Talks & Entertainment

Due to the inclement weather predicted, this program has been canceled. All ticket buyers will be contacted and refunded in full. If it is possible to reschedule the program, we will contact all ticket buyers. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

In partnership with the 92^nd Street Y’s 7 Days of Genius, a series of events that invite the public to consider what genius is, why it matters, and how it evolves. Sixth & I’s Genius Festival is made possibly by the generosity of the Emanuel J. Friedman Philanthropies.

Three MacArthur “genius grant” recipients will talk about their pioneering work and the power of creativity. Cecilia Conrad, who leads the MacArthur Fellows Program, moderates a discussion with community affairs leader Bill Drayton, choreographer and dancer Liz Lerman, and public health expert John Rich.

Bill Drayton, the founder and CEO of Ashoka (the largest network of social entrepreneurs worldwide), pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship. Formerly, he served as Assistant Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He was inducted to Harvard University’s 100 “Most Influential Alumni.”

Liz Lerman is a choreographer, performer, writer, and educator. A key aspect of her artistry is opening her process to various publics from shipbuilders to physicists, construction workers to ballerinas, resulting in both research and outcomes that are participatory, relevant, urgent, and usable by others. She founded Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 1976 and led it until 2011.

John Rich, MD, MPH, is Professor at the Drexel University School of Public Health. His work has focused on serving one of the nation’s most ignored and underserved populations—African-American men in urban settings. Previously, Rich served as the medical director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

Cecilia Conrad is Vice President of the MacArthur Fellows Program. Before joining the foundation, she had a distinguished career as both an economics professor and an administrator at Pomona College. A winner of California’s Carnegie Professor of the Year award, Conrad’s academic research focuses on the effects of race and gender on economic status.

The MacArthur Fellows Program, an initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, celebrates and inspires the creative potential of individuals through no-strings-attached fellowships, popularly referred to as “MacArthur Genius Grants.”

Since 1981, hundreds of extraordinarily talented and dedicated people— writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, and those from other diverse fields—have been selected as Fellows. They are encouraged to break boundaries as they pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional interests.