Thank you Leslie Plesac, Executive Director of the Purdue Northwest Sinai Forum for sharing the 68th speaker season lineup.
Deborah Birx, MD
An Overview of the Pandemic from the Inside
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17
4 P.M. CT
Deborah Birx, MD is a world-renowned medical expert and leader whose long career has focused on clinical and basic immunology, infectious disease, pandemic preparedness, vaccine research, and global health. Her career began with serving the United States as a colonel in the Army, and later turned into running some of the most high-profile and influential programs at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Department of State. Most recently, Dr. Birx served as the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator where she used complex data integration to drive decision making, providing recommendations to Vice President Michael Pence and working closely with state officials across the country to provide state-specific advice and guidance.
Max T. Eisen
By Chance Alone: A Remarkable True Story of Courage and Survival at Auschwitz
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7
4 P.M. CT
Max Eisen was born in Moldava, Czechoslovakia in 1929 into a large orthodox Jewish family. His extended family including parents, two younger brothers and baby sister, his paternal grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins all perished in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in May of 1944. The maternal side of his family was deported from Slovakia in 1942 to the Majdanek-Lublin death camp where they also perished. Eisen is a passionate speaker and educator who will share his story of courage to warn of the dangers of hatred and discrimination in society and to promote understanding.
Bryan Stevenson
On Justice and Mercy
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5
4 P.M. CT
Bryan Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama. Under his leadership, EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill, and aiding children prosecuted as adults.
Stevenson has initiated major new anti-poverty and anti-discrimination efforts that challenge inequality in America. He led the creation of two highly acclaimed cultural sites which opened in 2018: the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. These new national landmark institutions chronicle the legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial segregation, and the connection to mass incarceration and contemporary issues of racial bias. Mr. Stevenson is also a professor of law at the New York University School of Law.
Paul Nicklen
Into the Icy Realm
SUNDAY, JANUARY 9
4 P.M. CT
Paul Nicklen is a Canadian photographer, filmmaker, and marine biologist who has documented the beauty and the plight of our planet for over twenty years. In addition to being one of the world’s most acclaimed nature photographers, Nicklen is a sought-after speaker, a TED Talks legend, an author, and National Geographic Fellow. In the past two decades, Paul has collaborated with scientists, filmmakers, conservationists, and explorers to create awareness and inspire action for global issues like climate change. As an assignment photographer for National Geographic magazine, Nicklen captures the imagination of a global audience.
Steve ‘The Woz’ Wozniak
An Afternoon with Steve Wozniak
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6
4 P.M. CT
A Silicon Valley icon and philanthropist for more than thirty years, Steve Wozniak has helped shape the computing industry with his design of Apple’s first line of products the Apple I and II. In 1976, Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded Apple Computer Inc. The Apple II was integral in launching the personal computer industry. For his achievements at Apple, Wozniak was awarded the National Medal of Technology by the President of the United States in 1985, the highest honor bestowed on America’s leading innovators. In December 2020 Wozniak launched his company Efforce, which aims to use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to make it cheaper and easier for companies to fund green projects.