“How Secure is Our National Security?” 2025 Rappaport Speaker Series Begins on February 13

Whether it’s wildfires or a hurricane threatening to take down the power grid or a crippling cyber-attack by a bad action from a foreign country, our national security is under constant threat.

 

Juliette Kayyem, a national leader in homeland security and crisis management, will address the question “How Secure is Our National Security?” as the first presenter in this year’s Rappaport Center Speaker Series. The program is open to the public at Temple Beit HaYam in Stuart on February 13.

 

Juliette Kayyem is a Senior Lecturer and faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project and the Security and Global Health Project at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She served as the Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security and is the recipient of many government honors, including the Distinguished Public Service Award, the Coast Guard’s highest medal awarded to a civilian. Currently she is also a national security analyst for CNN.

 

 Kayyem has written and spoken extensively about the threats and vulnerabilities that the nation and in fact the globe now face from natural disasters as well as vulnerabilities in the nation’s critical infrastructure and cyber security. Her most recent book, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters, is described as an “engagingly urgent blueprint for rethinking our approach to disaster preparedness and response.”

 

Tickets are available online for $35 at www.RappaportSpeakerSeries.com. The conversation with Professor Kayyem will be moderated by Blake Fortenay, columnist for TC Palm, and will begin at 7 p.m.

 

The Rappaport Center Speaker Series is supported by the Phyllis & Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation through a grant to Temple Beit HaYam to increase dialogue and understanding within the broader community. It has featured speakers like David Gergen, advisor to both Republican and Democratic presidents; Marty Baron, former editor of The Washington Post; and Mitch Albom, author famous for his books including Tuesdays with Morrie.

 

“It is our great pleasure to invite the community to join us at Temple Beit HaYam each year to hear from significant thought leaders and engage us in dialogue,” said Rabbi Matt Durbin. “We’re grateful to the Rappaport family for creating and sustaining this unique forum for intelligent conversation.”

More information about Kayyem and the Rappaport Center Speaker Series is available at www.RappaportSpeakerSeries.com,  www.tbhfl.org, and www.facebook.com/RappaportCenterSpeakerSeries.

 

 

About The Rappaport Foundation

The Phyllis & Jerome Lyle Rappaport Foundation is a nonprofit that partners with leading institutions in Boston and beyond to promote and nurture emerging leaders in the fields of public policy, neurodegenerative disease, mental health and the arts. The Foundation has a long and proud history of supporting emerging leaders, including civic leaders who improve the lives of their constituents and communities, medical researchers who have unlocked the mysteries of the brain, mental illness and Alzheimer’s disease, and artists who enrich lives, ignite imaginations, and challenge us to see the world in a new light. In Stuart, Florida, it sponsors the Rappaport Center Speaker Series to encourage thoughtful dialogue on issues of national and international importance.

 

About Temple Beit HaYam

Temple Beit HaYam is a Reform Jewish Congregation committed to Torah (life-long Jewish education), avodah (worship through prayer and observance) and gemilut chasadim (the pursuit of justice, peace and deeds of loving kindness). Founded in September 1993 in Stuart, Florida, by a group of dedicated Jewish families, the congregation opened its Temple building in Monterey Commons Professional Park in January 2000.  In addition to worship services, the Temple offers Hebrew and religious training to youngsters from kindergarten through high school, has active Sisterhood and Brotherhood programs, and extends its outreach to the Treasure Coast community through concerts, lectures, and other events.