Next Event:
Are You Cyber-Savvy? Understanding the Geopolitics and Personal Threats of Cyber Attacks
Nathaniel Fick and Rachel Wilson
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St, Freeport, ME
Nathaniel Fick, a Maine resident, former American diplomat, technology executive and author of the memoir One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, Ambassador Fick was selected to lead the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy in 2022. Ambassador Fick will be joined by Rachel Wilson, Head of Cybersecurity for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Ms. Wilson transitioned from a career leading counter-terrorism and cyber-exploitation missions at the National Security Agency to protecting the financial sector.
Net proceeds to benefit Portland Community Squash
Lead Sponsors: Greg Boulos, Joe Boulos and Joe and Carol Wishcamper
Welcome to Our 2026 Season!
To become a Freeport Speech financial supporter – which provides you tickets for all our events - click "Join Us" below.
Join UsOur fifth season finds us, once again, coming together to explore a range of topics—urgent, complex, compelling, and sometimes even entertaining or uplifting. We are pleased to announce the events below for our 2026 season. Watch this space for an additional discussion in the works on the rule of law—What is it, exactly? How much does it matter? Are we in danger of losing it? Tickets go on sale about a month before each event.
Can Someone Tell Me Where the US Stands on Vaccines? Changes in Federal Guidelines and Implications for Our Nation’s Public Health
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD, and Dr. Dora Anne Mills, MD, MPH
Monday, Mar 30, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St, Freeport, ME
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD, known online as "Your Local Epidemiologist", is a prominent epidemiologist, data scientist and science communicator who gained widespread recognition for her analysis and translation of complex scientific data during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Dora Anne Mills is the Chief Health Improvement Officer at MaineHealth. She is a board-certified pediatrician and a prominent figure in Maine's public health landscape, having served as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention for 15 years.
Lead Sponsors for this event are Dr. Ross W. Greene and Jenny McBrady
Are You Cyber-Savvy? Understanding the Geopolitics and Personal Threats of Cyber Attacks
Nathaniel Fick and Rachel Wilson
Wednesday, May 20, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St, Freeport, ME
Nathaniel Fick, a Maine resident, former American diplomat, technology executive and author of the memoir One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, Ambassador Fick was selected to lead the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy in 2022. Ambassador Fick will be joined by Rachel Wilson, Head of Cybersecurity for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Ms. Wilson transitioned from a career leading counter-terrorism and cyber-exploitation missions at the National Security Agency to protecting the financial sector.
Net proceeds to benefit Portland Community Squash
Lead Sponsors: Greg Boulos, Joe Boulos and Joe and Carol Wishcamper
Have we Overreached our Planetary Boundaries? A Conversation on Sustainability
Katherine Richardson and Deborah Bronk
Thursday, Jun 18, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St, Freeport, ME
Dr. Katherine Richardson hails from a family of distinguished Mainers and is an eminent professor at the University of Copenhagen and leader of its Sustainability Science Center, whose work bridges the gap between marine science and global climate policy. She will discuss global sustainability with Dr. Deborah Bronk, CEO and President of Maine's Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences.
From the Wilds to the Words: How Living in a Positive State Makes for Good Storytelling
Jenny Finney Boylan and Ernest Thompson
Thursday, Jul 16, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Kresge Auditorium, Bowdoin, 239 Maine St, Brunswick, ME
Ernest Thompson, Oscar-winning author of ON GOLDEN POND and his new novel OUT CLAUSE, and Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of SHE'S NOT THERE and co-author (with Jodi Picoult) of MAD HONEY, discuss the ways Maine has shaped their lives and stories.
Promise and Peril: The US and the Middle East
Aaron David Miller, Jon Allen and Jackie Northam
Thursday, Aug 20, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Freeport Performing Arts Center, 30 Holbrook St, Freeport, ME
Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. Dr Miller served at the State Department as an historian, analyst, negotiator and advisor to Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, where he helped formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israel peace process. Ambassador Jon Allen spent his career as a Canadian diplomat and was Ambassador of Canada to Israel. He is currently a Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto. Jackie Northam is a veteran International Affairs Correspondent for NPR.
We Might As Well Laugh…
Lew Schneider and Brett Pierce
Wednesday, Sep 2, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Kresge Auditorium, Bowdoin, 239 Maine St, Brunswick, ME
Lew Schneider is an American television producer, writer, director, actor and comedian. Schneider began writing for television in 1993. His credits include The George Wendt Show, The John Larroquette Show, The Naked Truth, The New Adventures of Old Christine and The Goldbergs. He wrote for Everybody Loves Raymond, receiving two Emmys as part of the production team. Brett Pierce is an educator, program developer, writer, producer and founder of Meridian Stories, a digital storytelling nonprofit. He worked extensively in educational and social impact projects for Sesame Workshop and PeaceTech Lab.
Women at the Helm of Space Travel: Is There Room in the Celestial Sandbox for Public and Private Exploration?
Darby Dyar, Tara Ruttley and Pamela Ann Melroy
Thursday, Oct 1, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Location TBD
Dr. Darby Dyar is a prominent planetary geologist, mineralogist, and spectroscopist and is currently the Deputy Principal Investigator for NASA’s VERITAS mission to Venus. Dr. Tara Ruttley is a scientist and engineer who currently serves as the Chief Scientist for Orbital Reef at Blue Origin, where she guides the scientific vision for a next-generation commercial space station. Pamela Melroy is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and former NASA astronaut who most recently served as the Deputy Administrator of NASA and is one of only two women to have commanded the Space Shuttle.
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2026 Lead Sponsors
Bath Savings Institution
Gregory Boulos
Joseph Boulos
Gladys Cofrin and Dr. Dan Logan
The Dara Jeanne Kaufman Fund
Marion Freeman and Corson Ellis
Dr. Ross W. Greene and Jenny McBrady
Legacy Properties Sotheby's International Realty
Tony McDonald and Denise Caron
Ineke Schair
David Douglas Stone
Robert and Joan Carpenter Troccoli
Joseph and Carol Wishcamper
Amy Woodhouse and Tobey Scott
2026 Community Sponsors
Liza Bakewell
Polly Bakewell
Kathy Biberstein
Paul Biberstein
Joe and Maury Bohan
Jack and Katherine Emory
Marcia Feller and Bob Murray
Lori Garon and Timothy Cloudman
Ret. Amb. Robert Gelbard and Alene Gelbard
Sara and Ben Gideon
Peggy Greenhut Golden
Martin and Shayla Haines
Gordie and Judy Hamlin
Robert and Paula Hoy
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina
Ret. Adm. Gregory Johnson and Carol Hancock
Jenna Klein Jonsson and Glenn Jonsson
John and Betsy Kelly
Amanda and Nicholas Kent
Michael Lamprecht
Charlie and Eliza Lee
Arnie Macdonald and Liza Moore
Elizabeth McLellan
Dr. Dora Anne Mills
Col. Joseph and Janet Moan
Jackie Northam
Fred and Pat Palmer
Chris Parker
John and Dean Paterson
Beth Reuman and Rick Hemond
Tom and Rita Saliba
Dr. Nirav Shah and Kara Palamountain
David Soley and Deb Coppinger
Clayton Spencer
Barrett Takesian and Qamer Hussein
Susan Thornton and Michael Joseph Daley
Thos. Moser Fine Furniture
Vistage
Jonas and Kate Werner
2026 Season Supporters
Lyn Ballou, Michael and Nancy Beebe, Jane and Ed Bradley, Hooper Brooks, Maryellen Carew, Amy and Matt Cartmell, David Cluchey and Mary Berry, Mylan and Maya Cohen, Anne and Jim Cram, John and Sandi Donnelly, Julie and Matt Forsyth, John Gleason and Katrina Van Dusen, Phil Gleason and Mary Schendel, Michael and Bridget Healy, Becky Hotelling, Michael & Anne Jones, Jonathan and Cindi Knowles, Story and Dennis Landis, Carol and Noel Leary, Mac and Catherine Lewis, John and Sally Lincoln, Frederick and Trish Madeira, Steve Massicotte and Susan Rideout, Mari Miya and Bob Mehler, Ken Murphy, Mary and Ken Nelson, Merle and Lenny Nelson, Martha Nichols, Stephanie Paine and John Pier, Ann Parker, Steve Poulos, Ford and Karen Reiche, Cullen Ryan, Lynn and Jim Shaffer, Robert and Ellen Snyder, Steve and Beth Sunenblick, Susan Tananbaum and Joe Frazer, Chip and Alison Thorner
CONTACT
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Freeport Speech
PO Box 284
South Freeport, ME 04078, USA