HOT TOPICS LUNCHEONS
Our Hot Topics Luncheons provide discussions with a wide range of noteworthy local people about issues affecting our community. The cost of lunch is $25, although you may attend without purchasing lunch. Please pre-register for our luncheons on our events calendar. Note that our Hot Topics Luncheons have a NEW location this year:
Meet us at the Madeline’s Restaurant at 11:30am
1250 Turnstone Drive, Fogelsville, PA
CURRENT SEASON’S HOT TOPICS LUNCHEONS
2023-2024
- September 11: The Lehigh Valley: “A View from the House and the Senate.” Sen. Jarrett Coleman & Rep. Mike Schlossberg.
- October 16: “The State of the 7th Congressional District.” Congresswoman Susan Wild.
- November 13: “The State of Lehigh County.” County Executive Phillips Armstrong.
- December 11: “Election Trends in Pa and in the Lehigh Valley.” Chris Borick, Ph.D., Muhlenberg College.
- January 8: “The Ethical Uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI).” Justin Smith, Ph.D., Lafayette College.
- February 12: “The Work of the Lehigh County Coroner.” Mr. Dan Buglio, Lehigh County Coroner. (also 104th birthday of the LWV)
- March 11: “The Story of Spotlight – Independent Investigative Reporting in PA.” Mr. Chris Baxter, Founder and Chief Editor.
- April 8: “Storm Water Runoff – a Lehigh County Issue.” Panel Discussion = TBD
PREVIOUS SEASON’S HOT TOPICS LUNCHEONS
2022-2023
- September 12, Mary Hammond Lilley-Thompson (Author and Humarist) will present “Lighten Up and Let Go.”
- October 10, Matt Tuerk (Mayor of Allentown) will present “The State of the City of Allentown.”
- November 14, Phillips Armstrong (Lehigh County Executive) will present “The State of the County.”
- December 12, Chris Borick (Professor at Muhlenberg College) will present “Election Trends.”
- January 9, Lin Erickson (CEO of the DaVinci Science Center) will present “Building a Community-Based Science Center for the Lehigh Valley.”
- February 13, Amanda Share (CEO of the Lehigh Valley Zoo) will present “News from the Zoo.”
- March 13, Darian Colbert (Executive Director of the Cohesion Network) and Yolanda Colbert (Director of Operations of the Cohesion Network) will present “The Amazing Work of the Cohesion Network.”
- April 10, Rachel Hogan (Executive Director of the Nurture Nature Center) will present “The Environment and the Lehigh Valley – Concerns and Successes.”
2021-2022
- September 13, Amanda Owen (Executive Director of the Justice Bell Foundation) presented “The History of the Justice Bell.” Click here for a preview of the Justice Bell documentary.
- October 11, Dawn Godshall (Executive Director of CACLV) presented “The Extensive Projects of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley.”
- November 8, Phil Armstrong (Lehigh County Executive) presented “State of the County 2021-2022.”
- December 13, Catherine Kessack (Executive Director VAST) presented “An Introduction to the Work of the Valley Against Sex Trafficking (VAST) Organization.”
- January 10, Professor Chris Borick (Muhlenberg College) will present “Election Trends.” A recording of the meeting can be viewed here.
- February 14, Shannon Scoble (Member of the Allentown EMS) and Bill Stauffer (Director of the PA Recovery Organization Alliance Pro-A) will present “Addressing the Drug Issue in the Lehigh Valley” and “What are We Doing Locally and Statewide to Help People Suffering from these Disorders.” A recording of the meeting can be viewed here.
- March 14, Leah Purdy (Regulatory Specialist for Resource Environmental Solutions) will present “Habitat Creation for Native Beneficial Insects.” A recording of the meeting can be viewed here.
- April 11, Bob Elbich (Lehigh County Commissioner-At-Large) will present “Massive Shale Gas Transport Through Lehigh County – Public Safety Risks.”
Recordings of the Hot Topics Events listed below are available for viewing on YouTube.
2020-2021
September, “You’ll Miss Us When We’re Gone,” Bill White, The Morning Call columnist/blogger
October, “Can We End Gerrymandering – What is Next for Pennsylvania?” Mary Erdman, LWVLC, Vice-President, Programs and Action
November, “The Allentown Health Department – from Environmental Health Services to Covid-19”,
Vicky Kistler, Director of the City of Allentown Health Department
December, “Election Trends,” Chris Borick, Ph.D., Muhlenberg College
January, “State of the County & Impact of COVID-19,” Phillips Armstrong, Lehigh County Executive
February, “The Street Medicine Program of LVHN,” Nani M. Cuadrado, Program Director
Our organization sent a gift card to Valley Health Partners. We received a thank you letter.
March, “Climate Change: Opinion and Policy,” Chris Borick, Ph.D. Muhlenberg College
April, “TerraCycle – Eliminating the Idea of Waste®,” Maame Mensah, US Account Director, Brand Partnerships, TerraCycle US, LLC