Join the Center for Ethics in Society as we welcome Kerry Benenato to campus for a dinner discussion with students. Dr. Benenato received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Boston College and spent eight years working at Moderna, where she served in multiple roles including Vice President of Platform Chemistry and Formulation Discovery. In 2022, Dr. Benenato was awarded the American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry award for her work contributing to Moderna’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine (Spikevax™️). Dr. Benenato is currently the Chief Platform Officer at Sail Biomedicines.

During the dinner discussion, Dr. Benenato will discuss the value of a liberal arts education to future success and keys to career growth, all within the context of her work as a chemist.

Dr. Kerry Benenato joined Sail in February 2024 as Chief Platform Officer, bringing to the company a distinguished career in the development of mRNA products and product candidates. Prior to Sail, she served as Chief Scientific Officer of 76Bio, a startup focused on the development of a novel targeted protein degradation modality using mRNA/lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technologies. Prior to this, she spent eight years in positions of increasing responsibility at Moderna, most recently serving as Vice President, Platform Chemistry and Formulation Discovery, where she led the Platform team, with oversight for the discovery and development of mRNA delivery tools for multiple modalities (infectious disease, rare disease, immuno-oncology, auto-immune diseases) and the development of tools for LNP biophysical characterization.  
In 2022, Kerry was awarded the American Chemical Society Heroes of Chemistry award for her work contributing to Moderna’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine (Spikevax™️). She began her industry career in scientific research at AstraZeneca, after completing a research fellowship at Harvard University as a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Boston College and a B.S. in Chemistry from Providence College.

The New Hampshire Institute of Politics, in partnership with the Geisel Library at Saint Anselm College, is pleased to welcome author John Avlon to discuss his recent book, "Lincoln and the Fight for Peace," a story of war and peace, race and reconciliation.

Avlon is a senior political analyst and anchor at CNN, where his "Reality Check" segments have won acclaim. From 2013 to 2018, he was the editor-in-chief and managing director of The Daily Beast, during which time the site’s traffic more than doubled to over one million readers a day while winning 17 journalism awards.

He is the author of the books "Lincoln and the Fight for Peace," "Independent Nation," "Wingnuts," and "Washington’s Farewell" as well as co-editor of the acclaimed "Deadline Artists" journalism anthologies. Avlon served as chief speechwriter to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and won the National Society of Newspaper Columnists award for best online column in 2012.

A groundbreaking, revelatory history of Abraham Lincoln’s plan to secure a just and lasting peace after the Civil War—a vision that inspired future presidents as well as the world’s most famous peacemakers, including Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.  Lincoln’s plan to win the peace is his unfinished symphony, but in its existing notes, we can find an anthem that can begin to bridge our divisions today.

Free and open to the public with advance registration.
Books may be purchased in advance at your local bookseller or at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lincoln-and-the-Fight-for-Peace/John-Avlon/9781982108120

New Hampshire Institute of Politics Auditorium

Contact Information

Ann Camann

acamann@anselm.edu

(603) 222-4103