“The country needs — and, unless I mistake its temper — the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
—FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

About the Chat: 

FDR’s quote above was a call to the American people to support systematic change to combat the Great Depression, but his words can be applied to leadership at every level in many situations. He challenged people to take action when the path forward was not clear. Meeting this challenge is  important in the military, in government, in start-ups, and the rest of the professional world.  

One aspect of organizations that make meeting FDR’s challenge difficult is a consistent institutional dilemma: How does one lead, while following? How do you influence change, and conduct the experimentation FDR demanded while executing the strategic direction outlined by your boss, your company’s board, or your commanding officer? 

Come hear Commander Jason Wells, US Naval Flight Officer, discuss stories and lessons about the challenges that accompany leading and following as a member of a mission driven organization, such as the United States Navy. 

About the Speaker:

Commander Jason Wells is a Naval Flight Officer who was recently the Aviation Officer Community Manager at the Bureau of Naval Personnel, responsible for the personnel policies governing Aviation force structure.  Previously, he commanded Special Projects Patrol Squadron Two, flying in Iraq during Operation Inherent Resolve, as well as in other operations throughout Africa and the Pacific.  He also served as the Operations Officer of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One, conducting Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance operations worldwide and flew in the NATO campaign over Libya during Operation Unified Protector. Has authored two DoD Electronic Warfare Assessments characterizing the strengths and weaknesses of Service capabilities throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.  Jason holds a master’s degree in international business from the University of Maryland, where he studied in Shanghai, and postgraduate research in Space Systems and Computer Science from the Naval Post Graduate School.  His research interests include strategic decision-making, force structure implications on strategy development, and mechanisms to characterize the constraints on national security and national defense strategies.

Tuesday, 10/22 7 PM FDR Suite SIGN UP required 

Reservations available starting 1 a.m. on Monday 10/14 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency was defined by his reactions to crises in the United States and abroad such as the Dust Bowl which devastated the American West. Through projects such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, FDR displayed dedication to the environmental well-being of America and the world.

Come hear Charles Lin discuss current environmental efforts and hear about his experience with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the air quality monitoring over the Alberta oil sands region, Canada’s participation in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the implications of climate change on disaster modeling and subsequent disaster response.

About the Speaker: Charles Lin is an environmental scientist who served as the director general of the atmospheric science and technology directorate within Environment & Climate Change Canada, a Canadian federal government department researching and monitoring weather, climate, and air quality. Mr. Lin also spent 20 years at McGill University in teaching and research positions, including heading McGill’s Environmental and Climate Change Centre.

Monday, 10/14 7 PM FDR Suite SIGN UP required

FDR used his understanding of history to advance liberal democracy. Trump uses historical ignorance to advance demagoguery. To succeed, both leaders depend on the acceptance of their ideas by a more-or-less informed electorate. Are we now finally experiencing what Francis Fukuyama famously called the “end of history” in 1989? Will historical ignorance—rather than the end of ideology—spell just the opposite of what Fukuyama predicted—the demise of western liberal democracy?

About the speaker: CYNTHIA M. KOCH is Historian in Residence and Director of History Programing for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation at Adams House, Harvard University. She was Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York and subsequently Senior Adviser to the Office of Presidential Libraries, National Archives, Washington, D.C. From 2013-16 she was Public Historian in Residence at Bard College, where she taught courses in public history and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Her most recent publications are “They Hated Eleanor, Too,” “Hillary R[oosevelt] Clinton,” “Demagogues and Democracy,” and “Democracy and the Election” are published online by the FDR Foundation http://fdrfoundation.org/.

Previously Dr. Koch was Associate Director of the Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community, a national public policy research group at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as Executive Director (1993-1997) of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was Director (1979-1993) of the National Historic Landmark Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, New Jersey.

Classic Board Game Night. Come play this Depression-era favorite where the New Deal began.
Open to Adams House residents and select undergraduates>

Limited to six pairs. Sign Up Required.

Trump’s slogan of “America First” isn’t at all new. Rather, it’s a re-tread of the America First Committee’s slogan of the 1930s. Founded at Yale, this non-interventionist group sought to prevent America’s entry into WWII, and was championed by none other than famous-aviator-turned Nazi sympathizer, Charles Lindbergh. Join Dr. Cynthia Koch, the FDR Foundation’s Historian in Residence, for an intimate look back at the last time dark forces in America urged us to turn our backs to the world.

Wednesday, 10/10th 7 PM FDR Suite  SIGN UP required

About the speaker: CYNTHIA M. KOCH is Historian in Residence and Director of History Programing for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation at Adams House, Harvard University. She was Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York and subsequently Senior Adviser to the Office of Presidential Libraries, National Archives, Washington, D.C. From 2013-16 she was Public Historian in Residence at Bard College, where she taught courses in public history and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Her most recent publications are “They Hated Eleanor, Too,” “Hillary R[oosevelt] Clinton,” “Demagogues and Democracy,” and “Democracy and the Election” are published online by the FDR Foundation http://fdrfoundation.org/.

Previously Dr. Koch was Associate Director of the Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community, a national public policy research group at the University of Pennsylvania. She served as Executive Director (1993-1997) of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was Director (1979-1993) of the National Historic Landmark Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, New Jersey.

Classic Board Game Night. Come try your hand at conquering the world in the very Suite where FDR began to ponder politics. It’s Risk at its best. Open to Adams House residents and selected undergraduates.

Limited to six. SIGN UP required.

Friday September 28st 8PM-? FDR Suite