Our 62^nd Season!

Since 1953, The Sinai Forum has provided exceptional, affordable programming on important issues of the day in a town hall setting for the residents of the greater Michigan City area.  Over the years, the Forum has featured Nobel Prize recipients, former heads of state, Pulitzer Prize winners, recognized media personalities, and famous performing artists. Season after season, Forum audiences have been inspired, educated, enlightened, and entertained.

The 62^nd Season will build on that grand tradition, expanding our reach along Indiana’s lakeshore and offering an exciting mix of thought-leaders, political commentators, environmentalists and musicians. We welcome Jane Pauley, David Marquet, William B. Taylor, Nomi Prins, and A Drama - Ernie Pyle.

To accommodate our growing audience, all the events this season will be held at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. The dates and topics are listed below. Doors open one hour before the programs begin. We hope you will join us!

JANE PAULEY 

SEPTEMBER 20  /  7 PM CT

An Evening with Jane Pauley  

Sponsored by Duneland Health Council

Jane Pauley is one of America’s most respected broadcast journalists, having co-hosted the TODAY show for 13 years, and Dateline NBC for 12 and now as a contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning. Pauley is the author of two bestselling books, most recently Your Life Calling: Reimagining the Rest of Your Life, based on her award-winning series on TODAY about new life changes after 50. Ten years ago in her memoir Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue, she revealed her personal struggle with bipolar disorder, diagnosed at the age of 50. She has become a highly regarded mental health advocate endeavoring to change the way people understand mental and emotional disorders. Her message is powerful, positive and uplifting. A book signing will follow the program.

DAVID MARQUET      

OCTOBER 4  /  4 PM CT  

Turn the Ship Around    

Sponsored by Indiana University Health La Porte Hospital

David Marquet is the author of the award-winning book Turn the Ship Around! named by Fortune magazine as the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training and driving flawless execution.” Captain Marquet, the commander of the nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine the USS Santa Fe, innovatively motivated his crew to become leaders, not followers, taking the submarine from being the worst performing submarine in the fleet to the best operationally. He also broke some rules to engage his team to fulfill their intellectual capacity, exert control over their lives and be healthier and happier. Noted expert Steven Covey called the USS Santa Fe the most empowering organization he had ever seen. A book signing will follow the program.

WILLIAM B. TAYLOR      

OCTOBER 18  /  4 PM CT

Russia: Threat to Ukraine and the World

Sponsored by Horizon Bank

Former ambassador William B. Taylor's posts in the service of the United States government have placed him in the middle of hotspots of world conflict and strife: the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In Ukraine, he served as the U.S. ambassador. He undertook State Department assistance coordination in Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the 15 states of the former Soviet Union, overseeing security and humanitarian assistance. Taylor is a graduate of both West Point and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and also served in the infantry in Vietnam and Germany. He is presently acting executive vice president at the United States Institute of Peace. He will doubtless share deep insights into flashpoints of world conflict and prospects for peace.

NOMI PRINS      

NOVEMBER 15  /  4 PM CT

Wall Street in the White House           

Sponsored by The Times of Northwest Indiana

Accomplished financial analyst, journalist and author, Nomi Prins returns to the Forum after presenting a chilling account of the U.S. recession. Prins appears on BBC, and here on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, CSPAN, FOX and PBS. She is a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the non-partisan public policy think tank Demos. Her new book, All the Presidents’ Bankers is a groundbreaking narrative about the relationships of our presidents to key bankers over the past century and how they impacted domestic and foreign policy. She will undoubtedly provide an inside view of money and influence, two of America’s abiding concerns. A book signing will follow the program.

ERNIE PYLE – A DRAMA      

DECEMBER 6  /  4 PM CT

Ernie         

Sponsored by Leonard J. & Irene Brown Foundation

Ernie, a one hour play written by Professor Jerry Holt, chair of the department of English & Modern Languages at PNC, is a powerful one-person show that celebrates the life of reporter Ernie Pyle, the Indiana native, Pulitzer Prize winner and war correspondent from 1935 up to his death in April of 1945. It paints a portrait of dedication, courage and insecurity. The drama depicts an exciting life whose hallmark was bravery under fire. Never his own subject – that honor went to the soldiers whose lives he detailed. While he revered soldiers, he despised war itself – a paradox that has made his work just as timely today as it ever was. Ernie stars well-known actor Steven Becker.