StaRGazing 2026

Featured speakers

• Dave Lehman

  Dave Lehman worked at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 40 years as a Technical Manager for the Mars Pathfinder Attitude and Information Management Subsystem. He was also Project Manager for Deep Space One, the lunar explorer Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), and the Mars Odyssey mission. Dave traces humanity’s journey to the Red Planet — from Mariner 4’s pioneering flyby through today’s orbiters and rovers — and how these missions shape our understanding of Mars.

• Jerry Rishe

  Jerry Rishe worked as an attorney in the private sector, capping his career as a trial attorney for Immigration and Naturalization Services. A true polymath, in retirement Jerry lectures on many subjects across the county. He talks about questionable cures and the bold, often dangerous world of self-experimentation — from electric belts and radium cures to miracle tonics — and what it teaches us about science, ethics, and risk.

• Colleen Adair Fliedner

  Award-winning author and historian Colleen Adair Fliedner explores the history and legends of Griffith Park and Griffith J. Griffith as described in her book “Fascinating True Tales from Old California.” Griffith tried to murder his wife, went to prison, and afterward left property to the City of Los Angeles — envisioning a park for the “plain man,” an observatory on Mount Hollywood, and a Greek-style outdoor theater. Who was Griffith — philanthropist, visionary, or something else? Colleen unpacks the history and the name that still defines the park.

Additional speakers — coming soon.