Honoring Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH
Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Thank you for attending our Family History Virtual Benefit Gala. Please enjoy this video of the full event.
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
Schedule of Events
5:30 pm EDT Reception
6:00 pm EDT Program including
The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH
in conversation with Her Majesty’s Consul General to New England Dr. Peter Abbott OBE
and special presentations by event hosts D. Brenton Simons and Ryan J. Woods
Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH entered the British Parliament in 1979, and joined Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet in 1987. Between 1989-1990 he served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He became Prime Minister in November 1990 and, in 1992, led the Conservative Party to an unprecedented fourth term in Office.
As Prime Minister, Sir John focused his efforts upon securing peace in Northern Ireland and upholding Britain's position in the world community as a political, social and economic leader. He was Prime Minister throughout the first Gulf War and, at home, instigated long-term reforms in education, health and public services. On leaving Office in 1997, he handed over the strongest economy any incoming UK Government had inherited.
Sir John retired from Parliament at the UK General Election in May 2001. His business interests include Senior Advisor to Credit Suisse and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Global Infrastructure Management. He chairs the Campaign Board of King’s London; is a Joint President of Chatham House; and Patron or President of a number of UK and international charities. In October 2011, he was appointed Chairman of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, a Commonwealth-wide initiative which was established to create a lasting legacy to Her Majesty’s 60 years as Sovereign.
In 1999, Sir John was awarded the Companion of Honour by HM The Queen, in recognition of his initiation of the Northern Ireland Peace Process.
In 2005, HM The Queen appointed him a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, England’s highest award for chivalry. In 2012, he was awarded The Grand Cordon of The Rising Sun by The Emperor of Japan.
In Conversation With
Dr. Peter Abbott has been a member of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service since 2005. Before becoming British Consul General to New England in 2020, he served as Counsellor at the British High Commission in Islamabad, Pakistan, with operational oversight of the largest mission in the UK’s overseas diplomatic network.
Earlier in his career, Peter was Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Lisbon. Before being posted to Portugal, Peter covered West Africa, with a particular focus on the emerging threat of terrorism and instability in Mali and the Sahel. Prior to this, he led the Government’s review of the UK counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent, based in the Office for Security and Counter-terrorism at the Home Office. This followed a posting to the British Embassy in Washington where he was Private Secretary to the Ambassador, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, from 2008-2010.
Before joining the FCDO, Peter lived, studied and worked in the United States, including interning in the office of Dennis Hastert when he was Speaker of the US House of Representatives and working on Arianna Huffington’s 2003 gubernatorial campaign in California.
Peter holds a double first class honours degree from the University of Cambridge as well as a PhD in Greek tragedy. He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2021 New Year Honours List for services to British foreign policy. He is married with three children.
Hosted By
D. Brenton Simons has changed the face of nonprofit-based genealogy in America by bringing the best scholarship to millions of users for more than a decade as President and CEO of American Ancestors and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. He has overseen an historic expansion of the organization ― the founding genealogical institution in America ― which now serves more than 250,000 members and millions of online users with 1.4 billion records. An industry leader for twenty-five years through various positions at the Society, he is proud to head the world’s premier scholarly genealogical program and he is a champion of multi-partner collaboration in the genealogy and history communities.
An award-winning author, Brenton Simons has been featured on CNN, FOX, BBC, PBS-TV, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His most recent book, Boston Beheld: Antique Town and Country Views, was hailed by the late historian Douglass Shand-Tucci as “the book Jane Austen might have written had she run into Charles Dickens after his return from his Boston visit of 1842.” An earlier book ― Witches, Rakes, and Rogues ― is a critically acclaimed and popular anthology of pre-Federal Boston nonfiction history stories that has never gone out of print.
Ryan J. Woods is a thirteen-year veteran of key management positions at American Ancestors / American Ancestors. He serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of our organization as well as Clerk of the Council of the Corporation. In his roles, he provides executive oversight for the day-to-day operations of our seventeen activity areas including content and collection development, web services, publishing activities, research services, educational programming, financial operations, facilities management, marketing strategies, and business planning.
A dedicated researcher, Ryan has authored pedagogical articles about the use of historical biographies to teach character and ethics. He has also contributed genealogical articles and several book forewords for historical and genealogical publications; he regularly presents at national historical and genealogical conferences and events.
Ryan serves on several nonprofit boards and committees, including as Chairman of the Committee on Heraldry, as a member of the Committee on Pretensions of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut, as Secretary of the Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as a development committee member for Plymouth 400, as partner representative on the Mayor of Boston’s Green Ribbon Commission, and as immediate past-President of the Boston University School of Education Alumni Association. He is also a member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Florida, and the Saint Nicholas Society of New York City.
Christopher R. Wolf assumed stewardship of the legendary 134-year-old private Social Register Association from the Forbes Magazine family in late 2014 after their own stewardship of forty years. The SR, described by the Robb Report as “That most prestigious of American Institutions,” is the most prominent and convivial social organization in the world. A private investor with multiple holdings, he is one of the most sought after advisors and board members, known for his collegial approach, global contacts, and well-executed solutions.
Chris has served as CEO and Co-Founder of Convergens, advanced fiber optics partnership with Lennar Corp. on San Francisco’s largest RE development in history; CEO and CIO of hedge funds and mutual funds (nominated globally by Institutional Investor for Emerging Manager of the Year 2009); Founder, Blue Hill Partners, with chairman of Stillrock Ventures, Rockefeller family investments group; CEO and EVP CFO of two biotech companies, one of the largest shareholders, responsible for world’s largest biotech IPO for 1997 ($20M to $1.3B mkt cap); Partner, mergers and acquisitions at two large investment banks, conceived and structured first ever biotech convertible offering; Acting CEO, restructured Hawaiian rum company, growth from 300 to 80,000+ cases/year. Climbed Denali, Mt. Rainier in winter, many others; bicycled across US, Mexico, Central America; months-long canoeing expeditions. Major gifts campaign, Groton School. Twice distinguished speaker in global investment finance at Yale University. Awarded title of Honorary Member of American Ancestors, a title first awarded to John Quincy Adams in 1845.
Presenting Benefactor
Bruce and Patricia Bartlett
Platinum Benefactors
Thomas and Juliet Gede
Nancy S. Maulsby
Mark Kimball Nichols and Lowell Reid Massey
Sit Investment Associates, Inc.
Wells Fargo/ Abbot Downing
Gold Benefactors
Sumner E. Anderson, Judith Avery, John E. and Julie M. Corcoran, Gerry and MaryLee Halpin, Harold Leach, Jonathan Buck Treat and Leslie Aitken, Jo Anne Makely, Elizabeth and George Passela, David and Jean Kruger, M. David and Mary Alice Sherrill, Nancy and John W. Webster, Justin Wyner
Silver Benefactors
Stephen H. Case, Thomas B. Hagen, Jonathan and Deanne Montgomery, Helen and DuWayne Sayles, Eastern Bank, Fiduciary Trust, Welch & Forbes LLC
For more information or to submit your questions for Sir John, please contact Courtney Reardon at Courtney.Reardon@nehgs.org or 617-226-1215.