Westminster Town Hall Forum

After the June 2026 Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship, Kica Matos observed how fragile foundational constitutional guarantees have become, with the struggle for immigrant rights serving as a central pillar of the broader pro-democracy fight. Named one of Time magazine’s most influential people of 2026, Matos is president of the National Immigration Law Center and the Immigrant Justice Fund. She also is a Distinguished Practitioner at Yale University’s Brady Johnson Program in Grand Strategy. She has a front-row seat to the immigration debate and will address immigrant rights and how “We the People” are ALL the people. Her bold vision and engagement in broad-reaching advocacy offers hope to many youths and immigrants facing challenges under the nation’s current immigration laws. Matos is a recipient of the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award and was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame in 2021. She has a bachelor’s degree from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; a master’s degree from the New School; and a law degree from Cornell Law School. The session’s moderator was Sara Wilhelm Garbers (M.Div., Ph.D.), Executive Director of the Westminster Town Hall Forum. Sara's doctorate is in ethics from Loyola University Chicago where she focused on theological, political, sexual, and feminist ethics in view of the formation of the self and communities. Sara has been Executive Director of the Forum since September 2025 and also serves on the Hopkins School Board. Sara lives in Hopkins with her spouse Andy, puppy Blue, and human preschooler Josie.

The second Forum of our “Ethics Still Matter” spring season features former FBI Director and #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author James Comey. This Forum returns us to where we began in fall 1980 with Special Watergate Prosecutor Archibald Cox who also spoke on “Ethics and Government.” Do ethics matter in government? Is truth just a matter of perspective? What is asked of and from us if our democracy and once-trusted institutions are to endure? James Comey led the FBI from 2013 to 2017, appointed by President Barack Obama. At the FBI, he tried to change its approach to leadership, diversity, and cyber threats. Like Archibald Cox, Comey’s tenure came to an abrupt end under a controversial president. Prior to FBI service, Comey was a federal prosecutor in New York and Virginia and served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and U.S. deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush. Comey’s 2018 and 2021 books on ethics and leadership were both New York Times bestsellers. He holds a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. The Forum will be moderated by Justice Margaret Chutich who is an American lawyer and judge who served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 2016 to 2024. She was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton. She previously served as a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Her career in law and justice is marked by her advocacy for LGBTQ+ representation. She holds degrees from the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan. https://westminsterforum.org/2026/james-comey/

Gerrymandering is expanding and making news from coast to coast. How will it affect our elections? Sam Wang – one of the nation’s leading experts on redistricting, representation, and election reform – will address gerrymandering and share his data-driven approach to building and repairing an American democracy that represents all. Wang is founder and director of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project and the Electoral Innovation Lab and a professor of neuroscience at Princeton University. He has contributed to election law cases in North Carolina, Maine, and New Jersey, and his research and commentary have appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post. His analysis has been cited by Chief Justice John Roberts in U.S. Supreme Court opinions. Wang also is co-author of two popular books: Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys But Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life and Welcome to Your Child’s Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College. He was originally trained in physics at the California Institute of Technology, where he graduated with honors at the age of 19. Wang earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University. The session’s moderator will be Kaomi Lee, reporter with Twin Cities PBS. Lee uncovers stories about Minnesotans across Greater Minnesota for Almanac, the weekly public affairs program, and has a passion for exploring diverse perspectives and issues that affect the wider community. She also produces a podcast that features the experiences of adult Korean adoptees. https://westminsterforum.org/2026/sam-wang/

The Forum’s annual “Arc Toward Justice” Series is dedicated to honoring the legacy of George Floyd and the ongoing need for racial, social, and systemic change. On May 28, The Rev. Dr. Nikia Smith Robert, executive director of Abolitionist Sanctuary, will ask us to consider Martin Luther King’s arc in terms of incarceration and abolition. Is it bending? What is our work to do? What is the call to action in our time? Robert is an alumna of the same sorority as Shirley Chisholm, a 1986 Forum speaker and the first Black woman elected to Congress. Robert will return to themes from Chisholm’s 1986 Forum “Civil and Human Rights in the U.S. and Third World ” as she invites us to consider the call to ethics and abolition and the ongoing work of justice. Dr. Robert is a recognized thought leader and speaker on the topics of mass punishment, abolition, religion, and Black motherhood. She founded Abolitionist Sanctuary to build a national coalition of Black-serving churches, civic organizations, and communities to unite against the moral crisis of mass incarceration and the criminalization of impoverished Black motherhood. In addition to this work, Dr. Robert is also an assistant professor of Ethics and Social Justice at the University of Kansas and an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The session’s moderator will be The Rev. Dr. Jessica Patchett who is senior pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis and was previously senior pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wisconsin. She holds a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry in Gospel and Culture from Columbia Theological Seminary. https://westminsterforum.org/2026/nikia-smith-robert/

On November 17, 1983, Elie Wiesel—Holocaust survivor, author, and activist—began his Forum speech “Why Hate?” by saying, “The best thing one can do at noon on a Thursday is to tell stories.” Now, more than 42 years later, we gather anew to consider the power of stories and the role of music and memory by welcoming Violins of Hope, presented by the Minnesota JCC. Violins of Hope is a powerful collection of over 70 restored string instruments played by Jewish musicians before and during the Holocaust. These extraordinary violins will be featured in May – June 2026 in Twin Cities performances, exhibitions, and educational programs that honor the memory of the Holocaust and carry a message of hope, resilience, resistance, and unity. Our May 14 Forum will feature some of these instruments and will weave together their stories with music played on them, as we consider the role of story and storytelling in defending human rights and human dignity. Forum format: The Forum will open with a welcome from our Executive Director Dr. Wilhelm Garbers followed by Avshalom (Avshi) Weinstein sharing his and his father’s story about the Violins of Hope project. Rabbi Marcia A. Zimmerman will then reflect on ethics, memory, and story, interwoven with select stories of the Violins of Hope (narrated by local actors) and the opportunity to hear from the violins themselves (as performed by Marc Levine). The final portion of the Forum will feature a moderated Q & A with The Rev. Dr. Jessica Patchett and Rabbi Zimmerman. With special thanks to: The Minnesota JCC for making this presentation possible. Rabbi Marcia A. Zimmerman of Temple Israel in Minneapolis for weaving together this beautiful tapestry of music, memory, and story and providing program commentary. Avshalom (Avshi) Weinstein for sharing some of his and his father’s story and the Violins of Hope. Marc Levine for giving voice to the Violins of Hope and all of his work coordinating the Violins of Hope project for the Minnesota JCC. Sasha Blinnikova, Tiffany Cooper, and Sasha Andreev for sharing the stories of the violins and those whose stories are carried therein. The Rev. Dr. Jessica Patchett of Westminster Presbyterian Church for serving as moderator. All whose stories are carried in these violins. May we never forget.