Karima Bennoune, Human Rights Activist; Author; Professor of Law, UC Davis

Bennoune was raised in Algeria and the U.S. and has more than 20 years of human rights research and activism under her belt. Over a period of three years, Bennoune interviewed everyone from the deeply religious to the secular from Lebanon to Minneapolis. Join us as she discusses the results of her research and her new book, Your Fatwah Does Not Belong Here: Untold Stories from the fight against Muslim Fundamentalism, which contains impassioned accounts of heroic resistance and grassroots opposition. 

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, students free (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel 

Julie R. Dargis, Independent Writer and Publisher

Pit Stop in the Paris of Africa author Dargis will take you on a trip around the world through selected excerpts of stories and verse from her book. In addition, she will share reflections on her humanitarian aid work with African and Eastern European populations affected by war and natural disasters, and include how she dealt with adversity in her day-to-day life in some of the most difficult and dangerous countries in the world. She will close with a brief discussion on how she came to write about and publish her experiences, including ideas on how others can recount stories of their own.

MLF: International Relations
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Karen Keefer
Also know: In association with the NorCal Peace Corps Association

John Gillis, Ph.D., Professor of History, Emeritus, Rutgers University; Presenter, "What Happens when Shores Become Coasts”
Susan Schwartzenberg, Senior Artist, San Francisco Exploratorium; Presenter, "The Bay Observatory: Musings on the Water's Edge"
Robin Grossinger, Ph.D., Environmental Scientist, San Francisco Estuary Institute; Presenter, "Second Chance: Shaping the Future Bay”
Gray Brechin, Ph.D., Geographer – Moderator

The Save the Bay moment of the 1970s was a premier regional effort at environmental protection and presented a model to the world. It remains an unfinished project, however, for the San Francisco estuary, like all shores, is what Rachel Carson called an “elusive and indefinable boundary,” which can never be saved once and for all.

Today, we are working with perspectives of the Bay that are informed by a deeper, more fluid understanding of both geography and history. Research by Robin Grossinger and his colleagues at the San Francisco Estuary Institute informs us of what it was like before the arrival of Europeans. This is supplemented by John Gillis’ historical study of coasts and coastal peoples. Exploratorium artist Susan Schwartzenberg offers us the artist’s capacity to explore the future through the powers of the imagination.

Together, these three panelists will open up for us the future of the Bay as perceived by science and the arts. They will explore their subject as a regional enterprise, an ecological whole that must take into account all the Bay’s species, including our own.

Daphne Miller, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF; Author, Farmacology

Did you know that our biological makeup is similar to that of soil? This fascinating fact led practicing family physician Miller to ask: What can a family farmer teach a family doctor? So she spent time on seven ecological family farms, meeting inspiring farmers and renowned biomedical scientists. She will present their insights and research along with stories from her own medical practice.

MLF: Health & Medicine
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Bill Grant

Steve Blake, Doctor of Science, Nutritional Biochemistry; Author, A Nutritional Approach to Alzheimer¹s Disease

What you eat may play a powerful role in determining your chance of developing Alzheimer's disease. Learn how folate and vitamin B12 lower the buildup of amyloid plaques by lowering homocysteine. Recent research shows that cooking methods can reduce the inflammation and oxidation in Alzheimer's disease. Blake will also discuss medical studies linking lowered risk of Alzheimer's disease to intake of antioxidant fruits and vegetables, as well as double-blind studies demonstrating which supplements and medical plants have been shown to be effective in reducing the risk and progression of this common dementia.

MLF: Health & Medicine
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Bill Grant

Alexis Ohanian, Co-founder, reddit, Breadpig and Hipmunk; YCombinator Ambassador

Reddit Founder Ohanian is ready to bare it all. INFORUM is going reddit-style with an AMA Live (Ask Me Anything) with Ohanian – so come ready to put this serial entrepreneur in the hot seat. He has funded startups through his company Das Kapital Capital, worked in Armenia for three months as a Kiva Fellow, and successfully led a campaign to overturn two Internet-affecting congressional bills. In his latest endeavor, Ohanian has taken to long form with his book Without Their Permission, detailing what the future of the Internet holds for aspiring entrepreneurs. Join us as we give Ohanian the third degree, Live at INFORUM – and you won’t miss a beat as we document the AMA with a real-time reddit stream.

Location: SF Club Office
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. reception and book signing
Cost: General: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID); Premium (includes book, reserved seating and premium reception with speakers. Limited to 65 guests): $50 non-members, $35 members
Also know: Photo courtesy of Flickr user Roo Reynolds

Make your voice heard in an enriching, provocative and fun discussion with fellow Club members as you weigh in on events shaping the face of the Middle East. Each month, the Middle East Member-Led Forum hosts an informal roundtable discussion on a topic frequently suggested by recent headlines.  After a brief introduction, the floor will be open for discussion. All interested members are encouraged to attend. There will also be a brief planning session

MLF: Middle East
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: FREE
Program Organizer: Celia Menczel

Mollie Katzen, Author, The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation and the Moosewood Cookbook

In conversation with John Birdsall, Senior Editor, Chow.com 

From the woman who brought you the iconic Moosewood Cookbook comes a new cookbook for a new generation. Katzen has just released The Heart of the Plate, serving up 250 recipes for hungry vegetarians everywhere.
Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the best-selling cookbook authors of all time,” Katzen is widely credited with having brought vegetarian cuisine into the mainstream. Come hear this James Beard Hall of Famer as she waxes epicurean on culinary delights from green matzoh ball soup to mushroom popover pie. 

Location: Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette

Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. book signing

Cost: $22 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID)

Also know: Photo by Lisa Keating. Underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation.