The 2026 Georgia Circuit Speakers
Olga Amarie
PhD — Professor of French, Georgia Southern University
Program: Nicolas Anciaux: A French Hero of the American Revolution
A newly illuminated chapter of Georgia’s Revolutionary history, centered on the rediscovery of Nicolas Anciaux’s gravesite and the remarkable story of this little-known French figure whose life connects Georgia to broader Atlantic world history.
Alyssa Canepa
MFA — Lecturer of First-Year Writing, Georgia Southern University
Program: We Write Well: Reclaiming Our Names
A multimedia storytelling experience that explores the reclamation of identity and voice, drawing on Canepa’s work with systems-impacted writers.
Greg Brooking
PhD — Historian of Colonial and Revolutionary Georgia; Author of From Empire to Revolution: Sir James Wright and the Price of Loyalty in Georgia
Program: Sir James Wright and Loyalism in British America
A fresh examination of Georgia’s last royal governor, revealing how loyalism, diplomacy, and political tension shaped the colony in the turbulent years preceding the Revolution.
Lisa Bratton
PhD — Associate Professor of History, Tuskegee University; Oral Historian of the Tuskegee Airmen
Program: Georgians of the Famed Tuskegee Airmen
A comprehensive look at the Georgians who served among the Tuskegee Airmen, tracing the Airmen’s domestic and overseas experiences, the roles of women, the program’s development, and personal insights drawn from Dr. Bratton’s interviews.
Robert S. Davis
MA — Professor Emeritus, Wallace State College; Author of Georgia Citizens and Soldiers of the American Revolution
Program: Gone For a Soldier: Austin Dabney, a Black Georgian Teenager Fights for the American Revolution
A vivid portrait of Austin Dabney, the Black Georgia patriot whose Revolutionary War service and legacy made him a state folk hero.
Gordon Johnston
PhD — Professor of English, Mercer University; Author of Seven Islands of the Ocmulgee
Program: A River Runs Through Us: Stories from Georgia Watersheds
A narrative performance blending ecology, history, and personal story to explore how Georgia’s waterways shape memory, community, and imagination across generations.
Gene Kansas
MS — Founder & CEO, Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate; Historic Preservation Leader; Author of Civil Sights: Sweet Auburn
Program: History for the Future: A Purpose-Driven Book Tour of Civil Sights
A compelling look at why preserving Sweet Auburn’s historic spaces matters for Georgia’s past, present, and future.
Mark Wallace Maguire
Author, Journalist, and Writing Instructor
Program: Writing Our Roots: Discovering the Georgian Voice
An interactive creative writing workshop guiding participants to explore place, memory, and personal identity as elements of Georgia’s cultural landscape.
Kaye Lanning Minchew
MA, MS — Historian and Author; Director of the Troup County Historical Society & Archives for 32 years
Program: Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Georgia
Presented with Executive Producer Daniel White and featuring a screening of A President in Our Midst, this program explores FDR’s deep connection to Georgia.
Michael P. Morris
PhD — Professor of History, College of Coastal Georgia
Program: Mary Musgrove: Georgia’s Co-Founder
A nuanced interpretation of Mary Musgrove’s essential role in Georgia’s founding, highlighting her diplomacy, cultural fluency, and significance as a bridge between Indigenous and colonial worlds.
Abraham Tesser
PhD — Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Georgia; Studio Furniture Maker
Program: Jewish Identity: A Woodworker’s Celebration
An illustrated presentation on how handcrafted furniture serves as a vessel for memory, cultural continuity, and the transmission of Jewish identity.
Richard Utz
PhD — Professor & Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives at the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Georgia Institute of Technology
Program: Medieval Atlanta
Using the active reception of medieval culture in nineteenth- and twentieth-century architecture and literature in and around Atlanta, this program offers a panoramic view of the south’s indebtedness to medieval European roots.
Darius Wallace
Nationally Touring Actor, Storyteller, and Interpreter of Frederick Douglass
Program: Frederick Douglass! The Lion of Freedom!
A dynamic, K-12- friendly, one-man performance bringing Douglass’s life, words, and democratic vision into vivid presence.
James “Trae” Welborn III
PhD — Associate Professor of History, Georgia College & State University
Program: Red, White, and ’Cue: Georgia History Through Barbecue
A flavorful and surprising journey through barbecue traditions that illuminate Georgia’s social, cultural, and civic history.
Joyce White
PhD — Assistant Professor of English, Georgia Southern University; Interim Director, Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center; Scholar of Gullah Geechee Literature
Program: Haints, Saints, and Sinners: The Timelessness of Gullah Geechee Culture and History
A rich exploration of the enduring presence of Gullah Geechee communities in Georgia—their stories, spiritual traditions, cultural expressions, and profound influence on the state’s identity.
Paul Root Wolpe
PhD — Raymond Schinazi Professor of Bioethics; Founding Director, Center for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (PACT), Emory University
Program: Bridging the Divide: How We Can Bring Back Civil Discourse and Unify Our Fractured Communities
A compelling presentation that draws on Dr. Wolpe’s global study of peacebuilding centers to offer practical, values-based strategies for rebuilding trust, strengthening dialogue, and bridging ideological divides in our fractured civic landscape.
