Speaker Series

The St. Paul Academy and Summit School Alumni/ae Council created the Speaker Series in 2014 to showcase the wide-ranging achievements and expertise of SPA alumni/ae. Each Speaker Series event features a program around an individual or a panel with expertise in a particular field, and is followed by a question and answer session with the audience. Speaker Series events are lively and interactive, and provide alumni/ae, parents, and friends of SPA an opportunity to learn about a new topic, engage in interesting conversation, and connect and network with each other. All SPA alumni/ae, parents, friends and their guests are welcome to attend. The Alumni/ae Council is looking forward to producing the seventh year of the Speaker Series during the 2021-2022 academic year. Visit the Speaker Series Archives to learn about past Speaker Series events.

May Alumni/ae Council speaker series

Geographic Literacy, Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Stewardship: Visualizing The Mississippi River

The May Alumni/ae Council Speaker Series will feature John Shepard '72, an Associate Professor in the Hamline University School of Education and Assistant Director of the university’s Center for Global Environmental Education, and Charlie Fitzpatrick '71, who is the K-12 Education Manager for Esri, maker of geographic information system (GIS) software. This program will explore the importance of geographic literacy, the value of geographic information system mapping and interactive multimedia storytelling for understanding how human and natural systems interact. The program will look at ways that human enterprise has been enriched by and impacted the integrity of the Mississippi floodplain ecosystems, wildlife populations, and its enormously verdant and highly threatened Delta.

DATE: Tuesday, May 17, 2022
SCHEDULE: 5:30 P.M. CST Networking| 6:00 P.M. CST Program begins
LOCATION: St. Paul Academy and Summit School | 1712 Randolph Ave. St. Paul, MN
*For those unable to attend in-person but would like to watch the program, a livestream will be available. Registration is required.
REGISTRATION: Please use the link below to register.

Register Today

John Shepard ’72

John Shepard is an Associate Professor in the Hamline University School of Education and Assistant Director of the University’s Center for Global Environmental Education. His work as a multimedia producer, writer, and educator is focused on the intersection of natural and cultural systems. He has produced internationally acclaimed public radio and television programs; dozens of large-scale interactive learning programs for K-12 students; professional-development programs and resources for educators and other professionals; and museum-quality interactive multimedia exhibits. His public service experience includes board memberships with Project Environment Foundation, The Rivers Council of Minnesota, the YMCA, the International Crane Foundation, and the Trust for Public Land.

Charlie Fitzpatrick '71

Since 1992, Charlie Fitzpatrick has been a K12 Education Manager for Esri, maker of geographic information system (GIS) software. He works with students, teachers, and education influencers
to provide GIS software and learning resources to all K-12 schools and youth clubs for free for instruction. An alum from the Class of 1971, Charlie taught social studies at St. Paul Academy and Summit School from 1977 to 1992, in grades 7-12 (mostly 8th grade geography), and helped educators of all levels teach with computers. When not on the road teaching about GIS, he resides in Arlington, Virginia; when not playing with maps and computers, he likes to scuba dive around coral reefs.

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