Carleton Convos

Abby Kiesa, deputy director of CIRCLE, delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, November 1 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her talk was titled, “Including youth in ‘we the people’: Youth voice in U.S. democracy.” CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) is part of Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life. The Center conducts research and collaborates on systems change initiatives to build what’s needed for more young people and young adults in the United States to have a voice in community decision-making and democracy. Kiesa joined CIRCLE in 2005 after working with students across the country for several years to build more support for youth and student civic engagement. As deputy director of CIRCLE — and throughout her over 15 years of work on this issue — Kiesa has specialized in how research and data insights can influence policy and practice for stronger democracy and thriving communities. Well-versed in the wide range of youth civic and political engagement efforts and practice, Kiesa brings a broad view of the institutions and interventions that can make up ecosystems for civic development among all youth. She is most interested in how to effect change in community, institutional, and political systems to reduce inequality. Kiesa has been cited by news outlets such as The New York Times, CSPAN, NPR, and PolitiFact. Her publications include, “Getting Young People to Vote: Seven Tips for the Classroom” and “A Civic Imperative for Media Literacy.” She has a BA in sociology from Villanova University and an MA in American studies from the University of Maryland. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, October 25 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Skocpol’s work addresses a broad spectrum of questions about socio-political change, including health care reform, public policy, and civic engagement amid shifting inequalities in American democracy; currently, she is probing partisan polarization and Republican Party radicalization. An internationally recognized scholar, Skocpol has received multiple honorary degrees — most recently from Oxford University in 2022 — and has been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the National Academy of Sciences. In 2007, she received the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science for her “visionary analysis of the significance of the state for revolutions, welfare, and political trust, pursued with theoretical depth and empirical evidence.” Awarded annually by the Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University in Sweden, the Skytte Prize is one of the most prestigious in political science. In addition to her teaching and research at Harvard, Skocpol also serves as director of the Scholars Strategy Network, an organization with dozens of regional chapters that encourages nonpartisan public engagement by university-based scholars, building ties between academics and policymakers, civic groups, and journalists. Skocpol herself speaks regularly to community groups and writes for blogs and public-interest magazines. Among Skocpol’s major books are two multiple-award-winners — States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China and Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. Other books include Diminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life, Health Care Reform and American Politics, and The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism. Her most recent books are Upending American Politics: Polarizing Parties, Ideological Elites, and Citizen Activists from the Tea Party to the Anti-Trump Resistance (co-edited with Caroline Tervo) and Rust Belt Union Blues: Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party (co-authored with Lainey Newman). Although she has lived for many years in Cambridge, Massachusetts — and in Maine during the summer — Skocpol was born and raised in Michigan and received her BA from Michigan State University in 1969. She and her husband, Bill Skocpol, a retired Boston University physics professor, celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary on June 10, 2017. They have one son, Michael, a graduate of Stanford Law School, who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor in 2018–19 and now works for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Skocpol does not work all the time! She loves to visit antique malls, looking for various kinds of Americana — including old membership ribbon badges from unions and fraternal associations. She is also a devoted football fan who closely follows all NFL teams, but above all, the New England Patriots. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Pat Sukhum ’96, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, delivered the Carleton convocation address for Family Weekend on Friday, October 18 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. After 25 years in the bustling world of health tech startups, Sukhum found himself — somewhat unexpectedly — as the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, the largest Minnesota arm of the nationwide nonprofit youth mentoring organization, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. While the timing might have seemed sudden, the journey leading him there was anything but. It all began 25 years ago when he became a mentor (a “Big”) in the very program he now leads. A Minnesota kid, Sukhum was born in St. Paul to first-generation Thai immigrant parents. During his teenage years, his family moved to central Minnesota, where he graduated from high school, adding a “small-town twist” to his story. Sukhum’s career in health tech startups saw its fair share of highs and learnings, co-founding companies which flourished with acquisitions by UnitedHealthcare and Virgin Pulse, as well as others that didn’t go quite as planned. He also managed to squeeze in four fabulous years at Carleton, scurrying late to classes in Willis, trying to learn a forehand flick, and, once in a while, dozing off in the back of the Chapel at convo. Sukhum loves that everyone has a story to tell. He’s returning to Carleton to share his. As he notes, “maybe you’ll take something away from it, maybe you won’t.” Either way, Sukhum’s “pretty psyched and incredibly grateful for you showing up”… and if you happen to nod off in the back of the room? No judgment — he’s been there. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Francis Su, Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College and former president of the Mathematical Association of America, delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, October 11 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address was titled, “Seeing the unseen: the enchantment of mathematical beauty.” In his talk, Su tackled multiple questions, including: What is the nature of beauty? How does it make us feel? Surprisingly, he says, mathematics can help us understand beauty, because math is about seeing the unseen, and such beauty can draw us to experiences of joy in much the same way that art or music can stir the soul. For those who have never glimpsed this beauty, Su tried to describe what experiences of mathematical beauty feel like. As beauty comes in many forms, and experiences of beauty contribute to a flourishing life, mathematics holds something for everyone, Su says, “even those of us who have not seen ourselves as ‘math people.’” Su’s research in geometric combinatorics includes many papers co-authored with undergraduates. His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and The New York Times. His book, Mathematics for Human Flourishing (Yale University Press 2020), was the winner of the 2021 Euler Book Prize and has been translated into eight languages. It offers an inclusive vision of what math is, who it’s for, and why anyone should learn it. In 2013, Su received the Haimo Award for distinguished teaching of college-level mathematics, a nationwide prize for college math faculty. In 2018, he won the Halmos-Ford Award for Mathematical Writing from the Mathematical Association of America. Three of his articles have been featured in Princeton Press’ “Best Writing on Mathematics” list in 2011, 2014, and 2018. He authors the popular Math Fun Facts website and is the creator of MathFeed, the math news app. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Patricia Torres Ray — a former member of the Minnesota Senate, where she represented District 63 — delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, October 4 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address was titled, “Immigration as Statement of Conscience.” After working in public service for 20 years, Torres Ray ran for office in 2006 and became the first Latina elected to the Minnesota Senate. She held multiple leadership roles there, including majority whip, chair of the Parks and Trails Legacy Committee, chair of the New Immigration Policy Commission, chair of the Education Policy Committee, and chair of the State and Local Government Committee. In 2010, Torres Ray was the first woman of color to run as lieutenant governor with Senator John Marty for governor. She is a recognized local and national leader and has received multiple awards recognizing her contributions to eliminating disparities and opening opportunities for women, low-income people, and communities who live on the margins. Torres Ray decided not to run for re-election in 2022 after serving in the senate for 16 years. She opened her own firm, PTR Associates, to assist small organizations in managing political and public policy strategies centered around the needs and assets of Indigenous communities, people of color, and immigrant communities. Torres Ray is a native of Colombia, a public affairs graduate from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, and a parent of two boys. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Deborah Appleman — Hollis L. Caswell Professor of Educational Studies, associate program director of American studies, and chair of educational studies — delivered the address for Carleton’s annual Argument & Inquiry (A&I) Convocation on Friday, September 27 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. In her address, “Academic Freedom and Necessity of Discomfort: The Trouble with Cancel Culture and Content Warnings,” Appleman drew from her most recent book, Literature and the New Culture Wars. Appleman taught high school English for nine years before receiving her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She has been a visiting professor at Syracuse University and at the University of California–Berkeley. She is the author of more than a dozen books on literacy education, including Critical Encounters in Secondary English: Teaching Literary Theory to Adolescents (winner of the Richard A. Meade Award); Adolescent Literacy and the Teaching of Reading: Lessons for Teachers of Literature; Teaching Literature to Adolescents; Uncommon Core; and Reading Better, Reading Smarter. Her 2019 book, Words No Bars Can Hold: Literacy Learning in Prison, draws from her experiences teaching creative writing and literature classes in a high security men’s prison, where she has taught since 2007. Her most recent book, Literature and the New Culture Wars, examines current political challenges in the teaching of literature. At Carleton, Appleman teaches courses such as Educational Psychology, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, and Teenage Wasteland. She also mentors and supervises student teachers. She was Carleton’s second Posse mentor, and has served on a variety of elected committees including College Council, the Faculty Affairs Committee (as chair), the Faculty Personnel Committee, and the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Dean Phillips, U.S. Representative for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District, delivered the address for Carleton's Opening Convocation on Monday, September 16 starting at 3 p.m. in Skinner Chapel. Phillips was raised in Edina, Minnesota, attended Brown University, and earned his MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business. After being employed at a variety of small startups, he worked his way up and eventually led his family’s business, Phillips Distilling, in addition to starting other small businesses. Phillips is active in the philanthropic community in Minnesota through the Edward J. Phillips Family Foundation, which supports education, medical research, and children and youth services. The Phillips Scholars program, run through the Minnesota Private College Council, provides scholarships to Minnesota college students who are interested in community service. In Congress, Phillips is focused on collaboration in Washington, pursuit of common ground for the common good, and ending the corrupting influences of special interest money in American politics. In 2020, he authored the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, bipartisan legislation that helped many small businesses keep their doors open despite the pandemic. Phillips has led the Problem Solvers Caucus in negotiations with the White House and Congressional leadership to provide bipartisan solutions to pressing challenges. Phillips has been recognized for his bipartisanship, including receiving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Jefferson-Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship in the 116th and 117th Congress. Phillips has said: “My journey to public service began the morning after the 2016 election, when I faced the reality that democracy requires participation — not observation.” At a critical time for our democracy, his emphasis on participation, choice, and action provides an important model for civic engagement that is particularly relevant for first-time voters in a consequential election. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

The Carleton community gathered in Skinner Chapel on Friday, May 24 at 3 p.m. for Honors Convocation, a celebration of Carleton students’ academic excellence and the culmination of the 2023–24 academic year. Honors Convo is the final event in the convocation program. Honors Convo also features the Bubble Brigade at the beginning and end of the program, where Carleton seniors blow bubbles from the Chapel balcony over the faculty’s processional and recessional. Read the full program from the event at carleton.edu/convocations/honors/ Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Jill Conklin, director and strategic officer of the international nonprofit Food for Soul, delivered the Carleton convocation address titled, “Feeding the Future” on Friday, May 10 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Food for Soul was founded by Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore to cultivate a more just and sustainable food system by saving food from waste and reducing barriers to food security. Conklin directs the organization’s global advocacy efforts, including the Refettorio project expansion and coordination of the Refettorio Network of Partners, whose collective impact has helped transform more than 2,100 tons of food waste into 3.591 million nourishing meals. Food for Soul developed its first Refettorio project in 2015 during the World Expo in Milan, Italy. The project began as a cultural initiative to raise awareness of food waste’s correlated effects on the planet, social isolation, and the hunger crisis. Since then, the Refettorio project has evolved into a community-based model centered around civic engagement that brings together eco-conscious design, beauty, and hospitality to enable social, environmental, and economic change. Each week, the Refettorio culinary team rescues surplus imperfect foods from landfills, transforming ingredients into nutritious menus that return the economic value of food back into communities. Conklin joined the team officially in 2019 after guiding the organization’s expansion research in San Francisco and Oakland, California, which led to the launch of Food for Soul’s nonprofit 501(c)3 United States arm. As a former restaurant and research chef and business development executive, Conklin possesses a dynamic set of skills, knowledge, and experience that cuts across the sectors of gastronomy, culinary arts, technology, public health, and strategic development. As a graduate of Johnson and Wales University, her culinary degree in food applied science and nutrition has led her to a career of accomplishments, including a decade of research and cookery of the  Mediterranean spice trade routes and Italian Sephardic Jewish diaspora in Italy. She has held positions in public policy and civic leadership, working to improve domestic and global child nutrition and school food programs. Prior to joining Food for Soul, Conklin specialized in bringing healthy foods to market through environmentally conscious technology and packaging solutions, improved USDA commodity processing, menu development, and marketing conceptualization. She has led food safety and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) training programs across commercial and noncommercial markets, and worked eight years in food start-up ventures with a focus on sous vide technology. Conklin’s personal passion for giving back began at the age of 12, when she worked as a camp counselor for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She was inspired by the resilience of the young people in the camp and the overwhelming gratitude they had for volunteers and helping hands. Every year thereafter, Conklin has dedicated time to support those most vulnerable. Over the last 34 years, she has found a unique path that blends her passion for food and culture with her commitment to improving food security, nutrition, and wellness around the world. Conklin is also acting program advisor to SuperChefs Cookery for Kids in British Columbia, Canada, helping to advise on the nonprofits’ summer cooking programs and international Westin “Kids Eat Well” menu.  Aside from her nonprofit philanthropic work, Conklin has also acted as chair of the Kids in the Kitchen interest section of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP); chair of The Culinary Trust; chair of the Chef’s Table Committee for the School Nutrition Association (SNA); ad-hoc member of the SNA Industry Advisory Board; public relations co-chair for the USDA and Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move, Chefs Move to Schools” campaign; chair of the IACP’s Awards of Excellence; chair of the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) Forum for Ethiopia; and part of the Acting Nominations Committee for GCNF’s Gene White Lifetime Achievement Award. A few of Conklin’s culinary experiences and accolades include: sous chef at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina; executive chef and culinary educator for Walters Restaurants and ICC education programs in Rhode Island; chef trainer for Kids in the Kitchen and Kids First in Rhode Island; trainer with USDA National School Food Safety and HACCP; U.S. domestic sales manager for Winston Industries, a leading manufacturer of precision temperature cooking equipment; and food development incubator for VC investments for a series of top-tier food manufacturing and processing companies as well as hospitality and cruise brands, including culinary development with celebrity chef and entrepreneur Carla Hall. Conklin is the recipient of a 5 Star Dining Award, Euro-Toques Nomination, James Beard House Event Recognition, and food and recipe styling recognition for Flavors + Knowledge. She is also an Emmy winner for PBS New England’s Holiday at the Breakers, Marian Esposito’s Ciao Italia, and the Food Network. She received the 2011 Industry Member of the Year award from SNA. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Pipo Nguyen-duy ’83, professor of studio art and photography at Oberlin College, delivered the Carleton convocation address titled, “A Dust of Life,” on Friday, May 3 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Nguyen-duy was born in Hue, Vietnam. Growing up within thirty kilometers of the demilitarized zone near the 18th parallel, he describes hearing gunfire every day of his early life. He immigrated to the United States as a political refugee. Nguyen-duy has taken on many things in life in pursuit of his diverse interests. He has competed as a national athlete in table tennis, spent time living as a Buddhist monk in northern India, and majored in economics at Carleton. While living in New York City’s East Village, where he worked as a bartender and later as a nightclub manager, his interests turned to art after meeting people such as musician Don Cherry and artist Keith Haring. He then earned an MA in photography, followed by an MFA in photography, both from the University of New Mexico–Albuquerque. Nguyen-duy has received many awards and grants over the years, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography; a National Endowment for the Arts grant; an En Foco grant; a  Professional Development Fellowship from the College Arts Association; a National Graduate Fellowship from the American Photography Institute; a fellowship from the Oregon Arts Commission in Salem, Oregon; a B. Wade and Jane B. White Fellowship in the Humanities at Oberlin; and two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council in Columbus, Ohio. Nguyen-duy has been an artist-in-residence at Monet’s Garden through the Artists at Giverny Fellowship from Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund as well as at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California through the Light Work Artist-in-Residence Program. He has also lectured widely and his work has been exhibited and is in public collections in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Teaching artist Brian Sostek ’90 delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, April 26 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Fear, Failure, and Catastrophe: How To Talk with Strangers,” pulled from his experience as a writer, choreographer, director, performer, and teacher who brings the best practices of his performing arts career to bear on academic research, writing, and interpersonal communication. Currently, Sostek works with undergraduate students at the University of Minnesota through faculty members in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, the School of Nursing, the School of Medicine, the University Honors Program, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, among many other departments, schools, and programs. In every context, Sostek teaches his students how to talk with strangers. In 2023, Sostek was recognized by the University of Minnesota for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to Honors Education, and was nominated for the John Song Distinguished Mentoring Award for exceptional contributions to the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. With his wife and co-creator Megan McClellan, he has received numerous accolades for their work on stage, the coolest of which — according to Sostek — might be the one and only Ivey Award for playwright and choreographer for their two-person show Trick Boxing. Sostek graduated from Carleton in 1990 with a BA in English. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Foreign policy expert Fiona Hill delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, April 19 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address, “Navigating a World in Turmoil,” pulled from her years of experience, extensive research, and multiple publications on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, regional conflicts, energy, and strategic issues.  Hill is a senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe in the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, and in November 2022, was appointed chancellor of Durham University, U.K., a high-profile ceremonial and ambassadorial role. Hill is also currently a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin. She served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for European and Russian affairs on the U.S. National Security Council from 2017 to 2019, and as national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia on the National Intelligence Council from 2006 to 2009. In October and November 2019, Hill testified before Congress in the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump. She is the author of There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st Century and a co-author with Clifford Gaddy of Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin. Prior to joining Brookings, Hill was director of strategic planning at the Eurasia Foundation in Washington, D.C. From 1991 to 1999, she held a number of positions directing technical assistance and research projects at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, including associate director of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, director of the Project on Ethnic Conflict in the Former Soviet Union, and coordinator of the Trilateral Study on Japanese-Russian-U.S. Relations. Her first book with Gaddy, The Siberian Curse: How Communist Planners Left Russia Out in the Cold, was published by Brookings Institution Press in December 2003, and her monograph, Energy Empire: Oil, Gas and Russia’s Revival, was published by the London Foreign Policy Centre in 2004. Hill holds a master’s in Soviet studies and a doctorate in history from Harvard University, where she was a Frank Knox Fellow. She also holds a master’s in Russian and modern history from St. Andrews University in Scotland, and has pursued studies at Moscow’s Maurice Thorez Institute of Foreign Languages. Hill’s Reith Lecture on “Freedom of Fear” for the BBC was broadcast in December 2022 to an audience of over 200 million. That same month, Hill was awarded the Insignia of Knight First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Françoise Baylis CM, ONS, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS, FISC delivered the Carleton convocation address on Friday, April 5 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. Her address, “Altered Inheritance: The Era of Designer Babies,” discussed the ethics surrounding human genome editing and delved into her work on the subject. Baylis is distinguished research professor, emerita at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. She is a philosopher whose innovative work in bioethics, at the intersection of policy and practice, has stretched the boundaries of the field. Her work challenges people to think broadly and deeply about the direction of health, science, and biotechnology, and aims to move the limits of mainstream bioethics and develop more effective ways to understand and tackle public policy challenges. Baylis is the author of Altered Inheritance: CRISPR and the Ethics of Human Genome Editing, which won the 2020 PROSE Award in Clinical Medicine. In a review of the book for The New York Review, Natalie de Souza wrote, “She offers an authoritative, comprehensive guide to the ethical issues around CRISPR, and her central message is clear: heritable human genome editing shouldn’t be treated as inevitable, and the decision to undertake it should be a collective one.” In a review of the book for Science, Adam Hayden wrote, “Commitments to justice, responsibility, accountability, and consensus building are features of a socially just science and bioethics. Toward this end, Altered Inheritance is a foundational tool in the path ahead.” Baylis was a member of the planning committees for the first and third International Summit on  Human Gene Editing (2015 and 2023), a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Committee on Developing Global Standards for Governance and Oversight of Human Genome Editing (2019–21), and a member of the WHO Working Groups on a Global Guidance Framework for the Responsible Use of the Life Sciences (2021). She is a member of the governing board for the International Science Council and vice chair of its Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science. Baylis is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia, as well as an elected  Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the  International Science Council. In 2022, she was awarded the Killam Prize for the Humanities,  Canada’s most distinguished award for humanities scholars. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Inspirational speaker Steve Hanson delivered the first convocation address of spring term on Friday, March 29 from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. His address, “Your Time is Now,” is a reminder that everyone has the power to affect positive change and make a difference. Centered around the concept that time is both an asset and a commodity, Hanson’s work emphasizes the importance of mindfulness and encourages his audience members to consider how they can spend their time to live meaningful lives. In his address, he shared personal experiences of pain, struggle, and joy in order to empower and uplift his audience. As a self-described “man on a mission,” he is determined to open a dialogue that welcomes candid conversations about the challenges everyone faces and how those challenges impact esteem and abilities at school, in the workplace, and even at home. Hanson’s life experience motivates his work as an inspirational speaker. As a young child, he experienced severe bullying, which resulted in anxiety and low self-esteem. As an adult, Hanson was able to transform his life through a journey of self-discovery that taught him self-acceptance and vulnerability. In his work, Hanson shares the wisdom he has gained through that journey to encourage his audiences to change their lives for the better. Hanson provides his audience members with tools to combat fear, guilt, shame, and self-doubt in order to let go of what is holding them back from embracing their unique gifts.  Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Jaylen Smith, the youngest African American mayor in U.S. history, delivered the final winter term convocation at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, February 23. Smith was elected as mayor of Earle, Arkansas in December 2022 at just 18 years old, making him one of a select few teenagers to take office in U.S. history, and the youngest African American to ever become a mayor. A lifelong resident of Earle, Smith based his campaign on revitalizing the economy and infrastructure, in particular attracting a supermarket to the small city and increasing safety resources throughout the police and fire departments. Smith’s trailblazing career has attracted attention from national media, including appearances on CBS News, ABC News, The Jennifer Hudson Show, The Towanna Murphy Show, and a feature in The New York Times, among many others. Prior to his term as mayor of Earle, Smith was president of Earle High School’s student government, class president, and was involved with the community and high school in numerous other ways. Smith graduated from Earle High School in 2022 and now attends Arkansas State University Mid-South online after completing his mayoral duties each day. Smith was also recognized with a President’s Award at the King Kennedy Awards of the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus in 2023. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations

Actress and author Gin Hammond ’93 delivered convocation at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, February 16. Hammond’s address, “Returning the Bones,” covered her award-winning play turned novel by the same name. In its theatrical format, Returning the Bones is a one-woman show, with the protagonist inspired by the extraordinary life of Hammond’s aunt, Carolyn Beatrice Hammond Montier, whom she affectionately refers to as Bebe. In the play, Hammond portrays the ups and downs of Bebe’s life as a pioneering Black doctor in the mid-twentieth century, facing racism and prejudice to pursue her passion for helping others. In an interview with The Seattle Times, Hammond revealed that it took her a decade to interview her aunt and collect the “jaw-dropping” information about her life that inspired the play. Returning the Bones has received significant praise from critics as well as nominations for the Gregory Awards, including Outstanding Play, Outstanding Performance, Outstanding Director, and Outstanding Sound Design. Hammond’s book adaptation of the play was published in 2023 and will be available for purchase before the start of her convocation address. Beyond her work on Returning the Bones, Hammond is an award-winning actress who has performed at venues including The Guthrie, Arena Stage, The Longwharf Theatre, The Pasadena Playhouse, the ART, The Berkshire Theatre Festival, and The Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., where she won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance of The Syringa Tree. Hammond has also received a Kathleen Cornell award and Washington state grants from Allied Arts, the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Artist Trust, and 4 Culture, as well as from the NEA, and has recently been nominated for a Washington State Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award. She has also performed internationally in Russia, Germany, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Belgium. Hammond has taught voice, voice-over, public speaking, dialect coaching, and has appeared on commercials, in audiobooks and radio plays, and in video games including BattleTech, Dota 2, State of Decay and its sequel, and Halo 3: ODST. She was also the director and dialect coach for the video game Post Human W.A.R. and has begun working in the field of motion capture. After earning her BA at Carleton, Hammond went on to earn her MFA at Harvard University/Moscow Art Theater. She is also a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework™. Hammond currently lives in the Seattle area, where she is deeply involved in the city’s theater scene, including with ACT Theater, Seattle Children’s Theater, Book-It Repertory Theater, Washington Ensemble Theater, 5thAve. Theater, Seattle Rep, Taproot, Village Theater, and various Sandbox Artists Collective productions as well as various film projects. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations.

Dudley Edmondson—nature photographer, filmmaker, author, and advocate for nature—delivered the convocation address, “My Career Working with the Natural World,” at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, February 9. His talk detailed his unique personal experiences sharing and living in nature. Edmondson has spent more than three decades as a photographer of nature and wildlife. His passion and love for the outdoors motivated him to create his groundbreaking book, Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places (2006), which profiles the lives of many African Americans who are deeply connected to nature. Edmondson’s work highlighting Black outdoor role models contributes to his goal of helping more people of color explore the outdoors.  Edmondson’s belief that nature has an innate ability to heal the mind and the body has led him on a life path of sharing his love and passion for nature with others. He has worked with a multitude of communities across the country in order to help urban youth and youth of color to experience the beauty of the natural world. His first-hand experience watching the ways that young people’s lives are changed for the better with exposure to nature has reinforced his desire to inspire people to discover their personal understanding and respect for everything that nature has to offer.  “In wilderness the ability to embrace freedom and be your true self is the healing medicine the mind needs,” Edmondson explains on his website.  Edmondson is also the author of What’s that Flower: A Beginner’s Guide to Wildflowers (2013), which breaks down the most common wildflowers of the eastern United States. Over the course of his career, his work has been featured in over 100 publications and his photographs have been showcased in a plethora of national galleries.  Edmondson attended Ohio State University and now calls Duluth, Minnesota home, where he is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying several recreational activities including birdwatching, mountain and fat biking, fly fishing, and trail running, among many others. About Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places: Written after four years of crisscrossing America, the book contains interviews with people from all walks of life. In speaking with a spectrum of people from private citizens to working biologists and even national park rangers, Edmondson fulfills the book’s purpose to create a set of “Outdoor Role Models” for the African American community. Readers can identify and connect through seeing someone who reflects how they look but also be inspired through reading about their passion for nature and love of the outdoors. Each copy of the book includes a children’s version on the inside back cover, for sharing with a child in your community or household. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations.

Environmental journalist, researcher, and filmmaker Ben Raines delivered the convocation address, “Finding Clotilda – The Last Slave Ship,” at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, February 2. Raines’s talk detailed his discovery of Clotilda, the last known slave ship carrying enslaved Africans to the United States, and how the histories of those on the ship continue to be profoundly important. His presentation is connected with his book, The Last Slave Ship – The True Story of How Clotilda Was Found, Her Descendants, and an Extraordinary Reckoning (2022), which stems from his discovery of the wrecked remains of the slave ship in 2018.  While the Atlantic slave trade was legally abolished in the U.S. in 1808, the slave trade continued illegally for decades. In 1860, a group of plantation owners organized for the Clotilda to smuggle 110 captured African people between the ages of 12 and 30 across the Middle Passage to Mobile Bay, Alabama. After the ship’s journey, it was set on fire and sunk to hide the evidence. The Clotilda’s story is particularly impactful as its survivors provided some of the best-recorded, concrete first-person accounts of the Atlantic slave trade, surviving the Middle Passage, and memories of Africa. Raine’s discovery of the wreck of the Clotilda in 2018 fueled his re-examination of the stories of the enslaved people and the enslavers, whose lives were all intertwined with the last known slave ship in America. Raines has also won dozens of awards for his coverage of environmental issues. He is the author of the book Saving America’s Amazon: The Threat to Our Nation’s Most Diverse River System, about the looming threats to the unparalleled biodiversity of the rivers of Alabama. It was actually his knowledge of the river systems of Alabama that led to his discovery of the Clotilda, according to The New York Times. Raines is also the co-author of Heart of a Patriot with U.S. Senator Max Cleland, which follows Cleland’s journey from veteran and triple amputee to the U.S. senate. Raines is also the writer and director of the award-winning film The Underwater Forest about exploring the 70,000 acre cypress forest off the Alabama Coast. He is also the writer and producer of America’s Amazon, a PBS documentary that has been aired on stations around the country, among others. His film work has appeared on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic TV. Raines has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, The Today Show, Good Morning America, the BBC, England’s Channel 4, NBC Nightly News, and CBS Evening News. Raines has also written news coverage on environmental issues that has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.  Raines earned a degree in filmmaking from New York University. He lives with his wife in Fairhope, Alabama aboard the Suzanne, an 82-year-old river boat moored on the Tensaw River. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations.

Stanford professor and author Francis Fukuyama delivered the convocation, “The Global Challenge of 2024,” at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, January 26. Fukuyama’s talk addressed the major setbacks the world has seen to liberal democracy, including the outbreak of two large wars, and asked the question: What are possible global outcomes that will emerge in the year 2024? Fukuyama is best known for his scholarship and his work advancing political theory. His book, The End of History and the Last Man (1992), argued that Western democracy and free-market capitalism could indicate the end of sociocultural evolution. The book has been met with much debate over the years and has been translated for over twenty different foreign editions. Fukuyama has also written a variety of other books on development and and international politics, including Trust (1995), The Great Disruption (1999), Our Posthuman Future (2002), State Building (2004), Nation Building (2005), America at the Crossroads (2006), Falling Behind (2008), The Origins of Political Order (2011), Political Order and Political Decay (2014), Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment (2018), and most recently, Liberalism and its Discontents (2022). Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and a faculty member of FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). He is also the director of Stanford’s Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy and a professor (by courtesy) of political science. He is a non-resident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and at the Center for Global Development. He also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of the Pardee RAND Graduate School and the Volcker Alliance, a member of the Board of Trustees of the RAND Corporation, and a member of the American Political Science Association and Council on Foreign Relations. Fukuyama was also previously a member of the political science department of the RAND Corporation, and the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State. From 1996–2000, he was Omer L. and Nancy Hirst Professor of Public Policy at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. From 2002–2010, he was Vernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins University. Fukuyama received his BA from Cornell University and his PhD from Harvard. He is married to Laura Holmgren and is the father of three children. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations.

Award-winning dancer, writer, model, and disability rights advocate Jerron Herman delivered the convocation address, “EMBRACE: On kinship,” at Carleton's Skinner Chapel on Friday, January 19. Herman’s artistic process is supported by his personal history with disability as well as the social legacies of disability aesthetics; this process leads him to create art that undermines notions of production—the simple facts of how the art is made—in favor of creating something welcoming. Herman views art as a form of empowerment, reflecting in a feature video by Great Big Story that he has “always been an advocate for those to pursue the antithesis of the thing that is their limitation.” Herman has performed, collaborated on, and choreographed many original works, including his most recent piece, “VITRUVIAN,” which premiered in 2022 as a modern interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s Virtruvian Man. Through Herman’s expert expression, the Virtruvian Man is portrayed as a Disabled Black Man. Herman received the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship in 2021 and the Grants to Artists Award from Dance/NYC’s Dance and Social Justice Fellowship Program in 2020. His writing on art and culture has been published in the U.S. and internationally and his play “3 Bodies” was published in Theater Magazine in 2022. He has also featured as a cover story of Dance Magazine. As a model and disability rights advocate with hemiplegia cerebral palsy, Herman has partnered with brands including Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, The Jewelry Library, FFORA, Samsung, and Google. Herman is a trustee and vice chair of Dance/USA. In the spring of 2022, he became an Artist/Scholar in Residence at Georgetown University. He earned his BA in Media, Culture and Arts from The King’s College in 2013. Herman’s convocation talk coincides with the Perlman Teaching Museum’s exhibition Towards A Warm Embrace by artists Ezra Benus and Finnegan Shannon ’11. Open January 11–April 14, 2024, the exhibition explores disability justice and accessibility practice with the underlying premise that access is something everyone has a responsibility toward. Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations