Guests include: Dr. Susan Enfield the Interim Superintendent for Seattle Public Schools and Greg Bear an award-winning science fiction writer (full bios below).

Fifty years ago, we had the Cold War and the Space Age to motivate our innovation.  Today, we're watching our economy stagnate, even as our region ranks at the bottom of the country in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.  And that's despite the rest of the world's perception of the Pacific Northwest as a hotbed for technology. How can we instill a 21st century "New Frontier" for the next generation?  Is it a matter of inspiration or education?  What place should we reserve for the arts and creativity generally?  Join us for a special Four Peaks episode at the Pacific Science Center as we consider how to reinvigorate a region that gave the world Bill Boeing and Bill Gates.

 

VIP Reception: Join us at 6:00PM for an intimate pre-event talk and question-answer session with Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction author: Greg Bear. Tickets are $40 and include wine and light appetizers.

 

Four Peaks TV is a monthly current affairs show that taps into the Pacific Northwest's rich endowment of idea generators, influential activists, business visionaries and inspired storytellers.  Emmy Award-winning TV journalist and host Hanson Hosein interviews these creative leaders who have made it to the top of their respective "Peaks" of Innovation, Community, Entrepreneurship and Entertainment.  Each program seeks to "extend the reach" of two or more of these notable guests as they discuss a subject of mutual interest, and of mutual concern.  In partnership with the University of Washington's Master of Communication in Digital Media and recorded before a live audience, Four Peaks is a provocative show that collides the views of our best and brightest. Together, they will reframe our region's place in the world.

 

Dr. Susan Enfield, Interim Superintendent, Seattle Public Schools oversees all aspects of the District, which includes more than 47,000 students, 8,000 employees and a budget of roughly $550 million. She joined Seattle Public Schools in 2009 as Chief Academic Officer. Enfield was appointed Interim Superintendent in March 2011. A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Enfield graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and earned master’s degrees in education from Stanford University and Harvard University. She also holds a doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University with a concentration in the Urban Superintendents Program.

 

Greg Bear is the author of more than thirty books, spanning thrillers, science fiction and fantasy, including Blood Music, Eon, The Forge of God, Darwin's Radio, City at the End of Time, and Hull Zero Three.  His books have won numerous international prizes, have been translated into more than twenty-two languages, and have sold millions of copies worldwide.  He has also served as a consultant for NASA, the U.S. Army, the State Department, the International Food Protection Association, and Homeland Security on matters ranging from privatizing space to biological security and the frontiers of evolution, microbiology, and genetics.