Our 2026 Thouron Alumni Symposium brought many brilliant minds, creatives, and leaders together in Philadelphia for our Award’s first stateside Symposium fully tailored to our wonderful Alumni community.
For three-program-packed days, Alumni gathered for reconnection, celebration, and knowledge sharing — tied to the theme of turbulence. Such a feat could not have been made possible without the organisation of Ben Gregson (Br’21) and Beatriz Brown (Br’17), both U.K. Thouron Alumni. As this was our second annual Symposium, we were honoured to host multiple panel discussions, keynote talks, and interactive workshops led by several Alumni from both the U.S. and U.K.
Since our Symposium brought our extensive Thouron Alumni community together to learn from each other’s careers, expertise, and life experience with our Award, it was only fitting that the 3-day event be held at the Rittenhouse in Philadelphia. With last year’s inaugural Symposium held at Dartmouth House in Mayfair, London, U.K., our organisers knew that would be a tough act to follow!
“Well, I had high expectations given the Thouron history of quality, and they were met! A really fine mix of socializing and substantive content, multi-generational participation, warm vibes and enthusiasm by all throughout the weekend,” shared Alumnus John Yaron Wind (Am’83).
Day 1: Symposium Welcome on Friday, 6 February
To kickoff the Symposium we held a welcome reception in The Mary Cassatt Team Room at the Rittenhouse Friday evening. The reception is always a wonderful way for Alumni who have not been able to attend past events to reconnect, bring along their children, and shake off any initial jitters because they know they’re among friends with the Thouron family.
Thouron Alumni travel from far and wide, and across multiple generations, for our Symposium so we could not miss the chance to host a dinner party at The Boathouse!
Day 2: Talks, Sessions & Formal Dinner on Saturday, 7 February
Navigating Modern Information Ecosystems with Claire Wardle
Fully rested from the previous night’s festivities and with a hearty breakfast, we moved into our first impactful discussion of the day chaired by Ben Gregson with esteemed guest, Claire Wardle (Br’99).
Claire Wardle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. She is considered a leader in the field of misinformation, verification and user-generated content, co-authoring the foundational report, Information Disorder: An interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy for the Council of Europe in 2017. Over the past decade she has developed an organization-wide training program for the BBC on eyewitness media, verification and misinformation, led social media policy at UNHCR, and was the Research Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania.
The discussion topic, misinformation and disinformation on the Internet, was riveting for all in attendance as Claire defined how the “armpit of the Internet” works and why storytelling is so powerful. She spoke in detail about a fellow researcher who attended an anti-vax conference to explore what motivates people to believe in conspiracy theories, especially pertaining to health.
To illustrate her point, Claire crafted a persona, “Linda”, to emphasize what motivates people to believe in these conspiracy theories — how people like “Linda” do not feel heard about their fears and concerns, feel they can conduct “research” themselves because of their access to vast amounts of information on the Internet, and how a “Linda” slowly loses trust in the systems and institutions that provide public health information. While “Linda” was an on-the-spot response, Claire discussed that it is important to take this approach in order to start addressing the needs of communities in the hope we as leaders, medical providers, researchers, and educators can help them better shift through misinformation.
Alumni left the discussion with Claire with five key takeaways:
- People with access to information need to do more work in their communities to engage and listen first to what people need, then react with the information that their communities have identified as a need.
- Community is imperative — as members of society we need to invest in information campaigns within small communities and lead with trust first.
- Trust has been eroded for decades in our systems and institutions, partially because of this wave of misinformation and it could take decades to rebuild that trust — especially in healthcare.
- The Internet has changed the way we interact socially, and because of that we are now much more likely to see polarizing information. The polarization does start to fall away when we get together in local communities.
- The future of technology in news could look like institutions having to layer in metadata or blockchain technology to images, videos, and other information to verify accuracy and dispel deepfakes and/or artificial intelligence (AI).
“Claire’s talk was my favorite scheduled programme. I also enjoyed the smaller breakout group discussions. One of the strengths of this [Symposium] was how intergenerational it was, so I’d love to see that continue. It is vital to have younger Thourons brought into the fold,” shared Alumna Felicity Paxton (Br’93).
Independent Journalism Roundtable
After a refreshing break with tea, coffee, and biscuits we moved on to our four speaker roundtable to discuss the importance of free and independent journalism, and again we discussed the power of storytelling. This roundtable included Marisa Bellack (Am’01), Femi Fadugba (Br’10), and Marc A. Feigen (Am’83), chaired by Beatriz Brown (Br’17).
Marisa Bellack is an editor at The Washington Post, where she leads climate and science coverage. As a Thouron scholar, she earned an MSc in Communications from the London School of Economics. She also holds a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Femi Fadugba is an EdTech CEO, sci-fi writer and Dummett Fellow at New College, Oxford. He has given talks to over 10,000 students on topics ranging from time travel physics to the process of writing his debut novel, The Upper World.
Marc A. Feigen is the founder and CEO of Feigen Advisors, LLC. Called America’s leading advisor for the new CEO by Fortune Magazine, Marc’s CEO clients are leaders of very large, high performing global companies. He is also an Executive Vice Chairman of Cambridge in America, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Board of the Social Science Research Council, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Cambridge Judge Business School in the U.K. He is an Honorary Fellow at St. John’s College, Cambridge.
As Marisa is a climate editor at The Washington Post, the importance of free and independent journalism was a hot topic for the roundtable, especially given recent changes in staff at The Post. AI and disinformation were a close second topic, as the roundtable addressed how both are changing the way that reporting is done — since it now requires more work to ensure that journalists and writers are reporting news accurately.
As an author, Femi spoke significantly about the power of storytelling and connected it back to Claire’s discussion of “Linda” — specifically that by personifying the idea of someone who believes in conspiracy theories we have now added empathy into the situation. While there may be an excess of information and AI in our society today, without good storytelling and communication messaging will always fall flat.
“I really liked our interdisciplinary approach [exemplified by Femi], the selection of speakers and the relevant discussion topics, the interviewing brilliantly led by Ben and Bea…” shared Alumna Anne Gerbner (Am’76).
Breakout Sessions & Afternoon Activities
Refreshed from a delicious lunch, our day continued with breakout sessions, and two optional afternoon activities: an art workshop led by Casey Thomas-Boyles (Br’10) or a cultural visit to The Rosenbach Museum with John Wind as the group museum tour lead.
Through small groups many Alumni came together across all disciplines and backgrounds to engage in lively discussions on a variety of topics tied to the Symposium’s theme of turbulence. Alumni left the small group sessions with a great sense of hope after diving into conversations around misinformation, AI, and the role of research and intellectualism in a changing world.
During the art workshop with Casey, Alumni were encouraged to play and explore their artistic expression. The workshop involved connecting with one another and sharing one long piece of paper with a variety of art supplies. Alumni who participated moved around the table to talk to each other during the fun, hands-on experience.
And the museum tour of The Rosenbach Museum with John included seeing his “Dear John” exhibit — a conversation across time that weaves the legacies of the Rosenbach brothers, Philadelphia gentleman lawyer John Frederick Lewis, and John’s own work. The exhibit celebrates the enduring power of art in connecting past and present.
Formal Dinner at The Scarpetta Restaurant
To close out a full day of worthwhile discussions, reconnection, and knowledge sharing, we hosted a black tie dinner for Alumni and their guests. With drinks and delicious food flowing, a talented harpist provided beautiful ambiance as guests fitted about recalling the day’s programming and their time with our Award. It was such a lovely moment to see guests of all generations enjoying each other’s company.
“Loved changing dining partners mid meal for maximum chance to talk with people,” shared alumna Robin Davis Miller (Am’83).
Rupert Thouron takes great pleasure in crafting the seating chart for formal dinners, and this evening was no exception! His hope is always that people who might not know each other have the opportunity to connect, and also peppered into the process are his thoughts on who will have the most interesting conversations. Of course it was only fitting that Rupert led us with a toast, speaking to the hope that the weekend had brought forth.
“The Saturday evening dinner was beautiful and evoked the pomp and circumstance side of the Thouron Award that I love — the flowers, the black tie, Rupert’s toasts, etc.” shared John Wind.
Day 3: Sweet Farewell on Sunday Morning, 8 February
With a slightly later breakfast start due to the riveting night had by all during our formal dinner, it was time to say goodbye to all who had travelled far and wide for our second annual Symposium. As we look ahead to next year’s Symposium, we want to honor in memoriam a beloved member of our Thouron community, David Trautenberg (Am’ 80).
David passed away unexpectedly on 10 January 2026. Hailing from Atlantic City, New Jersey, David was a lifelong student, a true Philadelphia Eagles fan, and devoted father and partner. Following his time at the University of Pennsylvania, David completed his MA in Curriculum Theory, Sociology, and Philosophy at the University of Leeds through our Award. He would later go on to complete his MBA at Stanford University and a Doctorate of Education at Penn.
Remembered for his magnetic personality and zest for life, David will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and the entire Thouron community.
With this somber note, we look ahead to next year where we hope to once more bring together Thouron Alumni for our third annual Symposium. We will return to London in January 2027 at Dartmouth House and more details will be announced at a later date.
Until we meet again.
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