EVENT LOCATIONS

PROGRAM DETAILS

All programs have taken place. Thank you for your support.

Past Programs

The Buffalo Soldiers (this event was held on December 10, 2023)

As a founding member of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club in Albuquerque, Dwight “Doc. C.” Coleman will speak about being a black soldier in the US Armed Forces as well as his continued endeavors to promote the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and support the community following his service.

Indian Boarding Schools (this event was held on January 14, 2024)

Michael Canfield is the current President and CEO for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. He will conduct a discussion on Native American Resilience within the context of Indian Boarding Schools.

Japanese Incarceration & Exclusion (this event was held on February 11, 2024)

Nikki Louis and her parents were victims of incarceration and exclusion by the American government during World War II. She will discuss those experiences and how she transformed them into a positive force for change through the Japanese Americans Citizens League.

March 17, 2024 at the JCC (this event was canceled)
The Hispanic Experience in New Mexico

Bernalillo County Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada, an award-winning member of the Screen Actors Guild, has a long record of public service for children and families. Well known for playing Agent Gomez in AMC’s Breaking Bad, he will share the experiences of being an Hispanic politician and actor as well as his efforts to support youth through filmmaking, gang intervention programs, and fundraising for such organizations as Youth Development Inc. (YDI) and the Boys and Girls Club of New Mexico.

Angels of Amsterdam (this event was held on April 14, 2024)

Filmmakers Eric Leemon (Executive Producer and Albuquerque local), Susan B. Katz (producer), Esther Shaya (producer), and Eric J. Adams (director/writer) are finishing their upcoming film, Angels of Amsterdam, which documents the astonishing stories of Dutch upstanders who rescued 600 Jewish children from a daycare during Nazi occupation (www.AngelsofAmsterdamfilm.com). Leemon, Katz and Shaya will join us to discuss this important film as the finale of our current Speaker Series.

Eric Leemon began his entertainment career in 1995 as a member of International Creative Management’s prestigious Agent Training Program. Since then, he has held executive positions at Sony Pictures Television, World Poker Tour, and 44 Blue Productions, and delivered hundreds of hours of programming as an independent producer.

Susan B. Katz is an award-winning author, teacher, freelance editor and internationally renowned keynote speaker. As a Jewish woman and the granddaughter of Eastern European immigrants, she is deeply committed to keeping the story of the Holocaust alive, especially highlighting the brave people who risked their lives to save children.

Esther Shaya is a writer of narrative nonfiction. Meticulous archive research and dozens of interviews with survivors elevate Shaya as an expert on the crèche and the people involved with it before and during WWII. Shaya is also a board member, editor and author with the “Jewish Houses Foundation,” which publishes one book each year with pre-war stories about the Jewish community in the Netherlands.

Eric J. Adams is the writer and director of Angels of Amsterdam. He is also an award-winning producer, director, screenwriter, and investigative journalist.

REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED

Check back soon for information on our next Speaker Series.