Barnard|Next Opening Keynote & Closing Plenary
Barnard|Next Opening Keynote & Closing Plenary
Explorers Series Opening Keynote Conversation
The 2024 Spring Explorers Series will kick off with a Keynote Conversation between distinguished alumna Anna Quindlen '74 and Linda A. Bell, Provost and Dean of the Faculty.
Anna Quindlen is the author of many bestselling books including the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Rise and Shine, the #1 bestselling memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life. Her other novels include Object Lessons, Blessings, One True Thing, the Oprah Book Club Selection Black and Blue, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Miller’s Valley, and Alternate Side. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear. Her new novel After Annie will be released in March 2024.
Linda A. Bell is the provost and dean of the faculty at Barnard College, where she is also Claire Tow Professor of Economics. Previous to joining Barnard, Professor Bell was the provost and John B. Hurford Professor of Economics at Haverford College. Provost Bell is an empirical economist specializing in labor markets and public policy. She received her PhD from Harvard University and her BA from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a University Scholar. Her full biography is available on the Barnard College Office of the Provost website.
Closing Plenary: The Practitioners with NPR's Michel Martin P'26
Our closing plenary will be moderated by journalist and host of NPR's Morning Edition, Michel Martin P'26.
She has spent more than 25 years as a journalist — first in print with major newspapers and then in television. Tell Me More marked her debut as a full-time public radio show host. Martin says, "What makes public radio special is that it's got both intimacy and reach all at once. For the cost of a phone call, I can take you around the world. But I'm right there with you in your car, in your living room or kitchen or office, in your iPod. Radio itself is an incredible tool and when you combine that with the global resources of NPR plus the commitment to quality, responsibility and civility, it's an unbeatable combination."
Joining Ms. Martin on stage will be Barnard College alumnae who are professionally and intellectually connected to each of the topics of our Explorers Series: The Vitality of the Humanities, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science, and Democracy and the 2024 American Elections-- Margaret Morton '82, Reena Jana '91, and Emma Wolfe '01.
Margaret Morton '82 is the Senior Program Advisor for Presidential Initiatives at the Mellon Foundation. director of the Creativity and Free Expression team at the Ford Foundation where she has supported grant making in the arts and other forms of cultural expression. Margaret has supported public funding and grantmaking for the Arts and other forms of creative expression for 20 years. Most recently, she led the Ford Foundation’s Creativity and Free Expression program investments in the Arts, media and journalism in the United States, and documentary film across the U.S. and nine international regions. Margaret also stewarded New York City’s public funding for the Arts and cultural sector, as general counsel and deputy commissioner, where she devised new grantmaking frameworks and creative solutions for affordable space for artists. In addition to her degree from Barnard, she earned a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center.
Reena Jana '91 is Head of Content & Partnership Enablement for Responsible Innovation at Google, and is the Editor in Chief for the People + AI Research Initiative (PAIR). She collaborates with research, policy, design, and global community-facing teams on the ethical design and development of AI.
Emma Wolfe '01 is the Vice President for Government and Community Relations, Dartmouth College. Emma is deeply passionate about community organizing and politics. She helped craft and implement former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s agenda, first during his tenure as Public Advocate and then for the entirety of his two terms as Mayor, serving as his highest-ranking staffer as Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Administration.