Goodall, Osmond among 2012 Smart Talk speakers

Mon, 09/26/2011
Altoon Hearld
Jane Goodall   Jane Goodall Written by PATT JOHNSON | pjohnson@dmreg.com   Arianna Huffington Zoom Arianna Huffington Learn more

For more information on the Smart Talk series or to buy tickets, go to www .smarttalk women.com.

 

Famed primate researcher Jane Goodall will kick off the annual Smart Talk Women lecture series in Des Moines, beginning in January.

The 2012 series list of five speakers will share their personal experiences and struggles.

Goodall, Arianna Huffington and Marie Osmond are among the women who will speak in the series’ eighth season, which will run from January through May. Des Moines is one of five cities that hosts Smart Talk events.

The event is held at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines. Each speaker will give a 40 to 45 minute presentation and then answer written questions from the audience.

A preshow reception include hors d’oeuvres and booths set up by local businesses.

The Des Moines event is sponsored by Principal Financial Group, Iowa Health Des Moines, The Iowa Clinic Women’s Center, Josephs Jewelers, KCCI-TV, Lite 104.1, and other local companies.

Subscriber tickets are sold for the entire series and range in price from $99 to $309. Former subscribers can purchase tickets before they are open to the public on Oct. 10. Some individual tickets can be purchased on the day of the presentation.

This season’s speakers:

Jane Goodall

“Making a Difference” 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19

Goodall will relate her years of studying the world of the Gombe chimpanzees. She will talk about the current environmental threats facing the planet and why there is hope.

Arianna Huffington

“On Becoming Fearless in Love, Work and Life” 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21

Huffington is a syndicated columnist who in 2005 launched the online news site called “The Huffington Post.”

She appears on national television as a commentator and was named by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people.

Frances Mayes

“Under the Tuscan Sun: Journeys of a Passionate Traveler” 7:30 p.m. March 28.

Bestselling author of “Under the Tuscan Sun,” which was made into a movie, Mayes also is a professor, poet, traveler and seasoned Italian cook. She is the founder of The Tuscan Sun Festival in Italy and will debut a new cookbook next year.

Melissa Stockwell

“Lived a Lifetime by 25: From Baghdad to Beijing and Beyond” 7:30 p.m. April 17

Stockwell was the first female to lose a limb in Iraq. She was a commissioned officer in the Army when in 2004 the Humvee in which she was riding was hit by a roadside bomb. Since then she has participated in marathons to triathlons and won the 2010 world championship in the Paratriathlon competition.

Marie Osmond

“An Evening with Marie Osmond” 7:30 p.m. May 14

Osmond has been performing since she was 3 years old with her famous family, The Osmond Brothers, and on her own. She was the youngest female artist to have her debut record go to No. 1 on the charts and was the youngest person to host a national television variety show.

Osmond has performed on Broadway, hosted radio shows, written books and started a doll business.

Her 18-year-old son Michael Blosil committed suicide in 2010. Osmond has seven other children.