What matters to you.
0:00
0:00
NEXT UP:
 
Top

Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:

All Speakers

  • Daniel Levitas is a writer, researcher and expert on the subject of racist, anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi organizations. Since 1986, he has testified as an expert witness or provided pre-trial consulting in state and/or federal court in Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and in Canada. His expertise includes such areas as the Ku Klux Klan, anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, the Skinhead movement, the Aryan Nations, white racist prison gangs, crossburning, hate-motivated violence, the militia movement and the rural Posse Comitatus. Mr. Levitas has written extensively about the activities of hate groups and he has been quoted by numerous media outlets, including: *the New York Times, St. Louis Post Dispatch, the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, ABC, CBS, CNN, public television and National Public Radio*. He is a contributing author to *Anti-Semitism in America Today (Birch Lane Press, 1995)*. From 1991 to 1992, he edited *When Hate Groups Come to Town: A Handbook of Effective Community Responses*, a 192-page handbook about constructive responses to hate group activity and bigoted violence. He is a contributing writer to *Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia* on the subjects of the history of American anti-Semitism; hate crimes and the US militia movement. He has written for the Nation, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, the New York Times, Roll* Call, Congress Monthly, Reform Judaism magazine *and other publications. Mr. Levitas has conducted training sessions and seminars for academics and students, public officials, community leaders and law enforcement officers throughout the United States. He has lectured widely at colleges and universities and his speeches and public presentations have been sponsored by groups as diverse as the W.E.B. Dubois Center for Afro-American Studies at Harvard University, the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, and the Rural Sociological Society.
  • Dr. Arauz Bouedreau's research interests focus on determining effective means to reduce health care disparities for vulnerable children through the structure of health care systems and provider level interventions. Currently she is studying how health disparities can be addressed through child development. Dr. Arauz Bouedreau practices as a primary care pediatric provider at MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and a Masters in Public Health from Harvard School Public Health. She has completed the Harvard Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship and the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy.
  • Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, oversees 17 state agencies and serves in the Cabinet of Governor Deval Patrick. Her broad range of experience as a primary care physician, professor, researcher and health policy expert gives her unique insights into how the state can best serve the people of the Commonwealth. One of Secretary Bigby's top priorities is ensuring the state delivers high-quality and accessible services to Massachusetts residents. Some of the program areas she oversees include health care including the state's Medicaid program; child welfare; public health; disabilities; veterans affairs; and elder affairs. Since her appointment, Secretary Bigby has successfully implemented many aspects of Massachusetts' highly successful health care reform law. . Until her appointment, Dr. Bigby was the Medical Director of Community Health Programs at Brigham & Women's Hospital. She was also Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the school's Center of Excellence in Women's Health. Prior to her appointment she served on many boards and expert panels including the Boston Public Health Commission, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century, and the Minority Women's Health Panel of Experts for the US Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Bigby holds a B.A. from Wellesley College and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School. She lives in Jamaica Plain.
  • For nearly 40 years, George Lakoff has been one of the world's best-known linguists. Professor Lakoff is widely recognized for his research on metaphorical thought, the embodied mind, and the structure of language. But in recent years, his application of cognitive science and linguistics to politics has brought him to national attention. With colleagues at the University of California, Professor Lakoff founded the Rockridge Institute, a new political think tank dedicated to reframing political thought and political debate in this country. He has a new book to appear in August, *DON'T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT! WHAT EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD KNOW ABOUT VALUES AND THE FRAMING WARS*.
  • Charlie David has been a host for *E! Television, NBC, OutTV, here! TV, Pink TV, EGO,* and *Life Network* on such shows as "F.Y.E!" (2001), "Spy TV" (2001), "Bump!" (2004) (2005-2006) and "Crash Test Mommy" (2004) (2004-2005). He has been the subject of a documentary on the Learning Channel and has appeared as musical guest on VH1, BBC, CBS's The Early Show, and dozens of radio shows. Charlie's writing has been featured in *National Youth Ambassador *and *BoyCrazy! Magazines*. The latter culminated in a guest appearance on NBC's "The Other Half" (2001) with Dick Clark, Danny Bonaduce, and Mario Lopez. Formerly in a boy band, Charlie opened for Destiny's Child, Pink, Snoop Dogg, Rick Springfield and The Black Eyed Peas. Charlie's writing has been published by *Instinct, National Youth Ambassador, Adventure Women, Outlooks and BoyCrazy! magazines and AfterElton.com.* The Cold Reading Series in Vancouver, Canada awarded Charlie 'Best Feature Screenplay' for Mulligans and 'Best Short Screenplay' for Narcissus. He is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts and resides in Los Angeles, California and Victoria, British Columbia.
  • Lucia Small (Co-Producer, Co-Director, Editor) has been an independent filmmaker for over 15 years. In 2002, Small premiered *My Father, The Genius*, her feature documentary directorial debut, which garnered several top film festival awards, including Grand Jury Prizes for the Best Documentary and Best Editing at the Slamdance Film Festival. *My Father, The Genius* was broadcast internationally and in 2003 was featured as part of the Sundance Channel's newly launched DOCday series. It is currently distributed by New Yorker Films. Small has a list of credits as producer of several nationally televised programs and award-winning documentaries. Producing credits include: Beth Harrington's * The Blinking Madonna and Other Miracles* (1996, ITVS); Laurel Chiten's *The Jew in the Lotus* (1998, ITVS); *The Mississippi: River of Song* (1999), a 4-part PBS series; *American Wake* (2003), a fiction film distributed by Horizon Entertainment and Netflix; and the historical documentary *Damrell's Fire* (2005), broadcast nationally by American Public Television. She has also worked as a freelancer for Scoutvision, Discovery Channel, USA Cable, C-Span, Media One, John Hancock, and on numerous fiction films. Small is developing several projects under her production company Small Angst Films, including *Genius II* and *War Stories*, which has received a pre-production grant from the LEF Foundation.