Shadwell Speaker Series
Designed to attract to the University world-renowned authors, political figures, and leaders of industry, the Shadwell Speaker Series was established in 2014 and has become a draw not only for UVA students and faculty, but also for the broader Charlottesville community.
On September 21, 2023, the Foundation presented a special evening with UVA alumna and New York Times bestselling author Georgia Hunter. When Georgia was 15 years old, she learned that she came from a family of Holocaust survivors. Her book, We Were the Lucky Ones, was born of her decade-long quest to uncover her family’s staggering history. Today, the book has landed in the hands of over one million readers, having been translated into 16 foreign languages. Recently, it was optioned by Hulu as a limited series. Georgia shared her story—and what it was like to write it.
About Georgia Hunter
Since graduating from UVA in 2000 with a degree in psychology, Georgia Hunter has written extensively. Her personal essays have been featured in the New York Times, travelgirl, and on Equitrekking.com. Georgia also has written adventure travel pieces for outfitters such as Austin Adventures and The Explorer’s Passage.
About the book
We Were the Lucky Ones is the extraordinary, propulsive true story of a family of Polish Jews who are separated at the start of the Second World War, determined to survive—and to reunite
It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer. The talk around the family Seder table is of new babies and budding romance, not of the increasing hardships threatening Jews in their hometown of Radom, Poland. But soon the horrors overtaking Europe will become inescapable and the Kurcs will be flung to the far corners of the world, each desperately trying to navigate his or her own path to safety.
Previous Shadwell Speakers
Fall 2022
Through captivating storytelling, drawn from her award-winning book The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another, science evangelist Ainissa Ramirez shared the unexpected ways that technology has shaped the human experience.
Spring 2022
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch discussed his landmark trilogy on the civil rights era, America in the King Years.
2021
Foundation Professor and healthcare expert Vivian Riefberg led a candid discussion with Dr. Francis Collins (Col ‘70), director of the National Institutes of Health, about COVID-19 and the challenges facing today’s global healthcare industry.
2020
Combat veteran, social entrepreneur, bestselling author, and then-CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation Wes Moore examined poverty in the U.S. and the line between success and failure across our communities.
2019
Foreign policy expert Anne Marie Slaughter discussed the current geopolitical landscape with a talk entitled “Global Hotspots & Blind Spots.”
2018
Jonathan Haidt, professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and New York Times bestselling author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, discussed the current political climate in the U.S. with a talk entitled “America’s Escalating Outrage: Why is it Happening and How Can We Reverse It?”
2017
Evan Osnos, chief Washington correspondent for The New Yorker, addressed the presidential campaign and the political landscape of the 2016 election in a talk entitled “Bridging the Divide: Passions, Parties, and America Beyond 2016.”
2016
Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times financial columnist, co-host of CNBC’s Squawk Box, and national bestselling author of Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System–and Themselves, discussed the global economy and what to expect in the coming years.
2015
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, delivered a talk on the importance of a politically engaged public.
About Shadwell Society
With an eye toward future leadership, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation created the Shadwell Society in 2012. This group of young UVA alumni convenes in Charlottesville every year to determine how best to serve the Foundation. One of the ways the Shadwell Society answers the call is by underwriting the Shadwell Speaker Series. This annual speaker series, now in its tenth year, attracts to the University world-renowned authors, political figures, and leaders of industry.
2024-25 Shadwell Society Members
Thomas G. Bell III, Chair (Col ‘12, GSBA ‘20)
Associate Vice President
Bessemer Trust
Atlanta, GA
Brett Andersen (Col ‘14)
Head of Operations
Bullish Inc
Brooklyn, NY
Katherine E. Baskind (Col ‘05)
Origination Manager
Harris Williams & Co.
Richmond, VA
Sarahbeth Brecht (Col ‘16)
Associate, Capital Partnering
General Atlantic Service Corp.
New York, NY
Elizabeth Quarles Briney (Col ‘08)
Richmond, VA
Keeling Brown (Col ‘15)
Manager, Corporate Development & Strategy
Brown-Forman Beverage Co.
Louisville, KY
Campbell P. Craig (GSBA ‘13)
Managing Director and Partner
The Boston Consulting Group Inc.
Houston, TX
Ryan W. Eckert (Col ‘16)
Senior Associate
Artemis Real Estate Partners
Robert A. Faith Jr. (Col ‘17)
Greystar Real Estate Partners
Mount Pleasant, SC
Isabelle D. Fitzgerald (Col ‘19)
Vice President, Capital Markets
Alpine Investors
New York, NY
Leslie S. Golden (Col ‘04)
Alexandria, VA
William R. Golden III (Col ‘04, Law ‘08)
Partner
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Alexandria, VA
Lauren Grammer (Engr ‘04)
Owner & Founder
Goods Grammer
Richmond, VA
Ryan K. Grammer (Engr ‘04)
Senior Managing Director, Debt Platform
Silicon Valley Bank
Richmond, VA
John H. Grayson III (Com ‘16)
Associate
Primus Capital
Atlanta, GA
Wake M. Hamilton (Col ‘15)
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Tectonic
Charlotte, NC
Nicholas A. Harris (Col ‘04)
Partner
Cassaday & Co. Inc.
Alexandria, VA
Jessica Hebenstreit (Col ‘12)
Design Assistant
Ken Fulk Inc.
Kansas City, MO
Martin J. Ho (Col ‘00)
Founder & Owner
Traceable Change
Glen Allen, VA
Meghan W. Ho (Col ‘02)
Managing Director
Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.
Glen Allen, VA
Paul L. Hudson III (Com ‘03)
Managing Director, Hedge Fund Group
Park Hill- PJT Advisors
Norwalk, CT
Megan E. Kingsley (Com ‘16)
Associate
New Mountain Capital, LLC
New York, NY
Herbert Klotz (Col ‘16)
Director, Development
Greystar
Palm Beach, FL
Daniel A. Lantz (Col ‘13, GSBA ‘20)
Engagement Manager
McKinsey & Company
Durham, NC
Robert W. Leachman (Col ‘16)
Senior Associate
Cirrus Real Estate Partners
New York, NY
Byrd S. Leavell III (Col ‘00)
Partner
United Talent Agency
Bronxville, NY
C. Malcolm Little IV (Com ‘05)
Chevy Chase, MD
Andrew M. Magee (Col ‘13)
Associate
White & Case LLP
Indianapolis, IN
Wesley H. McCluney (Col ‘98)
Managing Member - TAW Sports
New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc.
Birmingham, AL
Charles S. McDaniel (Col ‘15)
Sr. Director, Logistics Services
Hilldrup Companies
Washington, DC
Kacey H. McDaniel (Col ‘15)
Associate
Hogan Lovells LLP
Washington, DC
Elizabeth T. Michler (Col ‘16)
Senior Software Developer
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
New York, NY
Jacqueline F. Michnoff (Com ‘16)
Consultant
FTI Consulting Inc.
Riverside, CT
Charles M. Mitchell (Com ‘11)
Head of Corporate Development
Brevan Howard
David A. Platter (Col ‘10)
Managing Director
Capital Square
Old Greenwich, CT
Bailey McMahan Puntereri (Col ‘01)
Partner
Sera Advisory
Greenwich, CT
Maria Rose Puntereri (Col ‘02, Educ ‘02)
3rd Grade Teacher
Greenwich Country Day School (CT)
Greenwich, CT
Kyle W. Reeves (Com ‘17)
Associate
Bessemer Investors
Pamela A. Richardson-Greenfield (Col ‘96)
Assistant Professor
Clark Atlanta University
Marietta, GA
D. Peter Schnuck (Com ‘17)
Senior Associate
Sunrise Strategic Partners
Denver, CO
Mark J. Styslinger Jr. (Col ‘16, GSBA ‘21)
Associate
Altec Inc.
Birmingham, AL
Corinne Davenport Thomas (Com ‘17)
Associate
Kelso & Co.
New York, NY
Jacob S. Ulrich III (Col ‘13)
VP - Fundraising & Investor Relations
B Capital Group
New York, NY
Landon R. Wyatt IV (Col ‘13)
Principal
Grenaco Partners LLC
Charlotte, NC
