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Political and religious ideologies are among the most pervasive forms of human thought ever developed, attracting billions of followers worldwide. These belief systems are appealing because they target our deepest hopes, fears, and desires. But don’t be fooled. They are not as beneficial as they may seem. They have had and continue to have terrible consequences.

Today, ideologies continue to be used against us. More than ever, power-hungry leaders have exploited our vulnerability to belief-based appeals to advance their personal agendas at our expense. Our failure to grasp this reality has allowed them to gain tremendous power over us. We must understand what we face as we are often bombarded by the false narratives our leaders promote.

Author John Kavanagh’s research into belief systems helps expose the myths surrounding our most popular political and religious ideologies. Using historical and current examples, he explains their true nature, what drives their success, and why they are so dangerous for us all.

John Kavanagh is the former CEO of Marketing Corporation of America (MCA), a $100 million management consulting and research company located in Westport and Chicago. He earned a B.A. degree from Yale University and an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia University.

After MCA was acquired by the Interpublic Group, John returned to the study of history, in which he had majored at Yale. At that time, he became concerned about the growing influence of ideologies in bringing dictators to power and their role in causing immense human suffering. This motivated him to spend several years researching political and religious ideologies. Drawing on this extensive research, his proven analytical skills, and his historical knowledge, The Path to Power, Road to Ruin: The Dangers of Religious and Political Ideologies.

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Jeff Benedict is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 17 non-fiction books and more than 100 published stories and essays.  He is also an Emmy-winning film and television producer.

Jeff spent five years inside the New England Patriots organization and was granted extensive personal access to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft.  During that time, he wrote The Dynasty: The New England Patriots, an instant New York Times bestseller that Colin Cowherd called “a masterpiece” and Peter King called “groundbreaking.”  His book is the definitive account of the Brady-Belichick-Kraft era.  The book is also the basis of the 10-part documentary The Dynasty: The New England Patriots that Benedict wrote and executive produced for Apple TV+.  It is currently streaming.

A former special features writer for Sports Illustrated and the Los Angeles Times, Jeff penned the landmark biographies of Tiger Woods in 2018, and LeBron James in 2023.  The New York Times praised Jeff’s book about Tiger as “a big American story … that’s nearly as sleek as a Christopher Nolan movie.”  The Wall Street Journal called his portrait of LeBron “inspiring and absorbing,” while the Los Angeles Times hailed it as “a sports opera fueled by drama and emotion.”  Both books were published in over 15 foreign languages.  Jeff also turned his Tiger Woods biography into a two-part documentary that he produced for HBO.

In 2024, Jeff won an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary as the producer and writer of the Netflix film Poisoned, which is based on his book by the same title about a deadly E. coli outbreak.   He is a frequent public speaker on the themes of leadership and success, as well as the art of storytelling.

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There are almost 100,000 people in the U.S who over the age of 100 and the percentage of people reaching centenary status is rising.  Dr. Edward Schuster will describe what will – and will not – help you achieve this goal and stay healthy while you do it.

Dr. Schuster notes that location matters.  Connecticut has the second highest incidence of centenarians in the nation (after Hawaii).  He’ll give advice on diet, exercise, social engagement, medical monitoring, stress management, vitamins and more.  He also advises: “Take vacations!  Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal.”

Dr. Schuster specializes in all aspects of cardiology with an interest in preventive cardiology.  He is Medical Director of Stamford Health’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program and its Sarner Health’s Health & Fitness Institute at the Tully Center, in addition to being a Board Member of The Stamford Hospital Foundation.  He is also a member of the teaching faculty at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and is the City of Stamford’s Police Department doctor. In addition to healthy aging and longevity, he is a strong and active advocate of children’s health and the use of defibrillators in the community.

Dr. Schuster started practicing cardiology at Stamford Hospital and St. Joesph’s Hospital in 1980 and joined Stamford Health Medical Group in 2012.  He received his Medical Degree at the Chicago Medical School and completed his Internship and Residency at Duke Hospital.  He was a Fellow in Cardiology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, has received numerous honors including Teacher of the Year at Stamford Hospital and is on lists of the best doctors in Connecticut, Westchester County and the nation.

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Susan Granger will discuss “The Business of Hollywood” which will focus on the many changes facing Hollywood’s movie industry.  The pandemic completely changed the business by making people reluctant to go to movie theaters.  Streaming soared and still continues to soar today.  Blockbuster culture, the cornerstone of the business for years, is still here, but it’s different.  AI has begun to significantly impact the business of Hollywood in profound ways.  And, with the country’s more right-leaning electorate under President Donald Trump, traditionally liberal Hollywood has felt a backlash. Fear is said to be rampant in the movie industry.

Susan is a product of Hollywood.  Movies are her family’s business.  As a child, she worked with Abbott and Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien and Lassie.  She later attended Mills College in California, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated with Highest Honors in Journalism from the University of Pennsylvania.  Susan has been on radio and television as an Anchorwoman and a movie/drama critic, syndicating reviews and articles around the world, and has appeared on American Movie Classics and Turner Classic Movies.  She wrote 150 Timeless Movies and she has worked extensively doing speech and presentation coaching for top management and executives in several industries. Her articles have been published in Working Woman, the New York Times, Redbook, Playboy, Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, Travel Agent, and Cosmopolitan, among other publications. Her reviews are syndicated through Hearst Media Group and various websites.

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U.S. presidents typically get too much credit and blame for the state of the economy.  The business cycle is alive and well, determined mostly by the behavior of hundreds of millions of households and businesses both here and abroad, as well as exogenous factors such as weather, OPEC and systemic health issues.  Policy also plays a role, although monetary policy usually has a bigger influence than the Administration does.  But there are exceptions, and President Trump’s tariffs clearly fit the bill:  the changes have been so extreme that they are having significant impacts on financial markets and the economy. The plunge in immigration will also have notable effects.  The direction is clear; these policies will raise prices and reduce output and employment.  The magnitudes, however, are not: tariff changes of this size have not been experienced in our lifetimes, and where they will end up and how long they will be maintained is far from clear.

Larry Kantor draws on his many years being one of the most respected senior leaders in the financial industry and he will tackle the critical economic issues of the day.  He is consistently praised for his clear, concise and comprehensive views on national issues from an economist’s perspective. Larry was formerly Managing Director and Head of Global Research for Barclay’s Capital where he built an integrated global research team that achieved # 1 status in Institutional Investor Survey.  He managed 1,000+ researchers and transformed a $100+ revenue generating business that was sold to Bloomberg for more than 600 million pounds.  He has made numerous media appearances on many networks to discuss economic and market developments including CNBC, Bloomberg TV and radio, Fox Business News, The Nightly Business Report and CBS Evening News.  Prior to his employment at Barclay’s, he was Managing Director and Head of Global Exchange Strategy at J. P. Morgan Chase (and prior to that, he he was its Chief European Economist and Chief U.S. Economist), in addition to being Chief Economist and Strategist at Normandy Asset Management, an Economist at the Federal Reserve Board and Assistant Professor at Lehigh University.

Larry is currently an Operating Partner at Atlas Merchant Capital, a private equity firm.  He was a 2016 Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow at Harvard University following retirement at Barclay’s.  He received an A.B. in Economics (with Honors) from Rutgers University and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from The Ohio State University.

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Rob Simmelkjaer is CEO of New York Road Runners (NYYR), the non-profit organization that “runs” one of the world’s largest marathons. This enormously successful event will be held this year on November 2^nd and has received record-breaking demand with more than 200,000 athletes from 150 countries applying to run.  Getting into one of the world’s largest marathons is hard, but more than 50,000 runners – from the world’s best professional and Olympic athletes to a vast range of runners across all experience levels and backgrounds – will compete across all five boroughs in a day that many consider to be The Best Day of the Year in the Best City in the World.

The New York Road Runners’ vision is not just to manage a world-class sports event, but to build healthier lives and a stronger community through the transformative power of running. During its nearly 70 years, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, producing more than 60 adult and youth races each year, in addition to its marquee event.  As a non-profit, it serves nearly a half million people annually through its races, free community events, youth running initiatives, and school-based programs. Also, through the TCS New York City Marathon’s Official Charity Partner Program, athletes have raised almost $600 million for over 1,000 worthy causes; in 2025, more than 600 charities are participating.

During Rob’s tenure at New York Road Runners, the organization has experienced a large running boom with nearly every race it hosts selling out at a record pace. To continue its growth, Rob began expanding the organization’s free community programming, forming partnerships with New York City Public Schools to create middle school running teams, elevating the non-profit’s sustainability efforts by launching its NYRR Team for Climate program, highlighting the mental health benefits of running by debuting the NYRR Mindful 5K race during Mental Health Awareness Month and inspiring action among the community with a new in-house content studio dedicated to bringing the power of running to life.

Rob was formerly a Senior Vice President of NBC Sports Ventures where he was responsible for leading international business development for the NBC Sports Group.  Prior to NBC, he was Assistant to the President of ESPN where he assisted in strategic direction, programming and acquisitions with primary responsibility for the launch of a 6-year programming agreement between ESPN/ABC and the NBA.  He was then appointed Chairman of the Board of the Connecticut Lottery Corp. by Governor Lamont.  In addition to his executive roles, Rob has served as an on-air contributor for ESPN, ABC News, and all NBC platforms including NBC Sports, MSNBC (where he anchored coverage of the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics), CNBC and the Tennis Channel.

Rob is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School.  At Dartmouth, he anchored Dartmouth Sports Radio for 4 years, as well as the school’s award-winning 1992 presidential election.  He later practiced law in New York City at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and also at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.  He has two daughters who keep him very busy.

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