January Speakers
    
        Jan 19, 2026
      
              
                  
      Naomi Tutu - Our Shared Humanity: Creating Understanding Through the Principles of MLK
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          Rev. Naomi Tutu will share how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 principles can guide reconciliation, justice, and cross-cultural understanding. Drawing on her lifelong activism and experience leading Truth and Reconciliation workshops, Naomi offers practical insights for building bridges across race, gender, and culture.
        
          
        Jan 20, 2026
      
              
                  
      Kaitlin Curtice - Journeying with Story
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
           Kaitlin Curtice will reveal how powerful stories function like living seeds, growing into trees that define who we are. An award-winning author and poet-storyteller, Kaitlin will incorporate readings from her newest book, Everything Is a Story, to discover ways we can interact with stories and reclaim them for love and kinship. 
        
          
        Jan 21, 2026
      
              
                  
      Majora Carter - Developing Healthy, Equitable Cities for All
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          Majora Carter will share how economic diversity is a cornerstone of healthy, vibrant communities. Guided by her experience in urban revitalization, Majora illustrates how low-status communities need to use the same talent-retention strategies that successful business implement, reducing the brain-drain that cripples local economic progress.
        
          
        Jan 22, 2026
      
              
                  
      Vivek Murthy - Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          Dr. Vivek Murthy will discuss the growing epidemic of loneliness and its profound impact on health and well-being. Drawing from his book Together and his experience as U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek will explore how human connection and strong communities are essential for personal and public health.
        
          
        Jan 23, 2026
      
              
                  
      Harry Smith - Less is more. More or less.
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          Harry Smith will share insights on how simplifying life can create more meaning, satisfaction, and peace. Drawing on decades of storytelling as an Emmy- and Peabody-winning journalist, Harry offers reflections on balance, fulfillment, and what truly matters.
        
          
        Jan 26, 2026
      
              
                  
      David Brooks - The Path to Cultural Repair
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          David Brooks will help us become more understanding toward others and find the joy that comes from being seen. His latest book, How to Know a Person, draws on neuroscience, theater, philosophy, history, and education. He will share how this integrated approach can enhance human connection.
        
          
        Jan 27, 2026
      
              
                  
      Samantha Nutt - Conflicted? The World of War
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Places
          
      
          Dr. Samantha Nutt will explore the devastating impact of war on civilians and the global implications of conflict. Drawing from over 20 years of frontline humanitarian work and her bestselling book Damned Nations, she offers a powerful, firsthand perspective on war, aid, and public health.
        
          
        Jan 28, 2026
      
              
                  
      Wu Man - The Pipa - A Musical Bridge Between Cultures
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          Wu Man will share how the pipa, a pear-shaped, four-stringed Chinese lute, serves as a bridge between cultures. Through music and storytelling, she explores how this ancient instrument has helped her connect with her heritage and engage audiences across the globe. Drawing on decades of performance, composition, and cross-cultural collaboration, Wu Man offers a compelling vision of music as a tool for understanding and unity.
        
          
        Jan 29, 2026
      
              
                  
      Tom Medema - America at 250: How Our National Parks Inspire a More Perfect Union
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          Tom Medema will explore how America鈥檚 National Parks serve as living classrooms. Drawing on decades of experience as a ranger and senior leader in the National Park Service, Tom shares powerful stories that illuminate how these treasured landscapes contribute to America鈥檚 story over the past 250 years.
        
          
        Jan 30, 2026
      
              
                  
      Sabrina Little - Sports as a Laboratory for Virtue
            
              12:30 pm–1:30 pm          
        
                  Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium
                  
                        
          Sabrina Little will explore how sports can act as a laboratory for developing our character. Drawing on her experience as a philosopher and ultramarathon runner, Sabrina shares practical insights into how sports can develop virtue, foster moral development, and avoid the possibility of forming a vice instead. 
        
           
        
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
