Speaker Series Archive

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. Below you will find an archive of the Speaker Series programs since 2014.

Alumni/ae Council Speaker Series Archive

2021-2022

CHARLIE FITZPATRICK '71 and JOHN SHEPARD '72

The May Alumni/ae Council Speaker Series, "Geographic Literacy, Cultural Landscapes, and Environmental Stewardship: Visualizing the Mississippi River", featured John Shepard '72 and Charlie Fitzpatrick '71. The program explored the importance of geographic literacy, the value of geographic information system mapping and interactive multimedia storytelling for understanding how human and natural systems interact. A recording of the program can be found here.

MELISSA SCHUMI JONES '97 and ANNE TOOMEY '97

The December 2021 Alumni/ae Council Virtual Speaker Series, "Global Reach: A Conversation on Life and Experiences Working in Foreign Affairs and Overseas", featured Melissa Schumi Jones '97, Anne Toomey '97, and was moderated by Sasha Aslanian '86. A recording of the program can be found here.

2020-2021

2019-2020

JORY SCHWACH '03, TYLER OLSON '04

The first Speaker Series event of 2019-2020 featured Jory Schwach '03, Founder and CEO of Andium; Tyler Olson '04, an award winning serial entrepreneur; and was moderated by Sasha Aslanian '86. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage.

NORAH SHAPIRO '81, WALT LEHMANN '81

The second Speaker Series event featured Norah Shapiro '81 and was moderated by Walt Lehmann '81. The program discussed documentary storytelling and Norah's work as a documentarian. Photos from the event can be found on the Photo Album webpage and video of the program can be found on the SPA YouTube page.

2018-2019

JOHN WOLF '85, SARAH SCHRANTZ '97, AND PETER SKOLD '02

The first Speaker Series event of 2018-2019 featured John Wolf '85, owner of Chicago Lake Liquor; Sarah Schrantz '97, owner of Muddy Waters in Minneapolis and Dark Horse in St. Paul; Peter Skold '02, co-owner of Waxwing Farms; and was moderated by Marley McMillan '05. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage, and video of the program is available here.

LAURA BALLMAN PATTEN '89

The second Speaker Series event of 2018-2019, A Conversation on Art Crime and Fraud, took place on Thursday, February 28 and featured Laura Ballman Patten '89 and was moderated by Melissa Krasnow '85. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage.

2017-2018

MERRITT CLAPP-SMITH '87, NICHOLAS FRANCO '83, AND ERIC OLSON '82

The first Speaker Series event of 2017-2018 featured Merritt Clapp-Smith '87 who is a Principal City Planner for St. Paul, Minnesota, Nicholas Franco '83 who is the Director of Sustainability Services for Kinect Energy Group, and Eric Olson '82 who is the Senior Vice President for Business for Social Responsibility as panelists, and Kate Logan '04 who is a Senior Associate at Ramboll Environ as moderator. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage, and video of the program is available here.

DON LEWIS '71

The second Speaker Series event of 2017-2018 featured Don Lewis '71, a nationally known attorney who has investigated some of Minnesota's highest profile cases as the featured speaker, and Noah Rouen '93, the founder and president of The Rouen group, as moderator. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage, and video of the program is available here.

2016-2017

SEAN PATRICK FLAHAVEN ’91

The second Alumni/ae Council Speaker Series event for 2016-17 featured Sean Patrick Flahaven ’91 who is the founding worldwide CEO of The Musical Company, a new joint venture between Concord Bicycle Music, a leading independent record label and music publishing company, and The Really Useful Group, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s landmark production company. Sean has been a producer on two dozen albums, 9 of which were nominated for Grammy Awards, including the Grammy-winning, double-Platinum-selling, chart-topping smash hit Hamilton. The event was moderated by Bryan Smith ’94 who is a full-time marketing professional. Bryan has held marketing management roles with companies including Thomson Reuters, General Mills, and currently Tennant Company. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage, and video of the program can be viewed here.

SEAN CAIRNCROSS '93

Sean Cairncross '93, Chief Operating Officer of the Republican National Committee, was the featured speaker at the first event in the 2016-17 Alumni/ae Speaker Series. He discussed the many aspects of on-the-ground political campaigning, including the role of technology and "big data" and the part played by the Electoral College. His talk was moderated by Aram Desteian '01, an attorney at Bassford Remele who has also worked for DFL Senator Amy Klobuchar. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage, and video of the program can be viewed here.

2015-2016

DAVE KANSAS '85, CATHERINE MCKENZIE '88, AND ANDREA SCOTT '79

Our opening event for 2015-16 featured a panel of media experts discussing the media landscape in the 21st century, from print and broadcast to online and radio. The panel featured Dave Kansas '85, Executive Vice President for American Public Media; Catherine McKenzie '88, Senior Broadcast Producer at CBS News/Interactive; and Andrea Scott '79, Arts Editor for The New Yorker magazine. Stepping in for Rebecca Jarvis '99 as the moderator at the last minute was Sasha Aslanian '86, Reporter at MPR. Sasha did a great job leading a fascinating and informative discussion. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage, and video of the program is available on SPA's YouTube channel.

TONY SANNEH '90

The second Alumni/ae Council Speaker Series event for 2015-16 featured Tony Sanneh ’90, President and CEO of The Sanneh Foundation, who spoke on the topic of "Athletics, Leadership, and Community." The event was moderated by Marley McMillan ’05, radio personality of the “Donna, Marley & Tam” radio show on myTalk 107.1, and editor of myTalk1071.com. Photos from the event are live on the Photo Album webpage, and video of the program can be viewed here.

2014-2015

JOSH MEYERS '92

The first Speaker Series event held in October 2014 featured Josh Meyers ’92, CEO of Slickdeals.net, and was moderated by Minnesota Public Radio producer and current SPA parent Sasha Aslanian ’86. Josh shared stories of his time at SPA and his success after graduation, while also amusing the audience with the “slickest deal” he ever found on his website--an extra large roll of aluminum foil. Check out the YouTube series of videos of Josh's talk from the inaugural Speaker Series event, or view photos from the event.

ANDY REDLEAF ’75

The February 2015 event featured Andy Redleaf ’75, Founder and CEO of Whitebox Advisors LLC, and was moderated by Tim Welsh, Current Parent, Trustee, and Director (Senior Partner) of McKinsey & Company. Andy shared insight on a few of his principles of investing; and also spoke about his recent donation to the school to create the Redleaf Scholarship. View photos from the event.

In This Section