A Conversation with Liz Cheney and Sr. Joan Chittister

Liz Cheney served as the U.S. representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2023. She chaired the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in the House Republican leadership, from 2019 to 2021, and served as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. She was also a member of the House Armed Services Committee, China Task Force, Natural Resources Committee, and the House Committee on Rules. Cheney served previously at the State Department as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, and in positions for USAID and the Department of State working in Poland, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine. Cheney practiced law with White and Case and at the International Finance Corporation.

She is the author of the newly released memoir, Oath and Honor, which tells her firsthand account of the moment our democracy threatened to unravel and the story of the brave men and women who fought to save it. A specialist in national security and foreign policy, she is the co-author, along with her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, of Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America. Cheney received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College and received her Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. In 2022, Cheney, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, received the the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s prestigious Profile in Courage Award, with a commendation for her “consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy.”

Sister Joan Chittister a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania where she served as prioress for 12 years, Sister Joan is an author and lecturer. She also writes a web column for the National Catholic Reporter, "From Where I Stand." Chittister holds a master's degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in speech communication theory from Penn State University. She writes and speaks on women in the church and society, human rights, and peace and justice in the areas of war and poverty and religious life and spirituality. She is co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, a UN-sponsored organization creating a worldwide network of women peacemakers. She is the founder of "Benetivision." Her public presentations are announced on the Benetvision website.