Martin Parr
Virtual
When John and his brother Bert started the now $150 million company in 1994, they had $78 in their pockets, lived out of their van, and sold t-shirts on the streets of Boston. Was this their way of avoiding the “real world”? You betcha. Did it turn into something much bigger? Absolutely. It has been over 25 years since they sold their first t-shirt, but John and Bert champion the same mission: to spread the power of optimism. On their journey, they’ve been inspired by a vibrant community of resilient optimists — people from all backgrounds who identify deeply with the brand and who constantly demonstrate the depth and meaning behind the three simple words “Life is Good.”
Boston Public Library - Abbey Room
JOHN SHATTUCK, an international legal scholar and human rights leader, is currently Professor of Practice in Diplomacy at Tufts after a long and distinguished career in academia and government. In the early post-Cold War years, he was responsible for coordinating and implementing U.S. efforts to promote human rights, democracy and international labor rights. The first U.S. official to reach and interview survivors of the genocide at Srebrenica, he helped negotiate the Dayton peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia and was instrumental in the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He also served President Clinton as U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 1998-2000. His new book Holding Together: the hijacking of rights in America is co-authored with SUSHMA RAMAN, Executive Director and Mathias Risse, faculty director at the Harvard Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Shattuck and Raman will join the Forum to discuss the current world crisis with regard to human rights, a fight which challenges Americans domestically, as well as internationally.
Virtual
Alexandra Vacroux is Executive Director of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. Her scholarly work addresses many Russian and Eurasian policy issues and she teaches popular courses on the comparative politics of Eurasia and post-Soviet conflict. As Director of Graduate Studies for the Davis Center’s MA program in regional studies, she has mentored dozens of Harvard’s best and brightest students and regional experts. Alexandra lived in Moscow from 1992 to 2004. While there she held a number of positions, including consultant for the Russian Privatization Agency; partner and head of sales at the Brunswick Warburg investment bank; and active member of the board of United Way Moscow. While completing her dissertation on corruption in Russian pharmaceutical markets she was affiliated with the Center for Economic and Financial Research (CEFIR), a Russian think tank associated with the New Economic School. Prior to joining the Davis Center in 2010 lived in Washington, DC, where she was a Scholar at the Kennan Institute, part of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Alexandra received a Dean’s Distinction Award from Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and was given the Alumni Award from the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) Program at Tufts. As a commentator, she has been praised as "refreshing," "straightforward," and "quick and to the point." She has appeared on NPR, CNN, Fox News Radio, China Central TV, Hromadske TV (Ukraine), and speaks regularly at community forums at home and abroad. She holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University.
Boston Public Library - Rabb Lecture Hall
Katya Ravid (Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry, Biology), Vipul Chitalia (Associate Professor of Medicine), Michael Gaziano (Professor of Medicine), and Emelia Benjamin (Professor of Medicine)
Museum of Science
Marjie Thompson
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
Marjie Thompson
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
Marjie Thompson
Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation
Keith Mascoll (SAG-AFTRA, AEA) and Roxann Mascoll (MSW, LCSW)
Museum of Science
TRIO GAIA New England Conservatory’s newest Professional Trio-in-Residence, is dedicated to offering audiences dynamic, personally relevant experiences inside and outside the concert hall. Recently, the trio won 2nd prize in the 2021 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition and were awarded the Vianello Family Audience Prize in the Plowman National Chamber Music Competition. Previously, Trio Gaia served as an Honors Ensemble and Community Performances & Partnership fellows at NEC, in recognition of their work sharing classical music in the community. They have presented concerts at venues ranging from the historic Boston Public Library to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and have crafted educational content for the Panama Jazz Festival as well as local schools and senior homes. Trio Gaia was invited to Carnegie Hall’s Audience Engagement Intensive—presented in collaboration with Ensemble Connect—which allowed the trio to reach audiences across New York City with accessible, interactive performances. The trio has studied extensively with renowned artists Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, Donald Weilerstein, Merry Peckham, and Max Levinson. Additional mentors include cellists Lluis Claret and Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, and pianists Victor Rosenbaum and Orli Shaham. When not rehearsing or performing, you can find Trio Gaia shopping for new outfits or cooking together.
Old South Meeting House
Jeff Nussbaum and Mark Arsenault
John F. Kennedy Library
Mark Updegrove
John F. Kennedy Library
David Hackett Fischer is a University Professor and Warren Professor of History emeritus at Brandeis University. He is the author of numerous books, including the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner Washington’s Crossing and Champlain’s Dream. In 2015, he received the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.
Virtual
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