Description
UPDATE: Please note this event has been cancelled.
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Which Democrat is going to be nominated—and why? Can he or she beat Trump? Can the election be bought, and by which party? These are the critical questions as we probe this most unusual of national elections. Let’s hear what seasoned political pros on our panel think, who can be counted on to have her own strong opinions about Election 2020. Come tell us who you are voting for, and what you think—this is a Conversation!
Moderator:
Karen Shiffman was just named Assistant Program Director at WBUR after her former long-time job as executive producer of On Point. She has produced the station’s coverage of the past four Democratic and Republican conventions and is gearing up for the 2020 convention in Charlotte and Milwaukee this summer. Before coming to WBUR, she spent more than a decade as a television producer at WCVB-TV and WBZ-TV. Karen holds a master’s in psychology from Harvard and once almost went to work for Martha Stewart, a fellow Barnard College graduate. A rabid Red Sox fan and an enthusiastic home cook, she lives in Brookline, just blocks from Fenway Park.
Panelists:
Helen Brady has a deep-rooted interest in politics and most recently ran as the Republican candidate for State Auditor. In addition to running her own political campaigns, she has volunteered across party lines for many Democratic and Republican campaigns including John Silber, Scott Brown, Mitt Romney, Paul Tsongas, Marco Rubio, and Governor Charlie Baker. Additionally, she is on the board of the Mass Fiscal Alliance, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that advocates for fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability in state government. She is also a proud member of the Concord Republican Town Committee and Massachusetts GOP. Helen has been a thirty-two-year employee at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was recently promoted to the position of Boston Pops Business Director.
Rev. Irene Monroe is a nationally acclaimed activist, ordained minister, lesbian feminist public theologian, and speaker. She can be heard on the podcast and broadcast Boston Public Radio segment All Rev'd Up on WGBH Radio (89.7 FM). Monroe is a Visiting Scholar in the Religion and Conflict Transformation Program at Boston University School of Theology, and the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Monroe graduated from Wellesley College and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, and served as a pastor at an African-American church in New Jersey before coming to Harvard Divinity School to do her doctorate as a Ford Fellow. As an activist Monroe has received numerous awards including the 2019 Boston’s 25 Most Influential LGBTQ+ People of Color Award and the 2017 Cambridge Mayor’s Luminary Award. Her papers are at the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College’s Research Library on the History of Women in America.
Stephanie Murray is the author of POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook. She is based in Boston and previously covered breaking news for POLITICO in Washington, D.C. She is an alum of the State House News Service in Boston and cut her teeth covering local news for the Daily Hampshire Gazette and The Lowell Sun. Stephanie is a proud graduate of the UMass Journalism Department at UMass Amherst and was a 2017 winner of Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition.
James Roosevelt is an attorney and a co-chair of the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee. For over ten years Jim was CEO of Tufts Health Plan, where he led a turnaround resulting in nearly doubling memberships while achieving a #1 in the nation ranking from the national accrediting organization and consistent profitability. Before joining Tufts Health Plan, he served as Associate Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration. He is the volunteer legal counsel for the Massachusetts Democratic Party. He is a trustee of the Cambridge Public Library and the Cambridge Community Foundation. He also chairs the board of Massachusetts Health Quality Partners.
Want to delve into the upcoming election more after the Conversation? Check out CCAE's Spring workshop The Media and the 2020 Elections on April 22. Find out more information and register here.
About Conversations on the Edge
Conversations on the Edge was started at Cambridge Center for Adult Education (CCAE) in 2017 as a discussion series bringing together local experts with differing perspectives on important topics. CCAE has a long history as a place for learning and critical discussions with the community. We continue that tradition through Conversations on the Edge, which addresses timely issues with panelists and members of the community who are experts in their field. Learn more at ccae.org/conversations.
All events are open to the public. This series is presented in partnership with the Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Community Foundation, and First Republic Bank.