Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

Valorie Thomas is an associate professor of English and Africana Studies at Pomona College and the Athenaeum's Black History Month speaker for 2015. A literary and cultural studies and black studies scholar, Thomas’s work focuses on African Diaspora Vertigo; she also teaches courses on African American literature, black feminist writers and activism, African Diaspora cinema, the prison-industrial complex, and contemporary Native American/First Nations/Indigenous literature. Her book manuscript titled, "Diasporic Vertigo: Memory, Space and Charting the Future in African Diaspora Arts" will be forthcoming.

Claire Thomas '07 is a food enthusiast turned creative blogger and author. A self taught chef, Thomas is the founder of the food blog thekitchykitchen.com and author of the book The KitchyKitchen: New Classics for Living Deliciously. A creative chef, she also works as a commercial director, food photographer, and host of ABC's Food for Thought. "Turning Your Blog Into A Brand"

Azure Antoinette is a poet, spoken word artist, and youth and arts education advocate whose performance poetry explores the ways social media is reshaping humanity. In 2011, she founded an arts-in-education program that provides specialized workshops to motivate and educate teen girls on how spoken word, performance poetry, and social media can make an impact on the world. Azure Antoinette’s Athenaeum appearance is part of the sixth annual Women and Leadership Workshop. "Creativity, Courage, and Using Your Voice" (12:00 p.m. program)

James Joseph is emeritus professor of the Practice of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Joseph has had a distinguished career in business, education and civil society and has served in senior executive or advisory positions to four U.S. Presidents, including appointments by President Jimmy Carter as Under Secretary of the Interior and President Bill Clinton as U.S. Ambassador to South Africa. "Building and Sustaining Community in a Divided Nation: What I Learned from Nelson Mandela"

Brian Cuban is a lawyer, public speaker, and an eating disorder survivor whose book Shattered Image: My Triumph Over Body Dysmorphic Disorder chronicles his first-hand experiences surviving eating disorders, drug addiction, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). Cuban speaks candidly about his recovery, childhood bullying, fat shaming, and breaking the male eating disorder stigma. "Step By Step: Turning Your Worst Moments Into Your Greatest Achievements" (12:00 p.m. program)

Mona Prince, assistant professor of English literature at Suez University in Egypt, is an Egyptian novelist and literary translator. A political and women’s rights activist, Prince was a presidential hopeful following the Arab Spring. Her recent book, Revolution is My Name, is her memoir, as a revolutionary woman, of the first 18 days in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011. Prince is the recipient of a Rescue Scholar Fellowship and is currently a visiting professor at Pitzer and Claremont McKenna Colleges. "The Role of Women, Youth, and Intellectuals in the Arab Spring" (12:00 p.m. program)

Zerlina Maxwell, political analyst and contributing writer for ESSENCE Magazine and Mic.com, will discuss rape culture, its prevalence on college campuses, and the role college students can play to combat this trend. Highlighting the prevalence of rape culture in the national media, Maxwell will discuss how changes in education may be the most effective way to end sexual violence including "teaching men not to rape." "From Catcalling to Sexual Assault: How We Can All Work to End Gender-Based Violence"

Paul Vandeventer, President & CEO of Community Partners, Wendy Garen, President & CEO of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and Chelina Odbert '99, Founder & Principal of Kounkuey Design Initiative, will discuss effective strategies to collaborate within the local community to make a larger impact. "SOURCE Nonprofit Panel: Celebrating Innovation and Collaboration"(12:00 p.m. program)

Mignon Fogarty is the creator of Grammar Girl and the founder and managing director of Quick and Dirty Tips. A magazine writer, technical writer, and entrepreneur, Fogarty’s kicky, practical, and easy-to-remember advice about style and usage has won her fans across the globe. Her first book, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, is a New York Times bestseller, and her weekly grammar podcasts have been downloaded twenty million times. "An Evening with Grammar Girl"

Marcelo Suárez-Orozco is the Wasserman Dean & Distinguished Professor of Education?at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences. A renowned administrator and prolific award-winning writer, his research primarily focuses on conceptual and empirical problems in the areas of cultural psychology and psychological anthropology with an emphasis on mass migration, globalization, and education. In 2012, he founded the Institute for Immigrant Children, Youth, and Families at UCLA, which he co-directs. "Globalization, Mass Migration and Inequality: Further Thoughts on Education in the Age of Vertigo"

Ari Elson of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, will present the results of research on molecules called protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPe) and address the significant impact of science and engineering in Israeli society, from the founding of the Technion in the early 20th century to the numerous innovations that have contributed to Israel becoming the “start-up” nation. "Science and Society in Israel" (12:00 p.m. program)

Laura Eise '08 is a cyber security consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, where she works with leaders across multiple industries in aligning cyber security programs to manage risk and meet the needs of the business. She is the co-author of a proprietary maturity model, CyberM3, which is used across multiple industries to gauge the completeness and maturity of cyber security programs. Eise’s talk will explore potential cyber attacks and threats as the automobiles we drive become increasingly "connected." "How Cyber is Driving Change in the Automotive Industry" (12:00 p.m. program)

Timothy Snyder is the Housum Professor of History at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences. He is a renowned scholar and author of numerous books on modern Eastern Europe and the Holocaust, including Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin (2010). His forthcoming book, a history of the Holocaust entitled Black Earth, will be published in September 2015. "Russia and Ukraine, War and History"

Marci Shore is associate professor of History at Yale University where she teaches European cultural and intellectual history. She is the author of Caviar and Ashes: A Warsaw Generation's Life and Death in Marxism, 1918-1968, and The Taste of Ashes: The Afterlife of Totalitarianism in Eastern Europe. Currently she is at work on a book project titled Phenomenological Encounters: Scenes from Central Europe. "A Civilization that Needs Metaphysics': Existentialism and Dissent in Eastern Europe" (12:00 p.m. program)

Brian Parker is the director of education at The Taylor Hooton Foundation. The Foundation is solely dedicated to increasing education and awareness about the dangers of appearance and performance enhancing drugs (APEDs). Parker will offer a pragmatic view of APEDs and their popularity to improve not only athletic performance but increasingly also to enhance physical appearance. "Hoot’s Chalk Talk: A Pragmatic View of Appearance and Performance Enhancing Drugs" (12:00 p.m. program)