The Lake Tahoe Community College Speaker Series aims to provide the local community with access to diverse and thought-provoking speakers who will share their knowledge and insights on a range of topics. The series will inspire and engage students, faculty, staff, and community members in conversations that broaden their understanding of the world and deepen their connection to their community.
Upcoming Speakers
Wednesday, April 15
Time: 4:00-5:00pm
Where: LTCC Board/Aspen Room
Cost: Free
Leon Malmed: A French Holocaust Survivor Speaks
Leon Malmed, a survivor of the Holocaust, will share his powerful personal story of loss, courage, and resilience. He will speak about the deportation of his parents to Auschwitz, where they perished, and reflect on the history and enduring dangers of antisemitism.
During the three-year German occupation of France, Leon and his sister, Rachel, were hidden by a Christian French couple and their two sons. At great personal risk, these neighbors made a courageous promise to protect Leon and his sister from the Nazi regime—an act of extraordinary moral bravery that ultimately saved their lives.
Leon recounts surviving years marked by famine and constant fear, yet also remembers moments of humanity and hope. He speaks of finding joy in small things, such as receiving an orange for Christmas, and of the deep comfort he found in the love and selfless courage of those who sheltered him and his sister.
Through his story, Leon encourages students to recognize and value the privileges that come with freedom—especially the opportunity for education. He urges them to learn from history and to use that knowledge to stand up for peace, justice, and human dignity.
Past Speakers
Bryan Allegretto and Andrew Brady, OpenSnow
Tuesday, January 13
Time: 4:00-5:00pm
Where: Duke Theatre
Cost: Free
Parking: Parking will be limited and carpool, Lake Link or public transit is encouraged. Please note that the third row of the LTCC parking lot is designated as Residential Parking, as indicated by posted signage. Parking in this row will result in a parking citation. Additional details can be found on the LTCC Parking Regulations webpage.
Mountain Weather Forecasting with OpenSnow
Explore how mountain weather forecasting has evolved—from traditional methods to today’s advanced, AI-powered tools—and where the future of forecasting is headed. This session highlights OpenSnow’s cutting-edge technology delivering hyper-accurate, real-time mountain weather insights.
This program is an ancillary event of Operation Sierra Storm, the annual Television Meteorologists’ Conference organized by the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, now in its 29th year. The conference brings together leading meteorologists and science experts while showcasing Lake Tahoe’s commitment to sustainability, stewardship, and responsible recreation.
Featured Speakers
Bryan Allegretto, co-founder of OpenSnow, is a longtime Sierra Nevada forecaster with nearly 20 years of experience in mountain weather and storm forecasting.
Andrew Brady, OpenSnow’s AI Engineer, develops advanced artificial intelligence and machine-learning models for long-range and severe weather prediction, connecting cutting-edge science with real-world impact.
*This talk is presented in partnership with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority as an ancillary event of Operation Sierra Storm Television Meteorologists’ Conference.
Claire Martin
Tuesday, January 28
Time: 3pm
Where: Duke Theatre
Cost: Free
Environment and Climate Change Canada
“Hell or High Water – A Canadian Perspective” beyond the largest undefended border, Canada and the US share another common problem: climate change. Discussion requires science, a certain savvy of the politics at play, and humor.
Claire Martin is an accredited meteorologist and a former award-winning TV host/presenter. She has worked in the public service, in Canada and the UK, on and off camera for public and private broadcasters for over 40 years.
The International Weather Festival awarded Claire Martin the honor of “Best Weather Presenter in the World” in 2000 (Paris, France), 2001 (Quebec City, Canada) and 2003 (Zagreb, Croatia), beating out representatives from the likes of CNN and the BBC.
In 2011 the University of Alberta awarded Martin its most prestigious award- the Distinguished Alumni Award- recognizing her achievements that had earned her national and international prominence, as well as her ongoing work with the World Meteorological Organization (a specialized agency of the United Nations).
A passionate environmentalist, Martin briefly dipped her toe into politics when she ran as the Green Party candidate in North Vancouver, B.C. in the Canadian 2015 federal election campaign. Martin was the Climate Critic on the Green Party Shadow Cabinet for 18 months and was honored to be part of the Canadian delegation at COP21 that helped to write and deliver the “Paris Agreement”.
Martin recently retired from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) as the Senior Advisor to the Director General of Prediction Services Directorate.
Claire Martin grew up in London, England (is in fact, a true cockney) and moved to Canada in 1989. She is a niece of Barbara Edwards, who in 1974 became the BBC’s first female weather presenter in the UK.
Ellie Cohen, CEO of The Climate Center
Thursday, October 10
Time: 3pm
Where: On campus at the Duke Theatre
Cost: Free
As Goes California, so Goes the World: Action for a Climate-Safe Future!
The latest climate science supports what millions of people are experiencing daily: the impacts of climate change are hitting harder and faster than expected, posing grave threats to human health and well-being. We are already pushing against multiple global tipping points that could unleash abrupt and irreversible damage. Here in California, we are breaking records regularly, from heat extremes and wildfire to flooding and drought.
Our only hope for a vibrant, healthy, and equitable future for all is to enact bold climate policies now, not decades from now. The solutions exist in every sector- from energy and transportation to natural and working lands management. Yet we still lack the political will.
Ms. Cohen will highlight recent climate science findings, share some climate policy challenges, successes and future opportunities. She will inspire citizen action to ensure that California, the world’s 5th largest economy, steps up its climate leadership by enacting the bold policies required by science. She will conclude with a hopeful view of our future.
Dr. Rosenberg
What is all the fuss about Las Meninas? Painted 368 years ago by the Spaniard Diego de Velázquez, this huge canvas (roughly 10 x 9 feet)—the signature piece of Madrid’s Prado Museum—continues to ask big questions, questions that are as relevant in the twenty-first century as they were in the seventeenth. What is beauty? What is art? How does power perpetuate itself and how is art involved in that perpetuation? What is nobility? How do humans represent the human experience, and what are the limits and the challenges of the act of representation? What is real and what is truth? We will explore these questions during our evening together.
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe
Dr. Hayhoe’s talk was an ancillary event of Operation Sierra Storm Television Meteorologists’ Conference, organized by the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority.
Watch an edited version of Katharine’s talk that she gave on January 23, 2024.
- Author of the best-selling book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.
- Her research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet – and what individuals can do to have an impact.
- Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University.
- The 27th Annual Operation Sierra Storm brought 30+ television meteorologists and science leaders together for discussion on important climate topics. Also, to reinforce the Visit Lake Tahoe brand as one of the country’s leading winter destinations, with an emphasis on its stewardship and sustainability direction via broadcasts and social media content.
