Category: Speaker Announcements (Page 22 of 27)

Moritz von Stuelpnagel will discuss how a passion and an idea – against all odds – became a Broadway show and will explain what it takes to make a hit. Along the way, he’ll touch on how the feast or famine economics and the cut-throat politics of the industry work from the inside.

Moritz, a Broadway theatre director, originally hails from Darien and Greenwich. Today, he is an award winning, internationally recognized theatre director based in New York City. His recent Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter” garnered three Tony Award nominations. He guided Robert Askins’ play “Hand of God” to success, starting Off-Off Broadway to Off-Broadway to the play’s Broadway debut, where it received five Tony nominations. Before arriving on Broadway, the play earned a Lortel Award and a nomination for a Joseph A. Callaway Stage Directors and Choreographers Award. He also directed “Hand of God” in London’s West End, receiving an Olivier nomination for Best New Comedy.

Other recent Off-Broadway productions include “Teenage Dick,” Public Theater; “Important Hats of the Twentieth Century,” Lincoln Center Theatre; “Bike America,” Ma-Yi Theater; “Love Song of the  Albanian Sous Chef,” Ensemble Studio Theater; “Trevor,” Lesser America; “Mel & El: Show & Tell,” Ars Nova; “The Roosevelt Cousins Thoroughly Sauced,” Ensemble Studio Theatre; “Spacebar,” Studio 42; and “My Base and Scurvy Heart,” Studio 42. His work has been seen in other venues such as the Alliance Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Huntington Theatre and many others. As a sometimes producer, he is the former artistic director of Studio 43, New York’s producer of “introducible” plays.

He is a graduate of the Greenwich public schools and holds a B.F.A. in theatre
studies from Boston University and an M.F.A. in direction from Rutgers University.

Arranged by Bert von Stuelpnagel

Video: https://youtu.be/efvfGkUjaDs

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Arun Nandi, M.D., FACEP, chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stamford Hospital, will talk about emergency care services. As part of the hospital’s recent expansion, Dr. Nandi ensured the smooth and safe transfer of services to the new emergency room that expanded to 52,000 square feet from 19,000 square feet. Dr. Nandi also is responsible for the Immediate Care Center at 32 Strawberry Hill in Stamford and the Stamford Health Urgent Care Centers at 497 Westport Ave., Norwalk, and 2001 West Main St., Stamford. Prior to coming to Stamford, he was chairman of Emergency Medicine & Observation Services at Columbia Memorial Hospital and director of Emergency Medical Services at Columbia County EMS & Disaster Response in Hudson, N.Y. He also served as director and chairman of the Emergency Department at St. Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam, N.Y. Dr. Nandi received his medical degree from Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research at Madras University, where he also completed a residency in general surgery. In addition, he completed two fellowships, one in general surgery at Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the other in burns, trauma and reconstruction at Royal College of Surgeons of London. He completed research in wound healing at Stony Brook University and his residency in emergency medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Jacobi and Montefiore hospitals in the Bronx. He is active in international emergency medicine and is a visiting professor at Jawaharlal. He is fluent in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil and basic Spanish.

Arranged by Alex Garnett

Video: https://youtu.be/dJunbql7MV4

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Michelle Beltrano and Karen Goersch will lead a practical discussion on common pitfalls and current opportunities in estate and financial planning. The objective is to ensure such plans accomplish the intended goals. Michelle will talk about myths and surprises about estate planning documents. She also will explain how to start the conversation of estate planning with loved ones. Finally, she will cover the cost of settling an estate in Connecticut and what to expect from the probate process. Michelle lives in New Canaan with her family and is principal and founder of Beltrano Law, a boutique firm located in Greenwich. Her practice areas include estate planning, elder law, special needs, probate matters and estate administration. Michelle represents individuals and families who are dealing with complex matters, including Medicaid eligibility and applications, long-term care planning, will contests and trust administration. As an attorney and nurse, Michelle has unique insight into her clients’ situations and provides individualized, concierge services.

Karen Goersch will provide several tips to help ensure that clients effectively implement their estate plans and meet financial goals, such as the titling of assets, beneficiary review and gifting strategies. She also will discuss selecting which assets to deplete first, considering future estate and income tax implications. She will show how to use insurance as a tax-planning strategy to potentially eliminate the IRS as one of the biggest beneficiaries. She is a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial in its Westport office and holds several professional designations, including CPA. She works with a team of professionals to develop personalized financial plans and investment solutions, helping clients simplify complex issues, often with a focus on tax minimization and efficiency. Karen moved to Rowayton a year ago after living in Darien with her husband and twins for more than 20 years.

Arranged by John Wolcott

Video: https://youtu.be/TBAmRYLOqyI

Wednesday, February 14, 2018 

Joseph A. Williams will talk about his latest book, The Sunken Gold: A Story of World War I Espionage and the Greatest Treasure Salvage in History. In 1917, the “HMS Laurentic,” with 44 tons of Allied gold on board and bound for the United States, was sunk by German mines off the coast of Ireland. The struggle to recover the treasure by Royal Navy divers and their spy work of breaking into sunken U-boats for secret documents helped win the war. Today, there is still gold in the wreck waiting to be discovered. Unfortunately, no gold will be present at his talk, but attendees will be treated to a thrilling tale of determination, persistence and patriotism. A librarian, archivist and historian, Joseph received a bachelor’s degree in political science and history at SUNY Geneseo and a master’s degree in American history from Queens College. For six years, he was head of collections and assistant director of the State University of New York Maritime College’s Stephen B. Luce Library, which specializes in nautical research. His first book, Four Years Before the Mast, is a history of the Maritime College, the nation’s oldest maritime training school. His second book, Seventeen Fathoms Deep, is an action-packed narrative of the 1927 submarine S-4 disaster. He is deputy director of the Greenwich Library. He lives with his wife and two children in Ridgefield.

Arranged by John Wolcott

On January 25, 1917, HMS Laurentic struck two German mines off the coast of Ireland and sank. The ship was carrying 44 tons of gold bullion to the still-neutral United States via Canada in order to finance the war effort for Britain and its allies. Britain desperately needed that sunken treasure, but any salvage had to be secret since the British government dared not alert the Germans to the presence of the gold. Lieutenant Commander Guybon Damant was the most qualified officer to head the risky mission. Wild gales battered the wreck into the shape of an accordion, turning the operation into a multiyear struggle of man versus nature. As the war raged on, Damant was called off the salvage to lead a team of covert divers to investigate and search through the contents of recently sunk U-boats for ciphers, minefield schematics, and other secrets. The information they obtained, once in the hands of British intelligence, proved critical toward Allied efforts to defeat the U-boats and win the war. But Damant had become obsessed with completing his long-deferred mission. His team struggled for five more years as it became apparent that the work could only be accomplished by muscle, grit, and persistence. Using newly discovered sources, author Joseph A. Williams provides the first full-length account of the quest for the Laurentic?s gold. More than an incredible story about undersea diving adventure, The Sunken Gold is a story of human persistence, bravery, and patriotism

 
Video: https://youtu.be/5-7i7Tdh6-M
 

Wednesday, February 7, 2018 

Jayme Stevenson, first selectman of the Town of Darien, will present “The State of the Town.”

Jayme’s update will include a review of town operations and the outlook for changes in the near future. She has been first selectman since 2011 and has been a member of the Board of Selectmen since 2009. Jayme recently was elected chairman of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments and served as vice chairman beginning in 2015. She also recently was named to the board of directors of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and to that organization’s municipal risk insurance agency known as the Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency. Jayme has served on a variety of Darien nonprofit boards, including The Depot, the Darien Nature Center and the First Congregational Church Nursery School. She also was chairman of the Parent Teachers Organization for Royle Elementary School and Darien High School. She has been a member of the board of The Center for Sexual Assault Crisis Counseling and Education since 2016. Jayme and her husband have lived in Darien for 26 years and have five children. Her husband grew up in Darien and is a graduate of Darien High School.

Arranged by John  Wolcott

Video: https://youtu.be/OVWwulnmijY