Leadership and Legacy: Conversations at the George Washington Presidential Library

Lindsay Chervinsky is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of California, Davis whose research explores how key government institutions evolved beyond the boundaries of the United States Constitution in the Early Republic. Her work examines how George Washington drew on American perceptions of the British cabinet, executive precedent established in the state governments, and his own military leadership experience to shape the first presidential cabinet. She was a research fellow at the Washington Library during the 2015-16 academic year.

Fergus M. Bordewich has been an independent historian and writer since the early 1970s. As a journalist he traveled extensively in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa writing on a variety of topics. He also served for brief periods as an editor and writer for the Tehran Journal in Iran in 1972-1973, a press officer for the United Nations in 1980-1982, and an advisor to the New China News Agency in Beijing in 1982-1983. In this episode he discusses his book "The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government." He spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on June 9, 2016.

Erik Goldstein is Curator of Mechanical Arts & Numismatics at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. After receiving a BA in Fine Arts/Illustration from Parsons School of Design, he joined Harmer Rooke Numismatists, also in New York City, before spending the next 12 years as a professional numismatist and consultant. He has lectured on topics of military history and instructs a three-year syllabus on the coins, medals and paper money of Colonial America as part of the American Numismatics Association’s Summer Seminar held every July. Dr. Goldstein spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on March 10, 2016.

Dr. Colin Calloway is John Kimball, Jr. 1943 Professor of History and Professor of Native American Studies at Dartmouth. He served for two years as associate director and editor of the D'Arcy McNickle Center for the History of the American Indian at the Newbury Library in Chicago. He also spent seven years teaching at the University of Wyoming. In this episode he discusses his book "The Victory with No Name: The Native American Defeat of the First American Army." Dr. Calloway spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on December 1, 2015.

Dr. Adrienne M. Harrison is currently a Fellow and Consulting Historian with Battlefield Leadership, a consulting and training company specializing in providing customized experiential leadership training based in history. A graduate of West Point, she subsequently earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Early American History from Rutgers University. Her work has been published in Oxford Bibliographies. She discusses her book "A Powerful Mind: The Self-Education of George Washington." Dr. Harrison spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Library on May 3, 2016

Chris Juergens is a Ph.D. candidate at Florida State University whose research explores the German auxiliaries of the Holy Roman Empire which served dual masters during the American War of Independence. He is particularly interested in military professionalism and innovation in the Age of Revolution. Chris was a member of the Washington Library's 2015-16 class of research fellows.

Ricardo Herrera is an Associate Professor of Military History at the School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His teaching interests specifically include 18th and 19th Century American military history. He discusses his book "For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861. Mr. Herrera spoke at the George Washington Symposium on November 7, 2015. He also serves on the faculty of the George Washington Leadership Institute and assists with its excursion programs.

Francois Furstenberg is an Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. His research interests include the relationship between slavery and nationalism in the post-revolutionary period, the meaning of consent and their relationship to slavery in the 19th Century, and U.S. history from an international perspective. He is the author of "In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nation" and "When the United States Spoke French: Five Refugees Who Shaped a Nation." Dr. Furstenberg spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on September 18, 2014.

Author David Preston discusses his book Braddock’s Defeat: the Battle of the Monongahela and the Road to Revolution, with Washington Library Founding Director Douglas Bradburn.

Paul Brandus is an author, independent member of the White House press corps, and founder of the Twitter page @WestWingReport. He is also a Washington columnist on economics and finance. He is a frequent speaker around the country before business groups and has also lectured at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism. In this episode he discusses his book "Under This Roof: A History of the White House and Presidency." Mr. Brandus spoke at a Ford Evening Book Talk at the Washington Library on November 12, 2015.