1. [SOLD OUT] The Peabody Re-emerges!

Gain insights into the redesign of the Peabody Museum guided by lead architect Mark Simon of Centerbrook Architects. The first major changes since it opened in 1925 are nearing completion, and the reopening in Spring 2024, after ten years of master planning, will reveal a complete transformation of the space and exhibits.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Read more about Mark Simon's experience with renovating the Peabody Museum in an article by The Architect's Newspaper.

Hosted by JoAnn & Tony Scillia at Adriana’s Restaurant, New Haven

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2. [SOLD OUT] Lift Every Voice 

Swing and sway to music performed by the Monk Family Jazz and STEAM Collective, Inc., founded by Thelonious S. Monk III (son of Thelonious Monk, prolific composer of jazz), Marcella Monk Flake, and local members of the Thelonious Sphere Monk Family. You’ll share an uplifting evening of jazz and inspirational music while learning about the family’s work to inspire, educate, and cultivate a multicultural and intergenerational community.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Watch Monk Family Jazz and STEAM Collective, Inc. perform jazz with community members at the Stetson Branch Library.

Hosted by Lindsay Wright & Braxton Shelley, New Haven​

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3. [SOLD OUT] Doctor in the House

Join the fight for healthy communities led by Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, Yale Medical School Associate Dean for Health Equity Research and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine. In dialogue with dinner guests, Dr. Nunez-Smith will describe her research and advocacy, promoting healthcare equity for marginalized populations and examining social and structural determinants of health disparities.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Watch Dr. Nunez-Smith speak on the state of healthcare equity in the United States in an interview with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. 

Hosted by Barbara Chesler & Maureen Weaver & Rob Leighton, Hamden

 

4. [SOLD OUT] Sing Us a Song, Piano Man

The dinner menu is set, but the playlist is not. Cozy up in an intimate Cabaret setting with piano virtuoso Andy Rubenoff for an evening of melody and cheer with selections from the Great American Songbook. Baby, it’s cold outside, but this promises to be a warm and lively gathering.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Listen to Andy Rubenoff on the piano at Gateway Community College Foundation's "Sip N’ Song."

Hosted by Drs. Deborah Dyett Desir & Gary Desir, Woodbridge

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5. [SOLD OUT] Quantum Revolution

A. Douglas Stone, Deputy Director of the Yale Quantum Institute, will offer a layman’s introduction to the “second quantum revolution,” which has changed our understanding of physics and may be the greatest advancement in theoretical physics in half a century. You will share his excitement about the new discipline of quantum information science that promises to produce computing and sensing technologies unlike any previously envisioned.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Watch A. Douglas Stone discuss the future of technology and quantum computing during a lecture at Yale University. 

Hosted by Craig Crews, Guilford

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6. [SOLD OUT] Sharing Stories (BOOK)

Share an evening of stories with New Haven native Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, author and nonfiction writing instructor at Yale. Exploring oral history, performance, and public health, she weaves community tapestries of books and theater. Her most recent work, Stages, combines the varied perspectives of nursing home residents and staff, providing universal reflections on caregiving, loss, and feelings.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Listen to Nalebuff discuss her book, Stages, in this 2020 podcast episode from New Books in Medicine. 

Hosted by Kasia Lipska & Jake Halpern, New Haven

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7. [SOLD OUT] Social Q's? Ask the Times

Faced with difficult, awkward social situations, readers often turn to Philip Galanes, weekly contributor to The New York Times “Social Q’s” advice column. He will discuss how the changing social and political landscape has changed his work and how it may affect your life too.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Listen to Philip Galanes speak on his experience growing up and becoming a writer for The New York Times in this 2017 podcast episode from Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin.

Hosted by Karen Pritzker & Francine Sears, Branford

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8. [SOLD OUT] Portrait of (a Local) Artist - Starts at 7:00 pm EST

You will have a picture-perfect evening when you join Yale Art Gallery Director Stephanie Wiles and Curator John Stuart Gordon for a tour of the first monographic exhibition of the work from Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, graphic designer, public artist, and champion of inclusion. The rich array of materials drawn from the extensive archive of her work highlights pivotal moments of de Bretteville’s remarkable career of early and important contributions to feminist design and education.

• Get to Know our Guests of Honor: Watch this e-lecture, presented by Yale University Art Gallery, where John Stuart Gordon showcases highlights from the exhibition, Gold in America: Artistry, Memory, Power, as Stephanie Wiles moderates questions from the audience.

Hosted by Susan Kerley & Union League Cafe, New Haven

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9. [SOLD OUT] Monumental Choices

Join Christopher Hawthorne, Senior Critic at Yale School of Architecture and longtime architecture critic for the LA Times, in the ongoing discussion on American cities about public monuments and memorials—what to do with controversial existing ones and how to design new ones. A trailblazer in this work, Hawthorne was a leader in Past Due: Report Recommendations of the Los Angeles Civic Memory Working Group and in making recommendations for a newly commissioned memorial in Los Angeles to honor victims of the 1871 Chinese Massacre.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Watch this 2019 podcast episode where The Second Studio interviews Christopher Hawthorne, and he discusses his transition to becoming the city's first Chief Design Officer.

Hosted by Rachel Fine & Christopher Hawthorne, New Haven

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10. [SOLD OUT] Next Generation Architecture

Hear from local and internationally recognized architects Lisa Gray and Alan Organschi, Director of the Berlin-based Innovation Lab at Bauhaus Earth, about their vision for transforming the building sector from a source of climate degradation into a regenerative and ecologically sensitive means for meeting global housing and infrastructure needs. The team focuses on the deep ecological synergies between natural systems like forests and the building design and construction process, seeing timber construction as a way to help combat climate change.

• Get to Know our Guests of Honor: Read about Gray's career journey and her firm's focus on environmentally conscious and regenerative building in an interview with Madame Architect. Read this book review by Building and Cities on Organschi's book, Carbon: A Field Manual for Building Designers.

Hosted by Jack Ciccolo & Sid Phillips & Firehouse 12, New Haven

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11. [SOLD OUT] Entrepreneurial Evening

Stimulate your thinking in conversation with New Haven native Josh Geballe, Yale’s Senior Provost for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Managing Director, Yale Ventures. Previously Governor Ned Lamont’s Chief Operating Officer, Josh now supports the launch of startups across Greater New Haven and provides training in entrepreneurship and innovation.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Listen to this 2023 podcast episode by Health & Veritas where Josh Geballe reflects on leading Connecticut's COVID response.

Hosted by Shelley & Gordon Geballe, Branford

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12. [SOLD OUT] Reimagining the Economy

Consider strategies to advance a new economy that puts people first, with Jacob Hacker, Stanley Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale. Hacker works with the cross-partisan, interdisciplinary Commission to Reimagine the Economy, seeking bold ideas to make the economy work for the people who make it work, elevating the human stakes of our economic and political systems.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Learn more about Jacob Hacker's contributions to understanding and shaping public discourse on key political and social issues.

Hosted by Patricia & Davis Gammon, Hamden

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13. [SOLD OUT] A Historic Night: The Power and Politics of  African American History (BOOKS)

Join the conversation with Crystal Feimster, Associate Professor of African American Studies and the American Studies Program at Yale; Nell Irvin Painter, author, artist, and Edwards Professor of American History Emerita at Princeton; and, David Blight, Professor of History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery at Yale. Their wide-ranging discussion will consider a host of topics, including slavery and Yale; Civil War and sexual violence; Critical Race Theory and AP African American Studies; and the racial politics of art and history.

• Get to Know our Guests of Honor: Listen to this 2021 podcast episode by Seizing Freedom, where Feimster discusses the importance of disrupting the myth that the Civil War and Reconstruction are histories that belong to white men. Purchase Painter's book, Old in Art School. Watch Blight discuss his book, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, in an interview with The MacMillan Report. His new book, Yale and Slavery: A History is available for purchase here.

Hosted by Crystal Feimster at Leitner House, New Haven

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14. [SOLD OUT] What Could Have Been

Welcome to an evening of local history—focusing on the little-known bold proposal in 1831 for the nation’s first Black college—and what it means today. Beinecke Library’s Michael Morand and Tubyez Cropper will guide time travel to 19th-century New Haven using archival research in conjunction with the exhibition “Shining Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery” at the New Haven Museum. The exhibition complements the new book, Yale and Slavery: A History, with a chapter by Morand on the 1831 college proposal.

• Get to Know our Guests of Honor: Read about Michael Morand's history of engaging in public service and cultural heritage initiatives. Learn about how Tubyez Cropper went from Communications Social Media Intern to Community Engagement Program Manager of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. 

Hosted by Lary Bloom & Beinecke Library at the Yale Visitor Center, New Haven

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15. [CLOSED] A Little Night Music

Enjoy a musical performance by The Haven String Quartet: Gregory Tompkins, violin; Cristofer Zunun, violin; Riana Heath, viola; and, Philip Boulanger, cello. Learn about the mission and vision of the quartet to provide music lessons, instruments, and other services to students while performing at venues such as laundromats, senior centers, and Yale’s Sprague Hall. Music will include works by Luis Gustavo Prado and William Grant Still.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Watch a performance by The Haven String Quartet at the Saint-Gaudens Summer Concert Series. 

Hosted by Lely & David Evans at Berkeley College, New Haven

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16. [SOLD OUT] Rediscovering America (BOOK)

Join Ned Blackhawk, Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies, to reconsider five centuries of U.S. history from the perspective of Native Peoples. A member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians and winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction for The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History, he will share his scholarship documenting the central role of Native Americans in the political and cultural life of the country.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Read this Yale Daily News article about Blackhawk's achievement of winning the National Book Award in nonfiction for his book, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples And The Unmaking of U.S. History, highlighting the impact of his work on Native and Indigenous studies and its influence on students and faculty at Yale.

Hosted by Christine Kim & Doug Kysar, New Haven

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17. [CLOSED] Chip War: The Battle for the World's Computing Power (BOOK)

You’ll get the inside story from Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology, a geopolitical history of the semiconductor. He will lead a lively discussion on a technology that is more indispensable than oil. Miller is Associate Professor of International History at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where his research focuses on technology, geopolitics, economics, international affairs, and Russia.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Listen to this 2023 podcast episode in the series Great Leadership With Jacob Morgan, where Chris Miller shares his insights on the history of the semiconductor industry and how it has evolved over the years. 

Hosted by Cynthia Farrar & Paul Kennedy, New Haven

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Dinners on Saturday, March 2nd and Thursday, April 4th

The following dinners and conversations are on Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm or Thursday, April 4th at 6:30 pm.  If you are attend one of these dinners, you are still welcome to join the in-person cocktail reception on Thursday, February 29th from 5-7 pm.

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18. [CLOSED] America Unfiltered - In-person Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm EST

Gain new perspectives on our fractured country from Horacio Marquínez, immigrant filmmaker from Panama who embarked on a cross-country listening and recording tour of America during the pandemic. His unflinching portrait, America Unfiltered (2023), captures raw and emotional stories and encounters, touching on politics, race, love, and immigration.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Learn more about Horacio Marquínez's journey across America, where he interviewed Americans from diverse backgrounds.

Hosted by Alva Greenberg & Roxanne Coady, New Haven

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19. [SOLD OUT] Hear Ye! Hear Ye! - In-person Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm EST

Discover the evolution of podcast journalism with Kaari Pitkin, Senior Editor in Opinion Audio with The New York Times, and consider the contributions of audio journalism, from radio to television to podcasting, and where it may be heading during a time of significant competitive pressures in the news media. With over 25 years in audio journalism, Kaari worked as a news producer at WNYC, including the Peabody award-winning youth journalism program Radio Rookies.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Listen to this 2019 podcast episode by On Assignment, where Kaari Pitkin speaks on the morality and ethics of working with minors inside the tangled world of the U.S. juvenile justice system.

Hosted by Miriam Gohara & Marcus McFerren, Woodbridge

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20. [SOLD OUT] The Wisdom of Owls - In-person Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm EST (BOOK)

Your heart will soar as Carl Safina, Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University, MacArthur Genius, and founder of the Safina Center, shares the moving account of raising, then freeing, an orphaned screech owl, whose lasting friendship illuminates humanity’s relationship with the natural world. His recently published book Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe illustrates this bond.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Watch this TED Talk with Carl Safina, where he delves inside the lives and minds of animals around the world and the processes behind their thoughts and emotions.

Hosted by Roz & Jerry Meyer, Guilford

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21. [SOLD OUT] Resilience Revealed - In-person Thursday, April 4th at 6:30 pm EST

Join Andrew Solomon for a discussion of the progress in explorations of resilience and mental health in young people. Offering insight and hope for those connected to struggling teens, he delves deep into understanding why some commit suicide and others pull through. Dr. Solomon is a writer and lecturer on psychology, politics, and the arts; winner of the National Book Award; a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and an activist in LGBT rights, mental health, and the arts.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Listen to this 2023 podcast episode by NPR, featuring Solomon and his insight on how the American ideal of family has evolved.

Hosted by Katherine & Matt Glendinning at Swensen House, Hopkins School, New Haven

       

 

Option 2: Group Conversations on Zoom  

Thursday, February 29th at 7:30 pm EST & Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00 pm EST

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22. The Trust Platform - Virtual Thursday, February 29th at 7:30pm EST

Enter the future of financial technology with Greg Kidd, Co-Founder and Director at GlobaliD and early investor in Twitter, Coinbase, and Square. At the cutting edge of his field, he will explore the intersection of privacy, financial transactions, the tools we use online, and the value of our information. He will reflect on how new technologies can benefit but also exploit us and potential solutions to protect everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor:  Read about Greg Kidd's vision for digital identity and his experience as an entrepreneur and investor.

Hosted by Michael Ranis on Zoom

 

23. Plumb the Ocean's Depths - Virtual Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00pm EST

Follow Paul Sullivan as he dives deep into the ocean’s impact on global climate and environment, energy resilience, and economic and national security. Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, his many strategic advisory and teaching engagements include a popular Yale Alumni course focusing on global energy, water, food, climate, and environmental issues.

• Get to Know our Guest of Honor: Watch Paul Sullivan discuss what constitutes clean energy, and the range of possible outcomes for different countries, leaders, and civilians during energy transitions. 

​Hosted by Allie Perry & Charlie Pillsbury on Zoom

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24. Galvanize Climate - Virtual Saturday, March 2nd at 7:00pm EST

Tom Steyer invites you to discuss where we are now in the transition from fossil to renewable energy as he provides context for our ability to make this global transformation. Are you discouraged by the constant negative headlines surrounding climate change? Tom will explain how the energy transition is going better than projected—and how those in the private sector can take action. He will also share what he has learned to help him become a “climate person” and why, how, and where to look if you’d like to become a climate person as well.

• Get to Know our Guests of Honor: Learn more about Tom Steyer and his climate-focused global investment firm.

Hosted by Ellen Shuman & Doug Rae on Zoom