Ripple of Hope Special Guests

Jane Alexander is an author, actress, and the former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a Tony Award winner and two-time Emmy Award winner.

Dan Aykroyd is a Canadian actor, producer, comedian, and filmmaker. He is a veteran Saturday Night Live cast member and starred in the movies Ghostbusters, Trading Places, and Soul Man.

Harry Benson is a renowned photographer whose pictures have appeared in Life, Vanity Fair, and the New Yorker. He is a recipient of the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Scottish Press Photographers Association and a two-time winner of the Leica Medal of Excellence. Benson was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Headshot courtesy Gigi Benson.

Melinna Bobadilla is an actress and producer who appeared in Orange Is the New Black, The Laundromat, and Little America.

Lorraine Bracco is an actress, known for her roles in Goodfellas, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and The Sopranos.

Douglas Brinkley is an author and the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and professor of history at Rice University. He is a history commentator for CNN and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair.

Tim Daly is an actor and producer. He is known for his roles on Wings and The Sopranos, as well as for his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in Superman: The Animated Series.

Brian d’Arcy James is an actor and musician. On TV, he has recurring role in 13 Reasons Why, and his many Broadway roles include King George III in Hamilton and Quinn Carney in The Ferryman.

Donna Dixon is an actress who appeared in Bosom Buddies, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Spies Like Us.

Renée Fleming is an operatic soprano, known for performances including Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, Violetta in Verdi's La traviata, and more. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards and has won four times.

Peter Frampton is an English rock musician, singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist. His hits include “Breaking All the Rules,” “Do You Feel Like We Do,” and “I’m in You.” Headshot courtesy Austin Lord.

Rachael Harris is an actress and comedian. She's best known for her television roles, which include Dr. Linda Martin on Lucifer, and her guest appearances on TV shows such as Sister, Sister, Reno 911!, New Girl, Suits and The Good Wife.

Marg Helgenberger is an Emmy award-winning actress who has appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the TV movie CSI: Immortality. Helgenberger hosts a benefit called Marg and Alan's Celebrity Weekend annually in Omaha.

Van Jones is widely known as a U.S. media personality, an entrepreneur and a world-class change maker.

Chris Kennedy is a businessman, politician, and Chair of Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises, Inc. He is a son of Robert F. Kennedy.

Ted Kennedy Jr. is an attorney and a partner at Epstein Becker & Green. He represented the 12th Senate district in the Connecticut Senate from 2015 to 2019.

Joe Kennedy III is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district since 2013.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is an American attorney who was the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003. She is the eldest child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy.

Max Kennedy is a lawyer and author. He is the ninth child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy.

Patrick Kennedy is an American politician and mental health advocate. From 1995 to 2011, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island, working to actively combat the nation’s opioid crisis.

Rory Kennedy is an Academy Award-nominated, Primetime Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker. Kennedy’s work includes DOWNFALL: The Case Against Boeing (Netflix), Last Days in Vietnam (PBS), Ethel (HBO), and Take Every Wave (IFC), all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Keegan-Michael Key is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series Key & Peele and co-starred in USA Network's Playing House.

Don Lemon is an American television journalist and the host of CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight. He is a #1 best selling New York Times author of This Is The Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism.

George Lopez is a comedian and actor. He is known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom.

Matt McCoy is an actor who has appeared in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and Seinfeld.

John McEnroe is an American former professional tennis player. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles and attained the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. Since retired from tennis, McEnroe currently appears as a narrator in the Netflix series Never Have I Ever.

Kate Mulgrew is an actress and author. She played Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager and Galina “Red” Reznikov on Orange Is the New Black.

Mandy Patinkin is an actor and singer. He played Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride and Saul Berenson in the long-running Showtime series Homeland.

David Rapaport is a casting director, best known for his work on Gossip Girl, Riverdale, and The Flash.

Martin Sheen is an actor, best known for his roles in the films The Subject Was Roses, Badlands, and Apocalypse Now. He has also portrayed President Josiah Bartlet in the television series The West Wing and Robert Hanson in the Netflix television series Grace and Frankie.

Mark Shriver is a politician and activist who was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1995 to 2003. Since 2014, he has served as president of Save the Children Action Network.

Tim Shriver is a disability rights activist, film producer, and former educator. He is chairman of the board of the Special Olympics, an organization he joined in 1996.

Patty Smyth is an American singer and songwriter. She was the lead singer of rock band Scandal before releasing her 1987 debut solo album “Never Enough.” Her 1994 song “Look What Love Has Done” led to both a Grammy and Academy Award nomination.

Donté Stallworth is a former professional football wide receiver. He played 10 seasons in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Washington team.

Sam Waterston is an actor, producer, and director whose credits include roles in TV’s Law & Order, Grace and Frankie, and The Civil War as well as the films The Great Gatsby and The Killing Fields.

Susan Kelechi Watson is an actress best known for her roles in the Netflix show Louie and the NBC drama This Is Us.

Patricia Wettig is an American actress and playwright. She received a Golden Globe for her role as Nancy Weston in the television series Thirtysomething.

Alfre Woodard is an actor, producer, and political activist. She has appeared in Empire, 12 Years a Slave, State of Affairs, and Desperate Housewives.