RED Talks
RED Talks (Radnor Excellence & Design) are inspirational stories centered on living life with intentional design and excellence, focused on our future. Set at Radnor High School during Lunch & Learn, the speaker series in February and March will host community members sharing their personal journeys and experiences with our students, inspiring lives of excellence.
| DATE | RED TALK | SPEAKER | ABOUT |
| 3/8/23 | Future Food Right Now | Charlie Szoradi |
Our speaker Charlie Szoradi will share highlights from three decades of his experience as a sustainability professional. Learn about dietary health to naturally improve energy, skin, muscle development, weight loss, and more. Plus, learn about some of the small things that you can do right at home to make big improvements to personal and planetary health. Mr. Szoradi earned his Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, and he is the President of The Agrarian Group. |
| 3/15/23 | Funny Farm (Animal Rescue) | Laurie Zaleski |
Laurie Zaleski never aspired to run an animal rescue; that was her mother Annie's dream. But from girlhood, Laurie was determined to make the dream come true. Thirty years later as a successful businesswoman, she did it, buying a 15-acre farm deep in the Pinelands of South Jersey. She was planning to relocate Annie and her caravan of ragtag rescues—horses and goats, dogs and cats, chickens and pigs—when Annie died, just two weeks before moving day. In her heartbreak, Laurie resolved to make her mother's dream her own. In 2001, she established the Funny Farm Animal Rescue outside Mays Landing, New Jersey. Today, she carries on Annie's mission to save abused and neglected animals. |
| 3/29/23 | The Man from Radnor Who Changed the World |
Jennifer Beacom, Radnor Historic Society |
Discussion on the remarkable life of Sherret Chase, PhD., who graduated from Radnor High School in 1935. Dr. Chase's visionary work in plant genetics changed the way crops are grown, allowing them to be more sustainably produced, without the use of expensive pesticides that many poor farmers in Africa, Asia and South America cannot afford. Sherret Chase: The Man from Radnor Who Changed the World |
| 4/12/23 | In Life, and Careers, There Are Rarely Straight Lines | Dr. Ken Batchelor | Dr. Batchelor, School Superintendent, will share what led him to a career in Education and why he finds it so rewarding. |
| 4/19/23 | Life Lessons for Making Coffee for a Living | Colleen DeCesare | Finding the importance of pouring your soul into every opportunity, embracing patience during the slow brew of building a business, and building relationships with every sip. The story will be about Colleen's journey to opening up Black & Brew and some of the important lessons learned while operating a successful cafe for the past 16 years. |
| 4/26/23 | There it Is: A Helicopter Ride and a Purple Heart | Jim Talone |
Jim Talone taught English and video at Radnor High School from 1970 to 1999. He also was advisor for nearly 20 years to the yearbook, the Radnorite and RTV. Before that he spent three years from 1967 to 1970 as an infantry officer with 1968 spent in Vietnam. He spent 9 months in the field with Bravo One/Nine an outfit that earned the nickname “The Walking Dead” long before that became a movie. After retiring from Randnor he spent 10 years at Delaware Valley School. Over the last 12 years he has written and directed a score of documentary and creative films. |