The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life will host events this semester with spiritual leaders, artists, political analysts, and conservationists.

The theme for this fall’s Civic Life Lunch Series is “From Tufts, Forward.” Event speakers will include Tufts staff, faculty, students, and alumni, sharing their knowledge, passions, and expertise. Each event reflects the momentum the Tufts community creates together through creativity, dialogue, and civic responsibility, and how that momentum extends into lasting impact.

All events take place on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus unless otherwise noted. Some events allow for remote viewing and participation.

Visit the Tisch College events site for further event details and to register.

Civic Life Lunch: From Loss to Legacy—Art as Civic Witness With Nancy Marks

Tuesday, October 14 | noon | Rabb Room, Barnum Hall

How can art bear witness to the most difficult truths, help communities heal, and promote action? “Material Witness: Then and Now,” a mixed-media exhibit by Boston artist and Tisch College Coordinator Nancy Marks, draws on her mother’s experience as a Holocaust survivor to explore how creativity processes loss, amplifies voices, and sparks dialogue. It also examines how memory, history, and civic responsibility intersect with the realities facing immigrants today. Marks uses printmaking, poetry, and excerpts from her mother’s memoir.

The exhibit will be installed in the Barnum Hall lobby in early October. At the Civic Life Lunch, Nancy will guide participants through the exhibit and share her perspective on how art can carry forward stories, histories, and collective memory. Participants will be invited to consider how civic engagement is not only about action in the present, but also about the ways we remember and honor the past. 

Lunch provided. Register for this event.

Independents’ Day—Breaking the Partisan Grip on American Politics

Wednesday, October 22 | noon | Room 104, Barnum Hall

Are the days of America’s two-party system numbered? Adam Brandon, senior advisor at The Independent Center, thinks so. With more Americans identifying as independents, Brandon and his colleagues at The Independent Center are working to disrupt the Republican/Democrat duopoly and rally voters around alternative candidates who will appeal to the vast center. Young voters, especially millennials and Gen Z, have the power to make this idea a reality. 

Join a conversation with Adam Brandon to hear about his vision for organizing Independent voters and disrupting partisan politics in the U.S. The conversation will be moderated by Leela Strong, Newhouse Director of Tisch College’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). 

Lunch provided. Register for this event.

Civic Life Lunch: What We Hold—Lynn Cooper on Civic Belonging

Tuesday, October 28 | noon | Rabb Room, Barnum Hall 

What if one of the most radical tools for change is … friendship? Tufts Catholic Chaplain Lynn Cooper, A02, believes that interfaith friendship, when rooted in trust, vulnerability, and the courage to honor difference, has the power to heal deep divisions and move communities toward lasting justice. In her new book, Embracing Our Time: The Sacrament of Interfaith Friendship, she makes a bold case for seeing human connection itself as a civic act, one that strengthens both individuals and the communities they shape together.

Over lunch, Lynn will share reflections from her work and writing, drawing on her experiences of building bridges across traditions at Tufts and in the wider world. Together, we’ll consider what it means to cultivate belonging in divided times, and how each of us can practice the kind of friendship that makes civic life more just, inclusive, and whole. 

Lunch provided. Register for this event.

Solomont Speaker Series: Alexis Nikole Nelson

Wednesday, October 29 | 5:30 p.m. | ASEAN Auditorium, Cabot Center

Meet chef, foraging TikTok star, and outdoor educator Alexis Nikole Nelson, better known as the “Black Forager” on social media. With over 5 million followers joining her viral adventures of foraging and cooking, Nelson reframes the worlds of food, botany, and nature, helping people make environmentally sustainable food choices while also celebrating the outdoors and changing fraught relationships with food. Nelson’s videos shine a light on the historical and cultural roots of foraging in African American and Indigenous food traditions that have traditionally been repressed.

Nelson’s work has been featured in places like The New York Times, Bon Appetit, NPR, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and she hosted a 15-episode series on botany for YouTube’s educational channel, Crash Course. Nelson received the James Beard Award for “Best Social Media” in 2022, and she was selected for Forbes 30 Under 30, 2025 TIME100 Creators and as a TikTok Tastemaker. 

Register for this event.

Civic Life Lunch: 20 Summers of Impact—Tisch Summer Fellows Then and Now

Wednesday, November 12 | noon | 104 Barnum Hall

What happens when a summer fellowship becomes the launchpad for a career in civic leadership? Twenty years ago, the Tisch Summer Fellows (TSF) program began placing Tufts students in hands-on civic internships across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. Since then, TSF alumni have gone on to shape the world as organizers, researchers, policymakers, educators, and beyond. 

This special anniversary panel brings together TSF alumni reflecting on their journeys and current students who are just starting theirs. Together, they’ll explore how civic learning at Tufts continues to shape lives, careers, and communities long after graduation. 

All are welcome but registration is required. Lunch provided. Register for this event.

Solomont Speaker Series and Russell Lecture: Varun Soni

Tuesday, November 18 | 5-6:30 p.m. | Goddard Chapel

Join this year’s joint Russell Lecture and Solomont Speaker Series event with Tufts alumnus Varun Soni, A96. Soni is the dean of religious and spiritual life at the University of Southern California, where he also served as the inaugural vice provost of campus wellness and crisis intervention. He is the first and only Hindu in American history to serve as the chief spiritual leader of a college or university. Dean Soni previously taught civil rights and constitutional law at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A prolific public speaker and scholar of religions, Dean Soni is a national interfaith leader and advocate for religious reconciliation. 

Outside of his role as Dean, Soni serves as a senior advisor for Religion of Sports, a production company founded by Tom Brady, Michael Strahan, and Gotham Chopra, and he also advises the video game company Naughty Dog, where he contributed to the Uncharted and The Last of Us franchises. He’s been a consultant for HBO, ESPN, Showtime, A&E, History Channel, Live Nation, and the Oprah Winfrey Network, and produced the graphic novel Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary. 

This event is jointly hosted by Tisch College’s Solomont Speaker Series and by the University Chaplaincy’s Russell Lecture, the oldest lectureship at Tufts University. It is cosponsored by the Asian American Center and Experimental College at Tufts. 

A reception in Eaton 250 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. will follow the public lecture. Register for this event.

Civic Life Lunch: Tufts to the Tarmac—Storytelling in Unexpected Places With Anna Miller

Wednesday, November 19 | noon | 104 Barnum Hall

Ever wonder how a story can change the way you see the world? Anna Miller, senior multimedia producer at Tufts University and the creative mind behind the acclaimed documentary The Snowy Owls of Logan Airport, knows how. She’ll share how her work brings science, nature, and human experience to life through film and how media can inspire curiosity, awareness, and action.

We’ll screen her nine-minute documentary, a project outside of her Tufts work that highlights her passion for storytelling wherever it takes her. From Logan Airport runways to Tufts classrooms and labs, Miller shows how visual narratives can open our eyes to new perspectives and move ideas forward. Attendees will hear about her creative process, the challenges of capturing real-life stories, and the ways thoughtful storytelling can make audiences think, and act differently. 

Lunch provided. Register for this event.

Nations Apart—How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America

Tuesday, December 2 | 5:30-7 p.m. | Room 260, Eaton Hall

How have centuries-old regional differences brought American democracy to the brink of collapse? In his new book Nations Apart, author and Tufts alumnus Colin Woodard shows how colonial era settlement patterns and the cultural geography they left behind are at the root of our political polarization, economic inequality, public health crises, and democratic collapse. Join a conversation with Woodard as he shares groundbreaking original data and historical insights to help us understand why Americans are so divided on many hot button issues, how geographic fissures have been exploited, and how we might bridge the rifts that divide us. 

Colin Woodard, A91, a New York Times bestselling author, historian, and award-winning journalist, is director of Nationhood Lab Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. He is the author of seven books that have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and inspired an NBC television drama. A longtime foreign correspondent, he reported from more than 50 countries on seven continents and, as an investigative reporter at Maine’s Portland Press Herald, won a 2012 George Polk Award and was a finalist for a 2016 Pulitzer Prize. 

Register for this event.

From Tufts, Forward—A Celebration of Student Voices

Wednesday, December 3 | 5 p.m. | Barnum Hall Lobby

What happens when Tufts civic life comes together in one room—ideas, stories, and futures all in conversation? Tisch College closes out this semester’s Civic Life Lunch series with a special reception celebrating its theme: From Tufts, Forward. The reception will feature an interactive showcase of student work, passions, and projects shaping civic life today. Participants will have the chance to share feedback and ideas for the future of the series.

Come for the food, stay for the ideas, and leave with new connections across the Tufts community, all united by a commitment to moving civic life forward.

Students interested in having their work highlighted can reach out to Shanley Daly, shanley.daly@tufts.edu.

Register for this event.