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Zagoren Lecture

Exciting alumnae speakers join us as we proudly host the Annual Zagoren Lecture.

The Zagoren Lecture is presented in honor of the late AADC Executive Director Adelaide Marcus Zagoren ’40 and is free and open to the public. Special thanks to Adelaide’s daughter, Laura Zagoren Baron ’70, for her continued support of the lecture.
Journalist Whitney Pennington Rodgers, Class of Douglass 2007 to speak at the AADC Zagoren lecture

This year the AADC proudly welcomes Whitney Pennington Rodgers ’07, Current Affairs Curator at TED, for the 2024 Virtual Zagoren Lecture in honor of Women’s History Month on March 21, at 7:30 pm ET via Zoom. Our virtual event with this award-winning journalist, curator, and storyteller will address today’s most urgent topics in her lecture, “Rising Above the Noise: Disrupting Communication in a Distracted, Divided World.” Our lecturer will unpack the challenges we face communicating meaningful ideas in an increasingly divisive climate. Register online to join us for this free virtual event. 

Prior to joining TED, Whitney was a video journalist at NBC News where she produced for NBC’s primetime news magazines Dateline NBC and Sunday Night. Whitney earned a duPont-Columbia Award and a News & Documentary Emmy for her contributions to the Dateline NBC hour, “The Cosby Accusers Speak” — an extensive group interview with 27 of the women who accused entertainer Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct.

Whitney has worked at NBC’s in-house production company Peacock Productions, The TODAY Show, Nightly News, Rock Center and New Jersey-centric public affairs shows Caucus: New Jersey and One-on-One with Steve Adubato. Prior to beginning her career in media, she had a short stint as a fourth-grade teacher through the Teach for America program.

Whitney is a proud Douglass College alumna and a Rutgers University graduate. She received her Bachelor’s of Arts in journalism and media studies. She completed her Master’s of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley, where she produced a documentary about recruitment of nonblack students at historically black colleges and universities.

Young Alumnae Network members post with speaker at the Douglass Alumnae Zagoren Lecture hosted in Douglass College Student Center at Rutgers University.
Audience participates in Q&A session at Douglass alumnae Zagoren Lecture at Douglass College Student Center.
The speaker at the Douglass alumnae Zagoren Lecture cheers and thanks the audience gathered at Douglass College Student Center at Rutgers University.
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