Speakers

Perspectives on the Public Interest features adapted Public Interest Podcast interviews with those who seek to improve the state of the world. These conversations are intended to ennoble public service, create a platform for positive civil discourse, and facilitate dialogue with difference.

The stories within these pages provide insight into the lives of men and women who seek to leave the world better than they found it. In this book explore the imaginative, iterative process of discovery that led to the identification of autoimmune disease. Delve into a behind-the-scenes look at how major news networks shape national discourse. Learn how one entrepreneur uses business to create social change. Glean wisdom from politicians of varying partisan persuasions. Gain insight into the corruption that riddles the United Nations, the effects of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War on the rise of the Nation of Islam, and how communist and totalitarian regimes collapsed amid tales of assassination and intrigue.

BOOM: How Montgomery County Developed in the 1950s. A lecture and PowerPoint presentation summarizing the rapid development of lower Montgomery County in the 1950s as a suburb of Washington, DC.  The focus is on demographics, housing & subdivisions, shopping centers, schools, parks & recreation, & libraries, with emphasis on the many County areas.  This program was offered at the 2018 Montgomery County History Conference. 

Bob Bachman received an MA in American Studies from George Washington University.  His thesis was Takoma Park: 1883-1942 – A Case Study of a Railroad Suburb.  He currently is President of the Board of Directors of Montgomery History, as well as chair of the Center for Suburban Studies Steering Committee.

 

 

Strathmore is a nonprofit multi-disciplinary arts center and presenting organization based one-half mile outside the Capital Beltway in North Bethesda, Maryland. Best known for performances and events at the Music Center at Strathmore, the organization has been presenting accessible, affordable visual and performing arts in the smaller Mansion at Strathmore and all over its 16-acre site since 1981. Strathmore also presents throughout the community and at a new 250-seat venue, AMP, at Pike & Rose. 

High quality arts programming, designed for audiences of many tastes, served with the hospitality and warmth of a family enterprise, are the hallmarks of Strathmore. Seasonal outdoor events seek to be inclusive in their programming appeal, reaching out to people of all ages, interests, and cultural heritage.

Artistic offerings presented by Strathmore in the Music Center include world-class performances by major international artists of folk, rock, blues, pop, R&B, jazz, world music, show tunes, dance, and classical music. The Music Center at Strathmore is home to several arts and education partners including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, The National Philharmonic, Washington Performing Arts, Levine Music, CityDance, InterPLAY, and Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras. Learn more about our partners.

The Mansion at Strathmore is home to more intimate artistic programs presented by Strathmore in the warm and acoustically superb 100-seat Dorothy M. and Maurice C. Shapiro Music Room, the Gudelsky Gallery Suite exhibition spaces, the outdoor Gudelsky Concert Pavilion, and outdoor Sculpture Gardens. The Mansion also features the Strathmore Tea Room, serving Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Shop at Strathmore. 

AMP by Strathmore is located 2 miles north on Rockville Pike in the Pike & Rose neighborhood. This 250-seat cabaret style club features gourmet dining alongside rock, blues, jazz, folk, R&B, comedy, and other genres of performance.

As Strathmore is deeply committed to maintaining affordable and accessible arts programs to all audiences, an abiding partnership of both private and public support for Strathmore is required to nurture and perpetuate this creative endeavor... to provide a "home for the arts" in our growing community.

Mr. Carey is the Director of Donor and Community Relations and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the membership programs, special fundraising activities, and the community relations programs for Strathmore.

Prior to joining Strathmore in 2002, Mr. Carey served as the Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the financial regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Board in Washington, D.C.  Mr. Carey retired from government service in 2000.  He is a resident of Kensington, MD and works for the National Hockey League as an off-ice official.

Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar is President and CEO of the Coalition for Deep Space Exploration, an industry trade group supporting human exploration, science, and commerce in deep space.  Under her leadership the Coalition has grown from 5 companies to more than 60 over the past three years and is a well-regarded source of information, policy thought leadership, and education in support of NASA’s programs, the aerospace industry, and national leadership in space.

Before starting her own consulting firm in 2004, Dr. Dittmar coordinated R&D and later managed Flight Operations for The Boeing Company on the International Space Station Program. More recently she was Senior Policy Advisor to the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the International Space Station National Laboratory.  She has also served as a senior advisor to NASA, the DoD, and the FAA.

Mary Lynne is a Fellow of the National Research Society, an Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Astronautics and Aeronautics, and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Astronautical Society.  From 2012-2014 she was a member of the National Research Council Committee on Human Spaceflight, and is currently in her second term as a member of the Executive Committee of the Space Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.  In June of 2018 she was appointed by the NASA Administrator to the User’s Advisory Group of the National Space Council.  She resides in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar will talk about the business of space, why space exploration is valuable and how we can all benefit.  The Coalition for Deep Space Exploration is an alliance of space industry businesses and advocacy groups collaborating to reinforce the value and benefits of deep space exploration with the public and our nation's leaders.  The goal is to build lasting support for a long-term, sustainable, strategic direction for human space exploration and science, ensuring that the U.S. remains a leader in space, science and technology.