STONY CREEK FORUM
An Ideas & Lecture Series at the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library
Concept Overview
Stony Creek is home to an extraordinary concentration of talent. Writers, professors, architects, artists, historians, scientists, entrepreneurs and civic leaders, all within driving distance. We are part of a community that thrives on engagement with the wider world through learning, dialogue and meaningful gathering. The Stony Creek Forum is a Chautauqua-inspired ideas and lecture series inviting participation in conversations around big ideas, creative expression and civil dialogue.
Established under the aegis of the Willoughby Wallace Memorial Library, the Forum will bring distinguished voices and local luminaries together for public talks, moderated conversations, presentations and performances that explore the most compelling social, cultural, artistic, environmental and civic issues of our time, offering a civic space for continued education via lectures and discussion.
Vision
To cultivate an informed, curious and connected community by convening conversations and presentations that elevate ideas, celebrate creativity, and encourage thoughtful civic engagement.
The Stony Creek Forum aspires to become a signature gathering space for the shoreline region at this very special village library that opens a window on the world and where civil dialogue strengthens community life.
In an era of digital fragmentation and political polarization, communities need real-world spaces for thoughtful exchange more than ever. New England has a rich tradition of town halls, salons and public forums. The Stony Creek Forum renews that tradition in a way that is intimate, grounded, and powered by community engagement and support.
Core Values
Intellectual Curiosity: A learning experience for all
Multidisciplinary Exchange: Arts, humanities, science, environment, civic life.
Civility & Dialogue: Respectful conversation across perspectives
Local Excellence: Showcasing the remarkable talent in and around our community
Access & Inclusion: Open, welcoming gatherings in a trusted public space
Tradition + Innovation: Honoring New England’s history of town halls and salons while creating something fresh and forward-looking
Program Structure (Pilot Year Concept)
6–8 events annually (spring through fall; potential winter salon)
60–90 minute duration including audience Q&A.
Free to all attendees.
Light community reception following select events
Optional recording/streaming for broader regional reach
Potential Themes
The Future of Democracy & Civil Discourse
Architecture, Ecology & the Shoreline
Writing the American Story
Art & Activism
The Science of Climate & Coastal Resilience
Faith, Ethics & Public Life
AI, Technology & Humanity
New England History & Identity
The world we live in, beyond our shores
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Rabia Ali
Julie Davitz
Linda Meyer
PAST EVENTS
May 2026 | Jeffrey Davitz, technologist, scientist, entrepreneur. Why is Everyone Talking About AI (and what is it anyway?)
July 2026 | Amy Bloom, writer and psychotherapist, author of NYTimes bestselling memoir, In Love, and a brand new, first mystery, Blunt Instrument (2026) On her new book and the journey from writing literary fiction to writing mysteries.
September 2026 | Conversations Online | Omer Bartov, Dean’s Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Department of History, Brown University | author of Israel: What Went Wrong (2026).
September 2026 | Gish Jen, author of Bad, Bad Girl (2025). An author event: reading, talk, Q&A
UPCOMING EVENTS
December 2026 |Maurice Samuels, Professor of French, Yale University, author of Alfred Dreyfus: The Man at the Center of the Affair (2024) in conversation with Barnett Rubin, Distinguished Fellow of NYU Center for International Cooperation. Alfred Dreyfus, Jewish Identity and Antisemitism, past and present
January 2027 | Shelley Geballe, Yale School of Public Health & Yale Law School, professor, writer, public health advocate, in conversation with Paul Bass, journalist, author, founding editor of the New Haven Independent.
February 2027 | Sean Kernan, photographer, writer, filmaker. Looking Into the Light. Lecture and workshop on how creative work is done across the art.
March 2027 | Stony Creek, Now & Then. A Community Conversation.
MORE TO COME. DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED…
Asli Bali, Howard M. Holtzmann Professor of Law at Yale Law School, on human rights law and the law of the international security order.
Linda Meyer, Professor Emerita of Law, Quinnipiac University, on the quality of mercy in our judicial system.
Jennifer Raab, Professor of Art History, Yale University, author of Relics of War: The History of a Photograph, will talk about the American Civil War and the photographic evidence of history.
Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize winning author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. A talk on US politics based on his new book, American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump (2026)
Mark Oppenheimer, journalist, author of Judy Blume: A Life (2026), in conversation with Richard Tofel, former president of Pro-Publica, currently at Gallatin Advisory, a journalism consultancy.
Lesley Heller & Alva Greenberg on the contemporary art scene.
Beverly Gage, John Gaddis Professor of History, Yale University. Author of This Land is Your Land (2026). Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, 2023, for her book on J. Edgar Hoover.
James Boyce, Professor Emeritus , University of Massachusetts, Amherst; economist, naturalist, and expert in climate policy, and winner of the Common Wealth Lecture prize. His talk on climate change and climate policy will draw on his lecture, Common Wealth for All: Caring for the Planet and for Each Other.