2025 American Stories, American Lives Gala
2025 American Stories, American Lives Gala
The Power and Promise of Family History
Engaging in family history enriches lives. It is a source of joy, education, inspiration, empowerment, and a means of healing and repair. It is an undertaking that can profoundly influence the lives of individuals and holds the power to impact society positively. By exploring family histories, we uncover the stories of our ancestors—their triumphs, struggles, cultures, and traditions—and bring context and meaning to the world in which we live.
The American Stories, American Lives gala celebrates the work of American Ancestors and the contributions of those in the fields of genealogy and history.
Proceeds of the American Stories, American Lives Gala help fund our groundbreaking work, including educational programs, youth outreach, original research and scholarship, diversity programming, publications, online services, and content development.
In Conversation - The Power and Promise of Family History
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. He is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder. He is the host of the popular PBS show, Finding Your Roots, now in its eleventh season.
Bill Griffeth covered Wall Street for almost 40 years. In 2019 he retired from day-to-day anchoring duties at CNBC and became an Anchor-At-Large. Among many awards, he was nominated for six Cable ACE awards as Best News Anchor. Bill is the author of numerous books including The Stranger in My Genes and Strangers No More, both published by American Ancestors.
Kendra Taira Field is Associate Professor of History at Tufts University and Chief Historian of the 10 Million Names Project. She is the author of Growing Up with the Country: Family, Race, and Nation after the Civil War and the forthcoming Stories We Tell: A History of African American Genealogy (W.W. Norton). Field co-founded the African American Trail Project and the Du Bois Forum, a retreat for writers, scholars, and artists.
Presenting Benefactors
Thomas B. Hagen
Gold Benefactors
Brady Brim-DeForest of Balvaird
Silver Benefactors
Cheryl L. Edwards
Gerry and MaryLee Halpin
Tawny Welch
Capital Group
Schwartz/Silver Architects
Bronze Benefactors
Brenda L. Johnson
Aislie McEnteggart
Stephen J. McCarthy
Bonnie A. Reilly
Tim and Julia Schmolke
M. David Sherrill
Lionel and Vivian Spiro
Jonathan Buck Treat and Leslie Aitken
David M. Trebing
Morrison D. Webb
Dale and Jim Yoe
