Recently, the Sacramento Speakers Series has been featured in a number of articles. The following links are 2 of the most recent articles. Enjoy!
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/14/5335625/between-the-lines-sacramento-speakers.html
http://www.insidepublications.org/index.php/meet-your-neighbors/336-big-names
Current Patrons: Do not forget to renew your subscriptions between now and May 10 to guarantee your seats for next season.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Friday, April 5, 2013
A Message from the Managing Principal: "Big Names are Coming"
SACRAMENTO
SPEAKERS SERIES
AN
EXCLUSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE 2013-2014 SEASON
RENEW
TODAY FOR THE BEST SEATS AT THE BEST PRICES
Dear
Subscriber,
I’m happy to announce that the 2013-2014 lineup is in place. As
I’ve said before, the process of putting together a series of distinguished speakers
is like trying to fit puzzle pieces together as we choose from among the most
exciting BIG NAMES with our subscribers in mind. We are now considered one of the top Series
in the country, and I am thrilled to announce that once again we have assembled
a diverse group of fascinating individuals that will make another great season.
As a subscriber, you know that the new
season reflects the expressed interests of our patrons. Our lineup this year includes interesting and
influential speakers on a wide range of topical issues: the uses and abuses of
modern technology; the protection of the
environment; the role of the military in today’s world; integrative medicine;
managing crises in the age of the perpetual 24/7 news cycle; and the simple
enjoyment of delicious food. The season kicks off on October 1, 2013
with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak,
the legendary creative genius who dropped out of college to invent the personal
computer, an invention that, for better or worse, has changed all of our
lives. Woz will share with us his
passion for bringing “hands on” learning and a focus on creativity to schools,
and for protecting free speech, privacy and innovation in the digital age.
Next up, on November 12, 2013, we are
privileged to host former vice-president and current climate change advocate Al Gore. After a long and fruitful political career in
Washington, Gore turned his considerable energy and talents to protecting the
environment. His film An Inconvenient
Truth garnered an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize. He now spends most of his time working with
The Climate Reality Project, the non-profit company he founded, devoted to
removing the doubt about climate change and encouraging people to demand
solutions to the climate crisis.
To start the New Year, on January 7,
2014, Admiral Mike Mullen, former
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will join us. Having commanded three ships and served in
Navy leadership positions ashore, Admiral Mullen served as Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs under two Presidents, Bush and Obama, from 2007 to 2011, and is familiar
with the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq.
While serving, he expressed his support for ending Clinton’s policy of
“don’t ask don’t tell,” and he is outspoken about the importance of
diplomacy and economics to national security.
Next, on February 18, 2014, Judy Smith will bring her unique
combination of communication skills, media savvy, and legal and political
acumen to Sacramento. Smith honed her
skills through first-hand experience as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in
Washington D.C. and as Deputy Press Secretary to President George H. W.
Bush. Best known for her crisis
management advice to a host of high profile clients, Smith’s resume helped
inspire the prime-time hit drama, Scandal.
The season will end on April 1, 2014,
with every cook’s favorite: Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa! Ina is a self-taught cook who, while working
as an analyst in the White House, decided she needed to do something more
creative—and went from gourmet food store owner/operator to best-selling
cookbook author to her own Food Network tv show—and now brings her talent of
creating delicious food with style to our community in Sacramento. Because
of the fine quality and variety of these speakers, we again expect the series
to sell out quickly. As a current subscriber YOU have the first opportunity to
join us next season, before subscriptions go on sale to the public! Renew
by May 10, 2013, and you:·
Keep the same seats next season--or be
the first in line for upgrading or changing your seat;
Sincerely,
Mitchell
S. Ostwald
Managing
Principal
Ballard Blows the Audience Away with Tales of Deep-Sea Exploration
Sacramento
Speakers Series Rounds out This Year’s Season with the Man Who Discovered the
Titanic, Dr. Robert Ballard on Tuesday, April 2nd
The Sacramento Speakers Series welcomed one of the world’s most
accomplished and well known deep-sea explorers, Dr. Robert Ballard to Sacramento as he spoke at the Community Center Theater on Tuesday, April
2nd. The six-part lecture
series showcases contemporary insights from some of today’s most influential
figures in a candid and relaxed setting.
Dr. Ballard is probably best known for his discovery of the RMS Titanic
wreckage in 1985.
Dr.
Ballard impressed the audience by saying that his mission is to go where no one has gone
before…on planet Earth. Ballard encouraged the exploration of our oceans as he believes our planet’s future to be here on
Earth, not in space. This is evident
through his historic discoveries of hydrothermal vents near the Galapagos
Islands in 1977, the German battleship Bismarck in 1989, the aircraft carrier
USS Yorktown in 1998 and the wreckage of John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 in 2002.
In
addition to his field work, Dr. Ballard is also an educator. He is a professor of oceanography at the
University of Rhode Island and has pioneered distance learning in American
classrooms and around the world with the JASON Project. The
JASON Project is an award-winning program that provides educational
materials, courses and workshops to more than 1 million students and 25,000
teachers annually. The program is
designed to motivate and inspire students to pursue interests and careers in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Dr.
Robert Ballard’s talk is sure to inspire those in attendance through his
natural storytelling ability and animated presentation skills.
For more information about the Sacramento Speakers Series and the
2013-2014 Season visit them online at sacramentospeakers.com
Leakey Educates the Sacramento Speakers Crowd
Paleontologist,
conservationist, educator and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Louise Leakey spoke to a sold-out crowd of Sacramento Speakers Series patrons Wednesday, February 27, 2013. She spoke passionately about her work in the field as well as the future of her research.
Her team, The Koobi Fora
Research Project, has made discoveries that have shaped modern thinking on the
journey of humanity over the past 4 million years. One of the most publicized
discoveries, Kenyanthropus platyops, challenged the earlier theories on the
path of human evolution. Whether the fossil can be classified as a new genus,
separate species, or unique looking individual is still up for debate.
From her earliest
childhood spent among the nomadic desert people of Lake Turkana, Leakey has
developed a deep attachment to the wildlife and cultural heritage of northern
Kenya. Today she draws on her scientific background in human origins to work
with the local communities in building a future for this region in a
dramatically changing world.
Leakey co-directs the
state of the art research center in the Turkana Basin where the rigorous
process of search, excavation, and paleoecological and geological analysis make
it one of the most comprehensive sources of information regarding the origins
and evolution of humans.
Simultaneously, Dr.
Leakey's work has allowed her to gain a unique perspective on the protection of
the desert environment in Africa. Dr. Leakey also works with wildlife
authorities to preserve the unique flora and fauna of Kenya's remotest National
Park and World Heritage Site. Additionally, she is involved with various
community projects near the Ethiopian border, in an effort to improve the
welfare of people on the National Park boundaries.
She
was recently selected to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland. The aims of the summit revolve around better understanding the
problems and risks the world faces in the future.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Michelle Rhee Says "We Have Gone Completely Soft"
The
Sacramento Speakers Series presented education reform advocate and
StudentsFirst founder and CEO, Michelle Rhee at the Community Center Theater on
Tuesday, January 29th as part of this year’s lineup. The six-part lecture series showcases
contemporary insights from some of today’s most influential figures. Interestingly on January 8th, speaker Thomas
Friedman commented on the fact that America has lost its competitive
disposition. Michelle Rhee seems to
agree as she stated “we have gone completely soft” in her visit to Sacramento.
Michelle Rhee began her lecture with some light dialogue
about husband and mayor of Sacramento, Kevin Johnson, but then went right into
her thoughts on America’s public school systems. Rhee makes known that the current generation
of children will be the first in history not to be better educated than their
parents. She continues to emphasize that
“there is no greater issue than what to do with our public school system.” Rhee also spoke of her time as Chancellor of
Washington, D.C. public schools as recalling the dilemma, “How do you go about
fixing a system where almost everything needs fixing?”
Rhee provided some of her strategy to transform our
education system into being more effective.
First and foremost, she stated that “we have to begin to honor and
respect the teachers for the incredible jobs that they do.” Children are taught
in schools from a variety of areas, whether it be inner city or rural, but the
teachers need to be able to engage the minds of their students and effectively
educate them regardless of geographic location. Children can receive “wildly different”
teaching experiences, but Rhee insists that is why we have to make absolutely
sure that our children are in the presence of good teachers every day.
Michelle Rhee notes that "we need to regain the
competitive American spirit.” Rhee does
not let the children off of the hook either, pointing out that if children want
to compete for jobs when they grow up, they need to be willing to put in the
time and work hard. The children will no
longer be competing for jobs in their local area, but rather with people in
China, India and the rest of the world. Parents
can support the reform of our public schools by “being the change” in their
communities and backing decisions, not based on their political agenda, but
that put students first. Rhee who has
two daughters of her own supports parental involvement in school systems and
says “more moms should run school districts.”
The audience was given plenty of food for thought and was
encouraged by Michelle Rhee and Mayor Kevin Johnson to be engaged in the
community in an effort to better the Sacramento public school system.
By: Ken Tronnes
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Average Is Over: Thomas Friedman Inspires Sacramento Speakers Series Audience
New York Times Columnist, Thomas Friedman spoke at
the Community Center Theater on Tuesday, January 8th as part of our 2012-2013 series. We received great
interest prior to Friedman’s appearance and we are happy to report a sold out
series.
Thomas
Friedman emphasized that we, America, are not what we used to be and that
“average…is over.” Friedman discussed
the idea that Americans have slipped into a state of complacency and no longer
strive for “that little extra,” which we were once known for. He also affirmed that Americans can no longer
live by the words of Woody Allen stating “90% of life is just showing up.” Friedman focuses on a need to “think like an
immigrant, think like an artisan, think like a waitress at Perkins Pancake
House on Highway 100 in Minneapolis” in that nothing will be handed to us and
that we must take pride in the work that we do.
Friedman
concluded his talk with the idea that a person’s curiosity and passion quotient
are more valuable than ones’ IQ in a hyper-connected world. People need to be passionate about what they do
and strive to invent, re-invent and re-engineer their job while doing it. No longer, can you expect promotions and new
positions based upon length of service, but rather you need to create the
situation where you have to be
promoted or offered positions. Many walked away with a new look on their everyday lives and are calling Friedman the “best
speaker yet.”
Next up for the Sacramento Speakers Series will
be education reform advocate, Michelle Rhee. She
will speak on Tuesday, January 29th at the
Community Center Theater.
The event will be held at the Community
Center Theater in Downtown Sacramento at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, January 29th.
Doors open at 7:00 pm.
For more information about the Sacramento
Speakers Series and the 2012-2013 Season visit them online at sacramentospeakers.com
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
President Bill Clinton - December 4th, 2012
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
MEDIA
CONTACTS:
Director of Business
Development & Marketing
916-388-1100
SACRAMENTO
IN AWE FOLLOWING ‘LARGER THAN LIFE,’ PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
The
Sacramento Speakers Series was
honored to bring 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton
to the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento.
President Clinton marks the second engagement of our 2012-2013 season and a better venue could not have been chosen to set this
unique event apart from this year’s already exceptional lineup.
Immediately upon the opening of the
doors, the venue was buzzing with excitement as patrons filled the hallways on
the way to their seats eagerly anticipating the moment President Bill Clinton would take the stage. President Clinton’s remarks merely touched
the surface of what he would later expand upon throughout an extensive question
and answer session, moderated by Sacramento Speakers Series Managing Principal,
Mitchell S. Ostwald. The questions asked provoked the spontaneous
thoughts of the President and enabled patrons to view him in a truly candid
setting.
When addressing a question relating to
students interested in pursuing a career in politics, the President
recommended, first and foremost, that they expose themselves to different types
of people and to learn to listen and speak to them. President Clinton demonstrates this as he
captured the audience with his humble approach and is ability to relate with
people from all walks of life.
 |
Linda Reed (bottom right) of Rio Americano High School
with students participating in our Share the Vision Program
|
We have received
a great deal of attention through local media sources following President
Clinton’s visit, including a video segment from Sacramento’s KCRA 3: Former President Bill Clinton speaks in Sacramento, which featured participants from
the speakers series student program, Share the Vision. The speakers series remain committed to
bringing the highest caliber of speakers to evoke thought in the
community.
The next speaker lined up for the
series will be on January 8th at 8:00 pm as New York Times Columnist; Thomas
Friedman comes to the Community Center Theater. Doors open at 7:00 pm.
Remember the night of December 4th, 2012 through a selection of photographs below:
For more information about the
Sacramento Speakers Series and the 2012-2013 Season visit them online at sacramentospeakers.com.
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