Events

Upcoming events

2024

Sunday, March 10, 2024 – Inaugural Debra Polsky Memorial Lecture (in person), Dallas Jewish Historical Society, Tiferet Israel Congregation, 10909 Hillcrest Road, Dallas TX, 10 am CT

        This lecture is an inaugural Brunch & Learn event honoring the legacy of Debra Polsky (z”l) and benefitting the Debra Polsky Scholarship for Jewish Communal Work. Admission is free, but registration is required. Donations in memory of Debra or in support of the scholarship fund may be made by contacting DJHS 214.239.7120

Tuesday, March 26, 2024 – Book talk (Virtual), Goucher College Authors Series, 7 pm ET

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 – Book Talk & Related Tennessee History (In Person), The Temple – Congregation Ohabai Sholom, 5015 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37205, 7 pm CT

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 – Conversation with Dr. Jonathan Sarna, Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University, Weitzman Book Club Author Talk Series (virtual), Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia PA, 6 pm ET (new time!)

Tuesday, June 25, 2024 – Congregation B’nai Israel Book Club (virtual), 8 pm ET

Sunday, July 28, 2024 – Book Talk & Related Baltimore History, Jewish Genealogical Society of Maryland (virtual), 1:30 pm ET

Check back soon for more!

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Past events

2024

Sunday, January 28, 2024 – Book Talk (in person), Associated Jewish Charities’ Jewish Women’s Giving Foundation, Park Heights Jewish Community Center, 5700 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore MD, 10:30 am ET 

Sunday, February 4, 2024 – Jewish Federation of Greater Houston Yom Limmud/Day of Learning (in person), Congregation Emanu El, 1500 Sunset Boulevard, Houston TX, 10 CT

2023 

Thursday, January 11, 2024 – Book Talk (virtual), Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, Pittsfield, MA, 6:45 pm ET

Sunday, January 14, 2024 – Book Talk (in person), Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South, Memphis Jewish Community Center, 6560 Poplar Avenue, Memphis TN, 1 pm CT

Thursday, December 7, 2023 – Book Talk (virtual), JCC of Northern New Jersey – Active Seniors, 11 am ET

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 – “Researching American Jewish Orphans” – Presentation (virtual) for JewishGen – The Home of Jewish Genealogy, 2 pm ET

Thursday, December 14, 2023 – Book Talk, Second Thursday Lecture Series, Friends of the Cabildo and Louisiana State Museum (Virtual), 6 pm CT 

Tuesday, November 7, 2023 – Keynote Speaker: “Service, Sacrifice, and the Star of David: Jewish Orphans in the US Military” (in person and livestream), Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, Ben Katz Post #580, New Orleans LA, 6:30 pm CT 

Wednesday, November 15, 2023 – Book Talk (in person), St. Louis Jewish Book Festival, St. Louis Jewish Community Center, St. Louis MO, 1 pm CT

Sunday, October 22, 2023Book launch reception, Jewish Children’s Regional Service, New Orleans, 6 pm CT (invitation)

Tuesday, October 24, 2023 – “The Remarkable Bessie Margolin and Other Legal Luminaries from the Jewish Orphans’ Home of New Orleans,” Supreme Court of Louisiana Historical Society, 400 Royal Street, New Orleans LA, 11 am CT (CLE credit available)

Wednesday, October 25, 2023 -Visit to Isidore Newman School: Reception with local alumni at 9 am followed by talks with student history classes.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023 – Book Talk, Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, New Orleans, 6:30 pm CT

Saturday, October 28, 2023Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge LA, 11:15 am to 12:15 pm, State Capitol, House Committee Room 6:
Highs, Lows, and In Betweens: The South Louisiana Jewish Experience
with Brian J. Costello, Marlene Trestman, Peter Wolf, and moderator Marian D. Moore, followed by book signing 12:30 pm to 1:00 pm, Cavalier House Books Tent.

Sunday, October 29, 2023 – Conversation with Lawrence Powell, author and professor emeritus of history at Tulane University, Octavia Books, New Orleans LA, 4 pm CT

February 21, 2023 – Fountainview at Eisenberg Village, Los Angeles Jewish Health 

April 15/16, 2023 – Texas Jewish Historical Society Annual Meeting, Austin TX

April 27, 2023 – Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law (virtual). 1 pm EST.

2022

October 12, 2022 – Edenwald, Towson MD

2021

January 28, 2021 – Judaism Law and Social Change – Presented by the California Lawyers Association Racial Justice Committee, Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco, and Orange County Jewish Bar Association – Panel Presentation (Virtual)

March 4, 2021 – JCC of Greater New Haven – Panel Presentation with Jill Wine-Banks (Virtual)

March 8, 2021 – Bender JCC of Greater Washington & Pozez JCC of Northern Virginia – Panel Presentation with Jill Wine-Banks, Jennifer Steinhauer, and Janice Kaplan (Virtual)

March 10, 2021 – A Legacy of Jewish Women and Justice, Baltimore Festival of Jewish Literature – Panel Presentation with Elaine Weiss and Debbie Levy (Virtual). Watch video.

March 22, 2021 – Jewish Community Center of the Northshore (Marblehead, MA) – Panel Presentation with Janice Kaplan and Jill Wine-Banks (Virtual)

March 25, 2021 – Merage JCC of Irvine County (CA) – Virtual

April 11, 2021 – Keynote Address, Jewish Children’s Regional Service 75th Anniversary Jubilee Gala (Virtual) – Watch video

May 3, 2021 – Mayerson JCC of Cincinnati – Panel Presentation with Jill-Wine-Banks (Virtual)

May 10, 2021 – Contextualizing the Jewish Orphan Experience, Center for Jewish History (Virtual) – Watch Video

June 8 – Supreme Court Historical Society, Second Wednesday Lecture (Virtual) – Watch C-SPAN video

June 22, 2021 – Edward A. Myberg Center Men’s Group “The Bagel Boys” (Virtual)

2020

January 17, 2020 – Bipartisan Policy Center’s Women’s Network

March 11, 2020 – The Lecture Group, Temple Oheb Shalom, Baltimore MD

October 28, 2020 – 28th Lane Dworkin Rochester Jewish Book Festival – Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment (Virtual)

November 12, 2020 – Alper JCC of South Miami, Galbut Family JCC of Miami Beach, Adolph and Rose Levis JCC of Boca Raton, David Posnak JCC of Fort Lauderdale, Roth JCC of Orlando, and Michael-Ann Russell JCC of North Miami – Panel Presentation with Jennifer Steinhauer (Virtual)

November 19, 2020 – Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience (Virtual). Watch.

2019

April 19, 2019 – Women’s Daily Post discussion group, Baltimore MD 

May 4, 2019 – Goucher College Inaugural Authors Fair

August 13, 2019 – Writers & Words: A Reading Series, Charmington’s, Baltimore MD

October 7, 2019 – Authors Panel moderated by Marion Winik, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Theater, Baltimore, MD

November 8, 2019 – Lecture, “The Life and Times of Bessie Margolin,” Osher Lifetime Learning Institute, American University, Washington, DC.

November 23, 2019 – “Through the Lens of Feminist Legal Biography,” American Society for Legal History, Panel Presentation with Constance Backhouse, Jane DeHart, Pnina Lahav, and Leandra Zarnow, Boston, MA 

2018

February 21, 2018 – Guest Lecture, Law and Society Seminar, University of Maryland College Park

March 6, 2018 – Dallas Jewish Historical Society, Dallas TX

March 28, 2018 – “Unfinished Business: The Fair Labor Standards Act, 80 Years Later,” National Consumers League and the American Constitution Society, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC

October 8, 2018 – Morris Bart Sr. Lecture Series, JCC, New Orleans, LA.

October 18, 2018 – Wranglers’ Law Club, Baltimore MD

October 26, 2018 – “Ties that Bind: The Vital Relationship Between New Orleans’s Jewish Orphans’ Home and Alabama’s Jewish Communities,” Southern Jewish Historical Society Annual Conference, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL

2017

January 19, 2017 – Book talk & signing, Tulane Law School, New Orleans, LA

January 19, 2017 – Remarks, Annual Meeting, Association for Women Attorneys, New Orleans, LA

February 11, 2017 – Book talk & signing, Charles Houston Community Writers, Alexandria, VA

March 15, 2017 – Local Authors Literary Event, Edlavitch JCC of Washington, DC

March 21, 2017 – Book talk & signing, Women’s Bar Association of Maryland – Harford County Chapter

April 4, 2017 – Book talk & signing, Equal Pay Day Event, Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia

April 5, 2017 – Book talk & Signing, Edward A. Myerberg Center, Baltimore MD

April 8, 2017 – Book Talk & Signing, Annapolis Book Festival

April 25, 2017 – Book Talk & Signing, Hadassah Brandeis Institute Conversations, Bethesdal, MD

April 30, 2017 -Book Talk & Signing, Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South Memphis JCC, Memphis TN

May 2, 2017 – Book talk & Signing, Haddasah-Brandeis Institute Conversations, Baltimore MD

May 16, 2017 – “Breaking the Glass Ceiling,” Alliance of Black Women Attorneys of Maryland, Inc., The Simon Sobeloff Jewish Law Society, and The Women’s Bar Association of Maryland, held at The Associated, Baltimore, MD

May 18, 2017 – Book talk and Signing, JCC of Northern Virginia, Fairfax VA

May 20, 2017 – Panel Presentation, “Writing About Unknown Subjects,” Biographers International Organization Annual Conference, Boston, MA

June 3, 2017 – Book talk and signing, League of Women Voters of Baltimore County, Annual Meeting, Country Club of Maryland, Towson MD

September 7, 2017 – Guest Speaker, Annual Board Meeting, Central Scholarship, Baltimore MD

September 13, 2017 – Book talk & signing, Women’s Law Caucus, Columbus School of Law, Catholic University, Washington DC

September 18, 2017 – Book talk & signing, JCC of Northern Virginia, Leesburg, VA.

October 2, 2017 – Book talk & signing, Hadassah, Baltimore MD

October 5, 2017 – “Women and the Supreme Court,” National Archives, Washington DC. Panel presentation with Amy Howe, Judge Patricia Millett, Deanne Maynard, and Sarah Harrington.

November 4, 2017 – “The Religious Education of the Children of New Orleans’s Jewish  Orphans’ Home,” Southern Jewish Historical Society Conference. American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati OH.

November 29, 2017 – “Bessie Margolin and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials,” Language Lecture at the National World War II Museum, New Orleans, LA. Watch.

December 14, 2017 – Professional Affinities Event, The Associated, Miles & Stockbridge, Baltimore MD

2016

March 6, 2016 – Fair Labor Lawyer book launch sponsored by Jewish Children’s Regional Service, at Isidore Newman School, New Orleans, LA.

March 9, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Tulane University Law School.

March 9, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Octavia Books, New Orleans, LA.

March 10, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Tulane University Book Store, New Orleans, LA

March 22, 2016 – Book talk, United States Department of Labor – Women’s Bureau, Washington, DC

March 24, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Goucher College, Townson, MD

March 30, 2016 – Interview by Tom Hall, host of Maryland Morning, WYPR 88.1 FM

March 30, 2016 – Book talk & signing, University of Baltimore School of Law in partnership with Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Writers LIVE Series, and University of Maryland School of Law

April 11, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Bar Association of Baltimore City, Mitchell Courthouse, Baltimore MD

April 16, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Baltimore CityLit Festival.

April 27, 2016 – “Shaping History: Women in Appellate Litigation,” Panel presentation with Honorable Diana G. Motz and Cate Stetson sponsored by HoganLovells US LLP, Baltimore MD

May 15, 2016 – Guest speaker, Professional Women’s Group Retreat, Baltimore MD

May 18, 2016 – Guest speaker, Chizuk Amuno Congregation Sisterhood Closing Dinner, Baltimore, MD

May 19, 2016 –  Book talk & signing, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore MD

May 21, 2016 – “Trailblazing Women” panel presentation, Gaithersburg Book Festival, Gaithersburg, MD. With John Norris and moderated by Maryland State Senator Cheryl Kagan. Watch C-SPAN video

May 25, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn NY

May 29, 2016 – Signing, Barnes & Noble, Reisterstown Road, Baltimore MD

June 4, 2016 – “Trial by Fire: Lessons From Publishing a First Biography,” panel presentation, Biographers International Organization 7th Annual Conference, Richmond, VA

June 8, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

June 12, 2016 – Shevuot Yom Limmud Book Talk, Congregation B’nai Israel, Baltimore, MD

June 15 & 16, 2016 – Meet & Greet, Maryland State Bar Association Joint Bench/Bar Conference, Ocean City, MD

June 18, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Roosevelt Reading Festival, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, NY. Watch video.

June 22, 2016 – Guest speaker, The Hamilton Street Club, Baltimore MD

June 24-25, 2016 – Meet & Greet, National Organization for Women 50th Anniversary Conference, Washington DC

July 18, 2016 – Guest Speaker, HogenLovells US LLP, Washington, DC

July 19, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, New York

September 8, 2016 – Guest speaker, Opening Luncheon, Brandeis University National Committee, Baltimore Chapter

September 8, 2016 – Fall speaker series, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, Baltimore MD

September 14, 2016 – Guest speaker, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, D.C. Circuit, Washington, DC

September 20, 2016 – Guest speaker, Women’s Book Group (private), Baltimore MD

September 30, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Baltimore Book Festival, Baltimore MD

September 28, 2016 – Guest lecture, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT. With introduction by Linda Greenhouse, the event was sponsored by Yale Law Library and Yale Law Women.

October 5, 2016 – Economic Policy Institute, Washington, DC. Panel presentation with Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League, Fatima Goss Graves, National Women’s Law Center, and United States Solicitor of Labor Patricia Smith.

October 15, 2016 – Book talk and signing, Humanities Tennessee’s Southern Festival of Books, Nashville TN

October 29, 2016 – “Biographies of Extraordinary Women,” Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA. Presentation with author Anne Boyd Rioux.

November 3, 2016 – “Coffee and conversation with Marlene Trestman, ’74,” Isidore Newman School Alumni Association, New Orleans, LA

November 5, 2016 – Presentation, “The Geographic and Social Journeys of the Children of New Orleans’s Jewish Orphans’ Home,” Southern Jewish Historical Society Annual Conference, Natchez, MS

November 6, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Houston ERJCC Annual Jewish Book Festival, Houston, TX

November 10, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Marcus JCC of Atlanta Book Festival, Atlanta, GA

November 16, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Senior Lawyers Section, Maryland State Bar Association, Baltimore, MD

November 18, 2016 – 39th Annual Book Fair & Authors’ Night, National Press Club, Washington, DC

December 4, 2016 – Book talk & signing, Kehila University, Congregation Kehila Chadasha, Bethesda MD

DJHS March 10, 2024
Memphis January 2024

“The Jewish Orphans’ Home of New Orleans and Its Ties to Tennessee,” January 2024, Presentation hosted by the Jewish Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South (Photo courtesy of Elaine Stegman)

Jewish Gen talk, Dec. 2023

Watch the video of Marlene’s December 2023 Zoom presentation for JewishGen, “Finding America’s Orphans: Lessons From Researching the Jewish Orphans’ Home of New Orleans.” Enter passcode: *VkkDD9U.

MSJE Book launch video

Watch the video of Marlene’s October 2023 book launch lecture at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience. 

Houston Yom Limmud 2024

Looking forward to talking about the many strong Texas ties to New Orleans’s Jewish Orphans’ Home at Yom Limmud, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, on February 4, 2024. 

Marlene at TJHS

Marlene Trestman speaks to the Texas Jewish Historical Society 2023 Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas about the many important links between Texas and the Jewish Orphans’ Home in New Orleans.

Watch C-SPAN video of Marlene’s 2021 presentation for the Supreme Court Historical Society.

Watch the video of Marlene’s 2021 presentation for the Center for Jewish History.

Watch the video of Marlene’s 2021 presentation for the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience.

Watch the video of Marlene’s 2021 presentation for the Baltimore Festival of Jewish Literature with authors Debbie Levy and Elaine Weiss.

Watch the video Marlene’s 2017 presentation at the National World War II Museum about Bessie Margolin and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. 

Watch C-SPAN Book TV video of Marlene’s 2016 appearance at Gaithersburg (MD) Book Festival.

Trestman at Roosevelt Reading Festival, C-Span

Watch C-SPAN video of Marlene’s 2016 presentation at Roosevelt Reading Festival.

Marlene with Yale law professor and former NYT Supreme Court correspondent Linda Greenhouse in 2016.