Speakers Bureau

If you are interested in us presenting one of these programs to your group or organization please call Franceska Macsali-urbin at 845-229-6225 or by email.

NPS Staff programs:

Kevin Oldenburg
* FDR: A Farmer in My Native Town
* The Civilian Conservation Corps: Franklin Roosevelt's Tree Army, Helping Build the National Park Service
* The National Park Service: A Career Like No Other
* Protecting Our Forests: Wildland Firefighting in the National Parks

Shannon Butler
* Defending Sara: How Narratives change how we feel about History [Sara Delano Roosevelt]
* Eleanor Roosevelt and her fight for Civil Rights
* The Delano Family and the Opium Trade in China
* Presidential Pets

Franceska Macsali-Urbin
* Val-Kill Industries
* The Road to Establishing Val-Kill as a National Historic Site
* Eleanor Roosevelt: The Development of a Woman Activist
* Arthurdale: Eleanor Roosevelt's Community Stimulus Project
* Employment for Everyone: The WPA
* From Claus to Eleanor: Exploring the Roosevelt Legacy

Mike Twardy
* The Vanderbilts and the Rise of the New York Central Railroad
* Overview of Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
* Overview of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Trish Maloney
* Malvina Thompson: A Determination to Work - It is a look at her life and her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt.
* From Mattresses to Margarine: Eleanor Roosevelt and Testimonial Advertising 1927-1959
* A Visit to Val-Kill - A quick comparison of Daisy and Eleanor Roosevelt/Val-Kill and Wilderstein.
* Eleanor Roosevelt's "Petticoterie" - Lorena Hickock

Frank Futral
* History of Val-Kill Industries
* Women Who Wear Pants: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Making of Val-Kill
* Range of Topics on the History and Management of Hudson Valley Country Houses
* Treasures from the Collection at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites

Allan Dailey
* Vanderbilt Family Houses - City Homes, Country Places, Camps and Seaside Cottages

Margaret Laffin
* A Vanderbilt Family Genealogy

Anna DiCordova
* Landscapes and Gardens, Horticulture

Linda Bouchey and Al Vinck
* A Perspective from Someone Who Knew Margaret Suckley & the River Friendship: The Intimate Relationship Between MLS & FDR
* The 1939 Royal Visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
* Eleanor Roosevelt: Humanitarian and Pioneer of Civil Rights
* He Rose From His Wheelchair to Lift the Nation from Its Knees
* Louis Howe: The President Maker
* Frances Perkins: The New Deal's First Lady, Part 1 (From Frances' childhood through FDR's election as President)
* Frances Perkins: The New Deal's First Lady, Part 2 (From FDR's Inauguration in 1933 through Perkins' Sainthood in the Episcopal Church)

NPS Garden Association programs:

Beatrix Farrand Garden Association ([e-mail])

* Come Discover our Secret Garden: Beatrix Farrand's Hidden Gem in Hyde Park, NY
A visual presentation of the garden at Bellefield designed for Thomas & Sarah Newbold in 1912 by Beatrix Farrand, one of America's most celebrated landscape designers. Not only is this landscape historically significant, it is a testament to the efforts of a dedicated group of modern gardeners and the stewardship of the National Park Service at the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site.

Frederick W. Vanderbilt Garden Association ([e-mail])
Barbara Hobens ([e-mail])
* Certify Your Garden as a Wildlife Habitat
* Gardening with Deer
* Green Up Your Home & Town— Beauty & Benefits
* Anna B. Warner - America's Gardening Pioneer
* The Old Post Road in the Hudson Highlands in the American Revolution
Sue Williams ([e-mail])
* Rose gardening
* Water gardening
* Herbs
* Simple historic gardening
* Vanderbilt gardens
* Old roses
* Starting up a garden
* Compost tea/organic vs chemical usage