Speakers

Ron Lee presents lessons he has learned and epiphanies he experienced while working as a professional demonstration skydiver for the last 39 years,  With several exciting and humorous stories, he describes what it means to put oneself in the position of not having the option to fail, and the incredible value we can all leverage by working and living in a risk-rich environment. 

Douglas Mengers, archaeologist and historian, presents a history of the San Diego trolleys, starting with the horse-drawn streetcars introduced in 1886, through cable cars and electric experimentations, until the system was dismantled in the late 1940s. There will be a special focus on our local area, including the turn-of-the-century Point Loma Railroad and the 1920s San Diego Electric Railway expansion through Ocean Beach.

In this engaging lecture, Yale Strom explores how music serves as a powerful lens for understanding cultures across time past, present, and future. Drawing from decades of ethnographic research, performance, and storytelling, he reveals how music not only reflects cultural identity but actively shapes and preserves it. Strom demonstrates how the act of making and sharing music can become one of the most meaningful ways to define, sustain, and pass on cultural traditions to future generations.