Honoring
History
Continued
“ WWI and America” Guest Lecturers and Performers
Michael Neiberg – Ph. D., History, Carnegie Mellon University – is the inaugural Chair of War Studies in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the United States Army War College. His published work specializes on the First and Second World Wars, notably the American and French experiences. The Wall Street Journal named his“ Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I”( Harvard University Press, 2011) one of the five best books ever written about the First World War. In October 2016, Oxford University Press published his“ Path to War, a History of American Responses to the Great War, 1914-1917.” Neiberg is also one of the distinguished collaborators of the annotated narrative collections available as“ World War I and America: Told by the Americans Who Lived It” Project Reader edited by Pulitzer Prize winner A. Scott Berg.
Benjamin Wright, Board Member, Veterans Breakfast Club – Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and Air Force Pilot. Lieutenant Colonel Wright was a pilot during the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Gulf War. He served during three remarkable historic eras – airlifting refugees out of Saigon, flying supplies into Communiststrangled West Berlin, and coordinating air support for the liberation of Kuwait. As Reverend Wright— an ordained Anglican minister— he continues to demonstrate the same work ethic and commitment to work with other people to get things accomplished as he did in his military position as base commander.
Todd DePastino – Ph. D., American History, Yale University – is the Executive Director of the Veterans Breakfast Club, a 501( c)( 3) nonprofit dedicated to sharing veterans’ stories with the public. The Veterans Breakfast Club has 500 active members in the South Hills and regularly attracts 100 to 150 people to its events. Over 3,500 persons have participated in the Veterans Breakfast Club’ s programs and activities over the past seven years. DePastino is the author of the awardwinning“ Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front”( W. W. Norton) and five other books, and teaches at Waynesburg University.
David R. Shumway – Ph. D., Indiana University – is Professor of English and Literary and Cultural Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University. In partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Shumway coordinated the 2015 and 2017 Pittsburgh Humanities Festival— a three-day gathering of internationally renowned academics, artists and innovators. The 2017 festival( Being Human) took place throughout the Pittsburgh Cultural District and neighboring locales. It offered conversations, interviews and performances focused on art, literature, music, science, policy and more, all helping to explore what it means to be human. Shumway’ s special interests in American Culture include film, popular music, and late 19th and 20th century literature. He is the author of several books including“ Michel Foucault and Creative American Civilization:
A Genealogy of American Literature as an Academic Discipline” and“ Rock Star: The Making of Musical Icons from Elvis to Bruce Springsteen.” He is currently writing a book on realism in American films, novels, television, and theater in the 20th century.
Peters Township graduate Valerie Williams is a professional singer and creative whose work encompasses performance, direction, choreography and arts education. Williams has been seen on Broadway and off-Broadway stages as a soloist with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Norwegian Cruise Line and in regional theater productions across the U. S. She holds a B. F. A in Musical Theater Performance from the University of Cincinnati’ s College Conservatory of Music. Her favorite project to date is her full-length album“ Songs For Young Whippersnappers: Classic American Music, Reimagined for Children”— available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and more.
St. Benedict the Abbot Church’ s The Abbey Players is a theater troupe open to youth in 7th through 12th grade. The troupe was co-founded by Nicole Tafe and Lorra Brannen eight years ago and has grown tremendously over the years. While putting on several fully staged productions each year, the troupe also focuses on a motto of Prayer, Performance, Charity, and strives to give back to the community through fundraisers that benefit Relay For Life, Crohn’ s and Colitis Foundation and more. For more information, contact Lorra Brannen at 724.825.8753.
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