Washington, D.C. – The Barbara Bush Foundation is pleased to announce that the Honorable Mike Rogers and Kristi Rogers will serve as chairs for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading, to be held on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The Barbara Bush Foundation’s signature biennial event, the National Celebration of Reading brings together bestselling authors, entertainers, and special guests to advance the Foundation’s mission and raise support for its nationwide programming.

“Mike and Kristi Rogers share a keen understanding of literacy’s intersection with pressing issues including economic growth, global competitiveness and national security,” said Barbara Bush Foundation president and CEO British A. Robinson. “I’m thrilled that they’ve agreed to invest their time, talents and energy in raising support for literacy by chairing the 2023 National Celebration of Reading.”

Kristi Rogers is currently the managing partner and co-founder of Principal to Principal, a firm that brings together senior executive leaders and decision-makers to consider new and constructive approaches to today’s problems. Her strategic advice and counsel are regularly sought on issues relating to security and disaster response, federal government contracting, the role of business in complex and dynamic environments (including markets emerging from conflict), public-private partnerships and crisis communications.

Previously, Rogers successfully launched and led two companies with extensive overseas operations. Rogers has also held senior positions within the U.S. government, including her appointment as assistant commissioner at U.S. Customs & Border Protection and as a senior official with the U.S. Department of Defense, serving nine months in Iraq.

Kristi currently serves on Qualys Inc.’s board of directors, NowSecure’s board of directors, ForgePoint Capital Cyber advisory council, as co-chair of the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, and on Business Executives for National Security’s board of directors. She is also the president of the State Society of Michigan.

The Honorable Mike Rogers is a businessman and former member of Congress representing Michigan’s Eighth Congressional District, and previously served as an officer in the U.S. Army and FBI special agent in Chicago tackling organized crime. While in Congress, Rogers chaired the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he authorized and oversaw a budget of $70 billion that funded the nation’s 17 intelligence agencies.

He currently serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees at the MITRE Corporation, and as a director at leading companies including IAP, IronNet Cybersecurity and Constella Intelligence. Rogers is a member of the board of trustees and the David Abshire Chair at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, where he directs the Center’s national security programs and its National Space Program.

Together, Mike and Kristi Rogers are the cofounders of Leadership to Ensure the American Dream, a policy initiative focusing on helping people achieve the American Dream, address top policy issues and foster economic opportunities nationwide. (https://www.leadamerica.org/)

“With literacy comes opportunity, and low literacy is the one epidemic in America that together we can solve,” shared Mike Rogers.

“We are thrilled and honored to join the Barbara Bush Foundation in helping families and students of all ages gain the power of reading,” said Kristi Rogers.

“We’re over the moon to have Kristi and Mike Rogers serving as chairs for the National Celebration of Reading,” said Barbara Bush Foundation honorary chair Doro Bush Koch. “They’re wonderful advocates for the Foundation’s mission – especially here in Washington, D.C., where we are headquartered – and we know that the event will be absolutely incredible thanks to their support.”

The lineup of featured authors and special guests for the 2023 National Celebration of Reading will be announced in the coming weeks. The most recent events in 2019 and 2021 featured appearances by bestselling authors and entertainers including former President George W. Bush, former first ladies Laura Bush and Michelle Obama, Mateo Askaripour, LeVar Burton, Eva Chen, Meena Harris, Jesse J. Holland, Leslie Jordan, Tim McGraw, Jon Meacham, Eric L. Motley, Lupita Nyong’o, Susan Orlean, Delia Owens, Tim Shriver and Darren Walker.

About the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy: The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy has been the nation’s leading advocate for family literacy for more than three decades. Established by former First Lady Barbara Bush in 1989, the Foundation is a public charity dedicated to creating a stronger, more equitable America in which everyone can read, write and comprehend in order to navigate the world with dignity. To learn more, visit www.BarbaraBush.org.