Leading Across Difference

VIRTUAL SPEAKER SERIES

TUESDAY, MAY 24 AT 7 P.M. (EASTERN)

VIRTUAL EVENT

Ours is a deeply divided nation. People struggle to engage productively with those who hold different perspectives, and this struggle hurts us all. Local, state, and national leaders come together to talk about the dangers of polarization and how they endeavor to lead across difference. This panel serves as a response to the exhibition question “What would you change if you could?”

Featured Speakers: Senator Jeb Bradley, Linda Murray, and Karen Boykin-Towns. Moderated by Craig Gemmell.

About The Speakers:

Senator Jeb Bradley

Senator Jeb Bradley is in his seventh term representing District 3 and his hometown of Wolfeboro. He is also a former member of Congress representing New Hampshire’s First Congressional District from 2003-2006.

Away from the Statehouse, Senator Bradley is an avid hiker. In 2015, he became the 49th person to complete the New Hampshire Grid, which consists of climbing each of the New Hampshire’s forty-eight 4,000-foot peaks in each month of the calendar year.

Jeb is a former small business owner, a graduate of Tufts University.

Linda T. Murray

Linda Murray is a member of the Board of Selectmen in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, a position she has held for 17 years, seven of which as chair. She is currently serving as the Selectmen’s representative to the Wolfeboro Public Library Trustees, the Wolfeboro Waters Committee, the Capital Improvement Committee, the Milfoil Committee, the Ad Hoc Docks Committee, and as an alternate on the Wolfeboro Economic Development Committee and the Budget Committee. She previously served as the Selectmen’s representative to the Wolfeboro Chamber of Commerce and is now an alternate representative.

Linda is a member of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Lakes Region Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Pop Whalen. For many years, she served on the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees of The Children’s Center and on the Board of Directors of Appalachian Mountain Teen Project. She is the president of the Miles Hodsdon Vernon Foundation and the Jacob and Eugene Bucky Foundation, both New York foundations.

For 32 years, she managed her family’s rental real estate business in New Jersey and worked as a paralegal and office manager at her husband’s law office. She has a BA degree in Sociology from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

Karen Boykin-Towns

Karen Boykin-Towns built a reputation as a visionary and driver of strategic results. She brings demonstrated success in the areas of policy, advocacy, communications, and proactive change management to NAACP in her role as Vice Chair of the National Board of Directors.

Her goal is to apply and share her experience to make positive change. She now serves as Founder and President/CEO of Encore Strategies, LLC., a boutique consultancy focusing on integrating business and public affairs initiatives. A distinguished strategist, global business and civic leader, Boykin-Towns previously contributed her expertise across government, the nonprofit sector, and Pfizer, a Fortune 50 global biopharmaceutical company, while also championing civil rights and social justice organizations. Read More

Craig N. Gemmell

Dr. Craig N. Gemmell is President of Brewster and BA International. He began this role on July 1, 2021 after serving as Brewster’s Head of School since 2015. As Brewster’s President, he acts as an advisor to Brewster’s 13th Head of School, Kristy Kerin, and supports the work of the Admissions and Advancement teams. He also ensures alignment between Brewster Academy and its emerging global network. As BA International’s President, Dr. Gemmell is the executive leader of the Academy’s expanding network of schools globally—and is currently working to launch Brewster Madrid alongside Brewster Madrid’s first Head of School, Ariane Baer-Harper.

Our Shared Humanity Speaker Series

Made possible with support from New Hampshire Humanities.