2025 Frederick Speaker Series

Fran Lebowitz on stage at the Frederick Speaker Series.
Chuck D on stage at the Frederick Speaker Series.
Laverne Cox on stage at the Frederick Speaker Series.
Henry Louis Gates Jr. on stage at the Frederick Speaker Series.
Monica Lewinsky on stage at the Frederick Speaker Series.
LeVar Burton on stage at the Frederick Speaker Series.
The Frederick Speaker Series: Illuminating Insights, Spirited Conversations, and Stimulating Ideas at the Weinberg Center for the Arts

Now in its 12th season, The Frederick Speaker Series has developed a reputation for bringing world-class speakers to the Frederick area. The goal is to engage our community through enlightening discourse and meaningful topics.  As a result of the Series, Frederick’s reputation as an intellectual hub continues to grow, drawing audiences from D.C., Baltimore, and beyond.

From inspirational topics to sensational perspectives, you’ll find it all at the Frederick Speaker Series!

ASL IconAll Events will be ASL Interpreted.

 

DR. ROBERT BALLARD
Renowned Ocean Explorer & Scientist

FEBRUARY 6, 2025 | 7:30 PM

The man who made some of the most startling undersea discoveries in recent years, Robert Ballard describes what it was like to locate the Titanic, among other sunken famous ships.

Sponsored by:

RUBY BRIDGES
Civil Rights Icon, Activist and Author

MARCH 6, 2025 | 7:30 PM

Ruby Bridges is a Civil Rights icon, activist, author, and speaker who at the age of six was the first Black student to integrate an all-white elementary school alone in Louisiana.

Sponsored by:

CELESTE NG
Bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts

MAY 1, 2025 | 7:30 PM

Her fiction and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and many other publications, and she is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Sponsored by:

SARAH KOENIG
Host & Co-Creator of Award-winning Podcast SERIAL

June 5, 2025 | 7:30 PM

Serial is credited with bringing mainstream attention to podcasting, with episode downloads numbering in the hundreds of millions, making it the most listened-to podcast in the history of the medium.

Sponsored by:

Each Speaker also has a MEET & GREET opportunity associated with the performance, purchased in addition to the ticket to the Event itself.  For an additional $75, you can engage with these incredible Speakers for a photo opportunity, a signing opportunity (whenever possible), and light hors d’oeuvres and refreshments. The MEET & GREET is NOT a valid ticket to the speaking engagement itself.

The proceeds of all Meet & Greets benefit children’s programming at Frederick County Public Libraries.

Distinguished Frederick Speaker Series guests join the likes of past speakers that include Chuck D, Cheryl Strayed, Monica Lewinsky, Neil Gaiman, George Takei, Bill Nye, Bob Woodward, Dr. Michio Kaku, Cal Ripken Jr., General Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Laverne Cox, LeVar Burton, Bryan Stevenson, Dr. Temple Grandin, Ronan Farrow, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Henry Winkler, Ted Koppel, Marlee Matlin, Elizabeth Smart, Dave Barry, and Mitch Albom.