Pope Lecture Speaker

Pope Lecture 2025 ~ Katie Petronio ’07, Quincy Leech ’17

The Eighth Annual Everett P. Pope Dinner and Lecture, “Harpswell to Helmand and Back: An Evening with Bowdoin Marines,” was held on December 4, 2025.

This year’s lecture, held in a fireside chat format, featured Lieutenant Colonel Katie Petronio, USMC (Ret.), Class of 2007, and Quincy Leech, former captain, USMC, Class of 2017. Katie and Quincy spoke about their time at Bowdoin, their service and deployments overseas, and American national security and foreign policy. Gil Barndollar, Class of 2004, moderated the discussion.

Pope Lecture 2024 ~ Ambassador Nathaniel C. Fick

POPE LECTURE SERIES | ANNUAL SPEAKERS

Seventh Annual Everett P. Pope Lecture, November 12, 2024

Ambassador Nathaniel C. Fick, Speaker

Ambassador Nathaniel C. Fick is the inaugural U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy. He is a former technology executive, author, and former United States Marine Corps officer. A Maine resident, Fick is the author of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, a memoir of his service in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Pope Lecture 2023 ~ Admiral Gregory G. Johnson

POPE LECTURE SERIES | ANNUAL SPEAKERS

Sixth Annual Everett P. Pope Lecture, October 30, 2023

Admiral Gregory G. Johnson (Ret.), Speaker

Admiral Gregory G. “Grog” Johnson (USN-Ret.) is a retired United States Navy Admiral and the former commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Europe and Allied Forces, Southern Europe. After graduating from the University of Maine, Admiral Johnson attended Aviation Officer Candidate School, was commissioned in 1969, and designated a Naval Aviator in 1970.

Over a 36-year career, Admiral Johnson commanded at every level — Squadron, Air Wing, Battle Group, Fleet, and Force. From 1970-1995, he held sea duty assignments, making multiple deployments in USS Independence, USS Nimitz, USS Forrestal, USS Eisenhower, and USS Theodore Roosevelt. He served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the Head of the European and Central Command Branch of the Joint Operations Division (JOD) and subsequently as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin L. Powell.

As a Flag Officer, Admiral Johnson served as Commander, Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group: Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, William S. Cohen; Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet; and Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe/Allied Forces, Southern Europe. Admiral Johnson graduated from the Naval War College Command and Staff Course with Highest Distinction. Upon his retirement in December 2004, Admiral Johnson started Snow Ridge Associates, a strategic advice and consulting firm. He has served on numerous civic, public, and private boards and resides in Harpswell, Maine with his wife, Ms. Carol Hancock.

Admiral Johnson is a member of the Everett P. Pope Lecture Sponsoring Committee and a long time Friend of the Bowdoin Marine Corps Society.

Pope Lecture 2022 ~Homeira Qaderi

POPE LECTURE SERIES | ANNUAL SPEAKERS

Fifth Annual Everett P. Pope Lecture, November 16, 2022

Homeira Qaderi, writer, activist, and educator, Speaker

Homeira Qaderi was born in Kabul, Afghanistan during Russian occupation and spent her early childhood sheltering from the Soviets. When the Taliban conquered Herat, she was prohibited from attending school. Dr. Qaderi later took refuge in Iran for seven years. Returning to Afghanistan in 2011, she began teaching as a professor at Kabul University and was active in achieving equal rights for Afghan women. During the 2021 fall of Kabul, Homeira Qaderi and her son were among the last to gain entrance through a secret gate on the north side of the airport to flee the country.Homera is the author of seven books and is currently a Radcliffe Institute Fellow.

Pope Lecture 2021 ~ Elliot Ackerman

POPE LECTURE SERIES | ANNUAL SPEAKERS

Fourth Annual Everett P. Pope Lecture, April 8, 2021

Elliot Ackerman, Marine veteran, journalist, and author, speaker

Lecture title: “Turning in My Card: American Identity and the Veteran Experience.”

Marine veteran, journalist and author Elliot Ackerman. is a National Book Award finalist and the author of four novels and one work of nonfiction. His latest book is 2034: A Novel of the Next World War. He is both a former White House Fellow and a Marine, and served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart.