Richard. A Gephardt, President and CEO of Gephardt Group

Mr. Gephardt served for 28 years in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 2004, representing Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District, home to his birthplace St. Louis. In his role as Leader, Mr. Gephardt emerged as one of the leading strategists of the Democratic Party’s platform and chief architect to landmark reforms ranging from healthcare, pensions, education, energy independence and trade policy. In his first year in Congress, he was appointed to both the House Ways & Means and Budget Committees. He was elected to serve as House Democratic Leader for more than 14 years, as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 and Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003. Mr. Gephardt ran for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President twice, in 1988 and 2004.

Mr. Gephardt retired from the U.S. Congress in 2005 to found Gephardt Group, a privately held labor relations consulting and government affairs firm. He was Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Scripps Research Institute, a private, non profit research organization engaged in biomedical science. Most recently, Mr.

Gephardt was a member of the Board of Directors at SpiritAerosystems, Centene Corporation, Ford Motor Company, CenturyLink and U.S. Steel Corporation. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors at The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is the Founder of the Gephardt Institute for

Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis. Widely known for his advocacy for international human rights, Mr. Gephardt served as Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization that endeavors to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts, from 2009 to 2013.

Mr. Gephardt began his career in public service in 1968 as a precinct captain to St. Louis’ 14th ward. From 1971 to 1976, he served as Alderman for the city’s 14th ward. In 1976, he was elected to the U.S. Congress, succeeding 24-year incumbent Leonor Sullivan.

Mr. Gephardt earned his Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1962 and his juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965.

Tim Love is former Vice-Chairman of Omnicom Group, a leading global advertising and marketing services company.  Throughout Tim’s career in the advertising industry he helped clients be more globally sensitive, collaborative and effective.  His extensive global brand-building experience involved residing in Brussels, Tokyo, Singapore and New York City. He worked with some of the world’s most sophisticated marketers:  P&G, Nissan and Infiniti automobiles, PepsiCo, Unilever, Gillette, Mars, UBS, Kraft, Philips and J&J.

Since retiring from Omnicom in 2013, Tim has returned to artistic beginnings. He also co-taught at Oxford University’s Said School of Business MBA program on “Branding and Communication,” he was on the faculty of the US Marketing Communications College, a pro-bono initiative at the Foreign Service Institute of the US State Department. He has also lectured on “Discovering Truth” an initiative he started 8 years to discern how people discern truth in a post-digital world. He has lectured at numerous universities across the country and a the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting. His 2024 podcast interview with PBS station WGCU won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award and will compete for a national award in August.

He is author of two award-winning books available on Amazon-  “Discovering Truth: How to Navigate Between Fact & Fiction in an Overwhelming Social Media World” (Internationalist Press) and “The Book that Gets Better with Age” (LID London). Recent work is also available on Substack@timloveideas.com- “The Elephant in the Room” and “The Cost of Not Pursuing Truth.” and “The Medium is the Mirror.” His podcast series, Tim Love’s Discovering Truth includes 58 episodes of interviews with leading communication experts including Jane Goodall.

Tim was a founding member and first chairman of the 4A’s Multicultural Advertising Internship program, now in its 52nd year and a founding member for Business for Diplomatic Action (BDA), focused on improving international business cooperation.

He recently was invited to be on the Council for Responsible Social Media (CRSM) a cross-partisan initiative of Issue One in Washington DC.

Tim is a James Webb Young Fellow with a Masters in Communication from the University of Illinois and he has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Fine Arts from Miami University in Ohio. Tim Love Ideas, LLC, is doing commissioned art and creating ideas. Also see www.timlovesworld.com

The Medium is the Mirror

Tim Love and The Honorable Richard Gephardt come to Darien to discuss Tim’s award winning book and former Congressman Gephardt’s bipartisan, Council For Responsible Social Media.

In The Medium is the Mirror, marketing veteran Tim Love warns that unregulated digital environments alter global society. Expanding on Marshall McLuhan, Love argues that algorithmic media acts as a mirror that reflects user behavioral data to distort reality, manipulate perceptions, and fragment communities.

This data tracking induces “Neuro-Dystopian Conditioning,” forcing truth to evolve from objective fact into algorithmic consensus. Consequently, polarization deepens, mental health suffers, and trust in public institutions erodes.

Supported by former Congressman Richard Gephardt, the book acts as a blueprint for leadership. It calls for strict platform regulation, algorithmic accountability, and conscious media usage to restore democratic dialogue, ethical clarity, and human empathy in a fractured digital age.

There will be a book signing with a Barrett’s Bookstore representative on-site after the meeting at the entryway table.