College & Theater Events

Frank Abagnale

<p>Frank Abagnale&#39;s transformation from one of the world&#39;s most notorious con men to a highly sought-after international cybercrime and fraud prevention consultant is nothing short of remarkable.</p>

Gene Kranz

<p>Gene Kranz shares lessons from one of mankind&#39;s most challenging endeavors, revealing how grit, teamwork and thoughtful leadership ensure victory in any circumstance.</p><p>An iconic NASA flight director, Gene is best known for his leadership in bringing Apollo 13 safely back to Earth and guiding Apollo 11 into history with the first moon landing.

Helen Zia

<p>Diversity speaker Helen Zia is an award-winning journalist and a contributing editor to <em>Ms.</em> magazine, where she was formerly executive editor. Her articles, essays, and reviews have appeared in many newspapers and magazines. She has contributed essays to several anthologies, and was executive editor of the book, "Notable Asian-Americans".

Dr. Inge Auerbacher

<p>Holocaust survivor and human rights activist Inge Auerbacher spent three years as a child imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovakia, where out of 15,000 children, barely 1 percent survived. Following her emigration to the United States in 1946, she received a BS in chemistry from Queens College. Since then, she has worked for over 38 years as a chemist with many renowned medical scientists and researchers.</p><p>Auerbacher is also an accomplished writer.

Alex Gibney

<p>An Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and director, Alex Gibney tackles hot topics with artistic flair. His works include <i>Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room</i>, which was nominated for an Academy Award, and <i>Taxi to the Dark Side</i>, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2007. The film focused on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed at Bagram Air Force Base in 2002.

Anya Kamenetz

<p>Journalist and author Anya Kamenetz is a futurist with a passion for the complexities of how we learn, work, and live in a rapidly changing world. </p><p>Anya was a longtime, award-winning correspondent at NPR coordinating education coverage online and on-air. Previously she covered technology, innovation, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship as a staff writer for <em>Fast Company</em> magazine.

Susannah Cahalan

<p>Susannah Cahalan is an award-winning #1 <em>New York Times</em> best-selling author, journalist, and public speaker.</p><p>Her 2012 memoir <em>Brain on Fire</em>, which has sold over a million copies and was made into a Netflix original movie, one of its most-watched movies of 2016, chronicled her medical misdiagnosis and brief interface with the broken mental health system in America.

Liz Plank

<p>An award-winning journalist and executive producer of several critically acclaimed digital series at Vox Media and NBC News, Liz Plank speaks about women’s issues, LGBTQ+ rights, social media, and feminism. </p><p>The CEO of Liz Plank Productions and a columnist for MSNBC, Liz has been named one of<em> Forbes</em>’ 30 Under 30, Mediaite’s Most Influential in News Media, <em>Marie Claire</em>’s Most Powerful Women, and was named one of the World’s Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical.

Josh McDermitt

<p>Good humored, multi-faceted, and tenacious are all words that describe Josh McDermitt. A well-known name in comedy, McDermitt is recognized for his dramatic roles as well, including in his current role as ‘Dr. Eugene Porter’ on AMC’s record-breaking hit, "The Walking Dead". He also recurred on the final season of Mad Men on which he had a dramatically different role.</p>

Jamelle Bouie

Jamelle Bouie, a columnist for the New York Times and former political analyst for CBS News, covers U.S. politics, public policy, race, and elections—including the unprecedented upcoming 2024 U.S. elections. 

Jamelle’s political instincts provide audiences with unique insight on the past, present, and future of our national politics, policy, and the state of race relations. As he did while writing for Slate and the Daily Beast, Jamelle shares eye-opening perspectives on issues concerning the issues at play in America today.