Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

Aislinn Bohren is an associate professor in economics at the University of Pennsylvania. She studies various topics in microeconomics with a focus on information and discrimination. Her work on discrimination has both theoretical and empirical components, and builds on her research on model misspecification and biased beliefs.

Bohren received her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California San Diego and her B.S. from the University of Richmond. She is a research fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, a member of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group, a co-editor at Games and Economic Behavior, and an associate editor at the American Economic Review and Journal of Economic Literature.

Professor Bohren’s Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Faculty at CMC.

Scott Ellsworth P’24 has been described by Booklist as “a historian with the soul of a poet.” A New York Times bestselling author, he has written about a wide range of subjects, including civil rights, race relations, mountaineering, and basketball. 

Ellsworth published his first book, Death in a Promised Land, about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, while he was a graduate student at Duke. He returned to that subject in 2021 with The Ground Breaking, which was long-listed for both the National Book Award and the Carnegie Medal. His newest book, Midnight on the Potomac, is a revealing new interpretation of the last months of the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Ellsworth has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, and has appeared on the TODAY Show, PBS’s The American Experience, NPR, MSNB, Fox, CNN, the BBC, and other news outlets. He teaches in the department of Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan.

Professor Ellsworth will deliver the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies' 2025-26 Lerner Lecture on Hinge Moments in History.

Photo credit: Jared Lazaraus

General Vincent K. Brooks served in the U.S. Army for over 42 years from his entry into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point until his retirement from active duty in 2019 as a four-star general. Brooks spent his final 17 years of service in the general officer ranks and for nearly all those years in command of large, complex military organizations in challenging situations. His final active-duty assignment was commanding all US, South Korean, and international UN forces in the Republic of Korea. 

In his ongoing post-military career, he is a fellow at the University of Texas, a fellow at Harvard University, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a board director, and a consultant.

General Brooks will deliver the Keck Center for International and Strategic Studies’ 2025-26 Lecture in Honor of General Crouch.

Victor Nani Agbeli is a world-renowned musician, dancer, and cultural historian, celebrated for his mastery of traditional Ghanaian and West African arts. Born into a family of distinguished artists from Ghana’s Volta region, he continues the legacy of his late father, Godwin K. Agbeli, a legendary drummer, dancer, and historian who chaired Ghana’s Folklore Music Council. Acclaimed for performances that electrify audiences with precision, energy, and athleticism, Agbeli is also a dedicated cultural ambassador and educator, committed to preserving and sharing Ghanaian heritage globally. He has led the award-winning Sankofa Roots II troupe, served as principal instructor at the Dagbe Cultural Center, and taught at Tufts University, Harvard University, CalArts, and the Edna Marley School of Dance, Theater, and Textile, among others. A multi-disciplinary artist, Agbeli bridges traditional Ghanaian music and dance with contemporary creative practices in percussion, choreography, history, and healing, inspiring audiences worldwide and shaping the next generation of cultural practitioners. Agbeli teaches Intro/Tech to traditional Ghanaian West African music, dance, song, arts, and history at Pomona College.

Morgan Gillette is a multi-instrumentalist and Marine Corps veteran based in Los Angeles. Growing up in a family with generations of both performing arts and military experience, he performed with various school, city, and state orchestras on viola and cello, while focusing on the guitar with family and friends. During nine years of active-duty service, Gillette’s passion for music never wavered. After his service, he continued his studies in the Applied Music Program at San Diego Mesa College, where he was exposed for the first time to traditional Ghanaian music, igniting his passion for drumming and percussion. Later, while at California Institute of the Arts, he began his collaboration with Nani Agbeli joining Agbeli’s West African Music and Dance department and performing with African music ensembles for two years at CalArts. Gillette’s love of Ghanaian song, dance, and drums persisted even through a year classical guitar training at the Traditional Music program at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In 2019, Gillette joined Agbeli’s Volta Drum Dance, where he remains an active member and performer.

Monique Thompson’s dance journey began at the age of six when she started learning Nigerian-style dance under her first instructor, Baba Onochie Chukwurah. For the last four years, she has been training with Nani Agbeli, and has deepened her skills in Ghanaian drumming, dance, and singing. A life-long Pasadena resident, Thompson holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Cal State Northridge and a Master’s degree with a Multiple Subject Credential from The Alder Graduate School of Education. Thompson is an active member of Agbeli’s Volta Drum Dance and performs regularly throughout greater Los Angeles area.

This Athenaeum performance is part of a 4-part musical series for this academic year: Devotional and Spiritual World Music featuring Ghanian, South Asian, American Gospel, and Brazilian traditions.