Speakers Series at the American School in London

Semester I events

Technology
17-18 September
Patrick Green, educational technology author and consultant, shared his vast experience with our community on the following topics: screentime for students, concerns about sexting and pornography; and social media, gaming and mental health. Patrick speaks globally on digital wellness, parenting, screentime and digital citizenship.

Journalism/global perspective: a panel discussion
22 October
The impact of misinformation on global elections and democracy. The panel comprised ASL parents Chris Anderson (LSE), Derya Matras (Meta) and David Rhodes (Sky), and was moderated by social studies teacher Terry Gladis. Questions were posed by Standard editors as the publication is entering its 50th year.

Parent education
6 November
Dr. Frances Jensen of the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and author of The Teenage Brain, shared research on the unique strengths and vulnerabilities of the teenage brain, and the interplay of our modern environment at this critical juncture in brain development.

Innovation: the Sir Mohamed Mansour Innovator in Residence Lecture
20 November
Our innovator in residence (IIR) for 2024-25, Christina Adane, presented on her life as a Gen Z changemaker, contrasting her experiences of school with her work in the real world. ASL students who collaborated with our IIR, helped Christina showcase their combined creativity at ASL during the semester.

Semester II events

Literature: the Bergeron Lecture
March
Our Bergeron Fellow for 2024-25 is Megan Mayhew Bergman, writer and environmental journalist. Megan presented the annual Bergeron Lecture at an evening event during her week’s residency at ASL working with middle school students in English class on a particular genre of writing. Megan also held workshops for English teachers.

Well-being
April
Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business, ASL parent, and author of five books, including The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning, presented on the Algebra of Happiness at an evening event.

Student well-being
May
Award-winning journalist Jenny Anderson and the Brookings Institution’s global education expert Rebecca Winthrop, co-authors of The Disengaged Teen—helping kids learn better, feel better, and live better, participated in a “fireside chat” with Director of Teaching and Learning Jennifer Kirstein.

• Photojournalism
  Monday, 26 September 2023
  An illustrated presentation by parent and award-winning photojournalist for the New York Times Lynsey Addario
• History
  Monday, 16 October 2023 (Dinny Green History Lecture)
  Actor Ian Ruskin presented his one-man play about the life of Thomas Paine
• The arts
  Tuesday, 28 November 2023
  Ailey, an American documentary film following the life of dancer Alvin Ailey, and directed by Jamila Wignot, was presented in partnership with parent Emily Blavatnik
• Literature
  Thursday, 29 February 2024 (Bergeron Lecture)
  A poetry reading with playwright, poet and author Caroline Bird, our Bergeron Fellow 2023-24
• Student well-being
  Tuesday, 16 April 2024
  Dr. Fleisher, physician-in-chief at Boston Children’s Hospital, presented Prediction and Prevention: Technology, AI and the future of children’s health
• Healthy community cultures
  Wednesday, 24 April 2024
  Dr. Stevenson, professor and psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, presented The Power of Stories: A conversation for parents/guardians

• Politics 
  25 October: US midterms political panel, comprising Chip Cummins of the Wall Street Journal, and ASL parents Jim Yardley of the New York Times, and Steve Coll and Eliza Griswold
• History
  12 November: Parents of alumni and Washington Post journalist Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan in conversation with Interim Head of School Coreen R. Hester, on the war in Ukraine, and the death of Queen Elizabeth II
• History
  15 November: Diana Greene History Lecture with former ASL Innovator-in-Residence Kwame Alexander
• Writing
  15 March: Paul Yoon as the 2022-23 Bergeron Fellow, in conversation with former Bergeron Fellow Ralph Sneeden, while spending a week with high school English students
• History
  23 March: Screening of Eva Schloss film, Eva’s Promise. Eva is a longtime friend of ASL, Holocaust survivor and Anne Frank’s stepsister, with the event including a Q&A and book signing
• Tech and Innovation
  15 May: Panel discussion around AI, comprising: Tonik Matthews, Harvard-educated lawyer, specializing in the ethics of young programmers, Livia Piloto (computer science department head), Innovator-in-Residence Francesco Tamburrino, Ari Weinstein (principal scientist at Amazon and ASL parent), Chris Wolf (social studies department head) facilitated by Nadjib Aktouf, director of technology

Bergeron Writing Fellowship
The Bergeron Fellow delivers the Bergeron Lecture as part of ASL Speakers Series. The Bergeron Writing Fellowship is an annual writer-in-residence program, established in 1996, named for former high school English teacher Luke Bergeron (ASL 1973-91). The Bergeron Fellow spends a week working with a middle or high school English class on a particular genre of writing, as well as holding workshops for English teachers, and delivering the Bergeron Lecture to the community.

Past Bergeron Fellows include novelist Leah Hager Cohen, essayist Phillip Lopate, novelist and screenwriter Justin Haythe ’91, slam poet Taylor Mali, novelists Paul Watkins and Rosellen Brown, writers William Fiennes and Kamila Shamsie, former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins, and poets Mimi Khalvati and Daljit Nagra.

Diana Greene History Lecture
The lecture, given in honor of Diana Greene, a former trustee (1992-2002) with a passionate interest in history, forms part of Speakers Series. In April 2004, author Claire Tomalin inaugurated this lecture series. Subsequent speakers include Adam Nicolson; Hugh Pope; Al Gore, former US Vice-President and recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize; Sir Harold Atcherley; and Sarah Lyall.