Distinguished Speaker Series features presentation on civic duty

The CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association and its Simons Center hosted the second lecture of the 2026 Distinguished Speaker Series at the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on May 20, 2026. In this installment of the series, Jason J. Galui, director of the Endicott Center for Civic Participation, delivered a presentation entitled “Marching Towards a More Perfect Union.”

The evening began with a reception, followed by the CGSC Foundation’s Simons Center Director Todd Schmidt welcoming the attendees and recognizing sponsors. After the dinner period Schmidt introduced Peter Im, Ph.D., the faculty advisor for the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Information Advantage Scholars Program, who spoke to the attendees about the program and the support the CGSC Foundation had provided over time. After Im’s remarks, Schmidt introduced Galui.

(Top photo and above) Jason J. Galui, director of the Endicott Center for Civic Participation, delivers his presentation entitled “Marching Towards a More Perfect Union” during the Distinguished Speaker Series event hosted by the CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association and its Simons Center at the Lewis and Clark Center on Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on May 20, 2026.

In recognition of the 250th anniversary of our United States, Galui said he seeks to inspire a new commitment to patriotism. If “We the People” are committed to securing the “blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,” then each of us has essential duties and obligations to perform – as individuals and as a collective – in order to form a more perfect union.

“When I think about a more perfect union, I think about a society where citizens of various backgrounds of beliefs, commit to viewing one another as equal members of society,” Galui said. “One in which we learn from one another. We honor one another. We commit to one another. We enable one another to pursue our dreams and our hopes….’We’ is the first word in our Constitution. It’s ‘we.’ It’s not ‘I,’ it’s not ‘you,’ it’s not ‘me, except you.’ – It is ‘we.’ It is first person plural.”

Galui said the founders of our nation chose “we” to keep all of us together. He said that throughout 2026, we’ll likely hear a lot about the Declaration of Independence, but in his mind, it’s about the Constitution.

“The Constitution is a document that has persevered through intense trials and errors, to overcome the selfishness of human nature, and inspire intense collaboration, cooperation and compromise,” Galui said. “It has always been challenged throughout our history, and 2026 is no different than 1876.”

He framed the conversation with the idea of “perseverance” and that previous generations of Americans – from 1785, to 1865, to 1945 – all had to demonstrate perseverance at those points in U.S. history where the fate of the nation was at stake. Galui said that in 2026, it is our turn to persevere.

Even today, Galui said that all Americans must renew our commitment if we wish to secure our liberty for ourselves and our prosperity.

“It’s our turn to renew the bonding American principles and values,” he said. “To honestly hold ourselves accountable. It’s our turn to renew the national ambition of America, which is to me, the pursuit of a more perfect union, recognizing that we probably will never get there, but the pursuit is the way we get better. Perseverance has to be done by loving our fellow countrymen.”

Galui concluded his formal remarks talking about the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the framework for our system of self governance in the Constitution.

“To collaborate, cooperate or to compromise requires perseverance,” Galui said. “You need to talk sensible, speak the truth, work hard, remain faithful to the fundamental principles and values that make America, America…Americans before us persevered because they were bold and audacious. Time will tell whether our generation will follow in their footsteps.”

After Galui’s remarks Schmidt led a Q&A period, after which he presented Galui with a small gift in appreciation for his participation in the Distinguished Speaker Series.

For more photos see the CGSC Foundation Flickr album

Jason J. Galui leads the Endicott College Center for Civic Participation and serves as the College Fellow for Civics. Originally from Beverly, Massachusetts, Jason returned to his hometown in early 2026 after more than 30 years of service to the country.

Most recently Galui was the director for Veterans and Military Families at the George W. Bush Institute and taught “Presidential Decision Making” at the John G. Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Throughout a unique military career, Galui led soldiers into combat during the U.S. invasion of Iraq; deployed to Kabul from 2011 to 2012, where he served as a strategic adviser to the commanding general of the NATO Training Mission–Afghanistan; taught economics to two generations of West Point cadets; directly advised the 18th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon; and served in both the Obama and Trump White Houses.

As deputy executive secretary of the National Security Council and chief of staff to the national security adviser, Galui was a key point of continuity during the 2017 presidential transition. His final assignment in the U.S. Army was as senior adviser for national security at the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 2019 to 2020.

Galui earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin. He and his wife, Samantha, also an Army combat veteran, have been married for more than 22 years and have two children.

The CGSC Foundation and Alumni Association through its Simons Center conducts the Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) program to offer extracurricular, educational lectures intended to help enrich the Command and General Staff School curriculum and provide opportunities for outreach to the public. Topics covered in the Distinguished Speaker Series of lectures span the gamut of leadership and ethics, organizational effectiveness, collaboration, as well as current events and issues in business, government and the military. Programs are made possible in part by sponsors.

~Thank you to our 2026 Distinguished Speakers Series Sponsors~

~Five Stars~

Pritzker Military Foundation
The Tim and Karen Carlin Family Foundation

~Four Stars~

Armed Forces Insurance

~Three Stars~

Col. (Ret.) Bill and Marge Eckhardt
First Command
Col. (Ret.) Bob and Terri Ulin

~Two Stars~

Demaranville & Associate, CPAs
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rich and Mary Ann Keller
Shetlar Law Firm

~One Star~

Advantage Printing
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Stan Cherrie
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William and Kathleen Connor, Sr.
Col. (Ret.) Tom and Candy Dials
Geiger Ready-Mix
Col. (Ret.) Todd and Leslie Schmidt