of issues for various local governments, think tanks, and the media. She was a Fulbright Research Scholar at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, received USF's Distinguished Research Scholar Award, and was honored as the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society's USF Artist/Scholar. She is past president of Pi Sigma Alpha, the Urban Politics section of the American Political Science Association, the Southern Political Science Association, and the Florida Political Science Association. MacManus received her master's degree from the University of Michigan and her undergraduate and Ph.D. degrees from Florida State University.
