When: Sunday, October 27th 12 – 2 pm
Tickets: $125/pp. Note: All tickets must be purchased in advance. No walk-ins will be accepted.
Location: The Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library & Museum
4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538
Celebrate Eleanor Roosevelt’s 140th birthday and her enduring love of community and family with a unique opportunity to view original letters from Mrs. Roosevelt, including heartfelt correspondence with her children and grandchildren.
The event will feature a sit-down lunch followed by a conversation with guest speakers. And of course, there will be cake!
This event is a fundraiser to support the Eleanor Roosevelt Center’s (ERVK) efforts in sustaining and expanding programs that honor Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy.
The collection includes over 50 letters, which will be sent to the National Archives after the event.
Our Speakers:
William Harris
William A. Harris was appointed Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, a part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), in 2022. He began his NARA career in 1996 as an archivist at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. He later served in a senior role within the National Archives’ Office of Presidential Libraries where he was instrumental in the development of the William J. Clinton and George W. Bush Presidential Libraries and Museums. In this role, he also assisted in the transition of the Nixon Presidential Library from a private institution to a NARA-operated library and museum. Most recently, Harris has served as Deputy Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. In this role, he has focused on building collaborative relationships with the library’s onsite partner, the National Park Service, and with the Roosevelt Institute. Harris holds a Master of Arts degree in History and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History from Auburn University.
Ellie Lund Zartman
Eleanor Lund Zartman (Ellie) is the niece of Eleanor Roosevelt’s longtime secretary Malvina “Tommy Thompson” and one of Eleanor Roosevelt’s godchildren. Many of Ellie’s childhood memories revolve around Mrs. Roosevelt and the White House. She often visited her aunt at her office and was a frequent guest at many of the Roosevelt grandchildren’s parties. She also stayed at Val-Kill before and after her aunt’s death. A lifelong resident of Washington D.C. Ellie attended local public schools and holds two degrees from American University, a bachelor’s degree in science and a master’s degree in special education. Her professional career includes stints as a toxicologist for a private research corporation and a 22-year career as a special education teacher and technology director at The Lab School of Washington, one of the nation’s premier schools for learning disabled children. An avid athlete, Ellie and a long-time hiking companion recently published a book about their international hiking expeditions Up (But Not Over) the Hill. For the last three years she and Mary Jo Binker have been researching a book on the life and career of her aunt. Ellie lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
Mary Jo Binker
Mary Jo Binker is an American historian who has been studying Eleanor Roosevelt (ER) for more than twenty years. She has published two collections of ER’s writings: If You Ask Me: Essential Advice from Eleanor Roosevelt (Atria, 2018) and What Are We For? The Words and Ideals of Eleanor Roosevelt (HarperCollins, 2019). Mary Jo’s professional background also includes a fourteen-year stint as an editor with the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project where she assisted in the preparation of two volumes of ER’s post-White House papers and edited the project’s digital editions of My Day and If You Ask Me. She is also a co-author of a book on female servicewomen in the Korean War and a handbook for collecting oral histories from female military veterans. Mary Jo’s articles have appeared in Time magazine online, the Ms. magazine blog, and the Washington Post blog “Made By History.” She is also a frequent contributor to the White House History Quarterly, the journal of the White House Historical Association. She and Eleanor (Ellie) Lund Zartman are currently researching a book on Ellie’s aunt, Malvina Thompson, who was ER’s longtime secretary. Mary Jo holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in history from George Mason University. Mary Jo lives in Arlington, Virginia.
Anna Eleanor Fierst
Anna is a great granddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt and is the current Chair of the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill. She is the only daughter of ER’s oldest grandchild, Eleanor Roosevelt Seagraves. Anna has a professional background in publication editing and marketing and managed the Communications Department at the Woman’s National Democratic Club before becoming its President in 2012. Stepping down from this role after several years, she became active in an affiliate non-profit, the National Women’s Foundation, and is now its Vice-Chair. Anna initially enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and concluded her studies at Columbia University.
More about Malvina “Tommy” Thompson: Ms. Thompson served in a pioneering role as the first Chief of Staff and unofficial Press Secretary for the First Lady. Her work with Mrs. Roosevelt started in the late 1920s and continued until her death in 1953. Tommy traveled with her boss as much as 40,000 miles per year and was trusted to handle her correspondence during Eleanor’s overseas travel.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
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Tickets: Fundraiser Luncheon
Location
The event will be held at the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY.
Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again.
– Eleanor Roosevelt