Laura Ackley
Celebrating the 100 Year Anniversary of The Panama-Pacific International Exposition
General Session, Friday, 9am-10:15am
Laura Ackley is an architectural historian and digital visualization professional and a recognized authority on the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE). After earning a master's degree in Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, she decided to return to UC Berkeley to conduct research on the PPIE at the Bancroft Library, which holds the original records of the fair in its collections. Laura earned a Master of Science in Architecture History/Theory with a thesis entitled "Illuminating the Jewel City: Spectacular Lighting at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.” She also published the book San Francisco’s Jewel City: The Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 in October of 2014.
Jeanne Farr McDonnell
Cultural History Sparkles
Friday Dinner, 6pm-8:30pm
Jeanne Farr McDonnell is the author of the highly acclaimed book Juana Briones of Nineteenth-Century California. As Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Heritage Museum in the 1980s, Jeanne learned about the home of Juana Briones in Palo Alto and arranged with the resident owner for regular public and school tours. This experience sparked Jeanne's interest in the life of Juana Briones and was a catalyst for Jeanne writing the biographical book about this interesting woman. A previous nonprofit job with Nature Explorations also gave her environmental knowledge that was helpful in her writing. Jeanne was a Fulbright Scholar in comparative literature at the University of Brussels and has an M.A. in American literature from Columbia.
San Francisco Basque Cultural Center
Saturday Dinner and Closing Program, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Join us for an unforgettable culinary and cultural experience at the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center. Enjoy a traditional Basque dinner while learning about the culture and history of Basques in the San Francisco area as well as how the Basque Cultural Center came to be.
