Conversations on the Green

Reaches New Heights

For the past 10 years Washington CT and its environs have had the unique opportunity to attend Conversations on the Green—the brainchild of Jane Whitney and her husband, Lindsey Gruson.

The eight-month series, held one Sunday each month, attracted sizeable crowds to the assembly room at Washington Montessori to hear some of the most renowned politicians and members of the press speak their minds. Everyone from Chris Murphy, Ari Melber, David Jolley, Jahanna Hayes, Joy Reid and Chris Hayes—to name but a few—were charmed and cajoled by Whitney, the queen of the moderators, to come to Litchfield County to respond to her questions and challenges.

Whitney, a 25-year veteran of television news, anchoring for PBS, CNN and CNBC, and Gruson, a former correspondent for The New York Times, came up with the concept for the show as a means to raise money for local charities.

“A group of local people wanted to start a speakers’ series but it never quite got off the ground,” explains Gruson. “As a reporter I have learned that it doesn’t matter what the topic is. People want to hear and learn from experts in their fields and so we decided to pursue that goal by inviting the best of the best to come and share their knowledge and expertise.”

Little did Whitney and Gruson realize that it would become the success that it is.

“It is a true labor of love,” says Whitney. We don’t pay these speakers but people love coming to the Litchfield Hills and many of them made a weekend out of their appearances on the panel.”

All that changed more than a year ago when the pandemic became a reality—something we are still experiencing. There would be no more live audiences.

“The animating spirit remains the same, giving people a voice on topical issues,” says Whitney. “But the forum and delivery system are totally different. When you do it with a studio audience, the audience drives the conversation in some measure. Guests sitting there can interrupt one another and have cross talks. What we have now is 90- minutes of uninterrupted Q&A, basically. The energy is totally different. Some people prefer this format but it doesn’t have the energy of the studio audience.”

Either way, COG has caught on and gets better and better in spite of the technical challenges and changes.

“Only the delivery system has changed,” asserts Whitney. “There are now two components: the virtual event, live screen for 90- minutes on the Vimeo platform and people pay $25. Then those 90 minutes are edited down to an hour broadcast.

“It hasn’t changed our approach to the guests,” she continued. “It’s made it easier to get guests because they don’t have to travel; they can do it from their bedroom—and sometimes they have. It’s altered the gestalt of the show. But in normal times, I don’t think we would have been able to get Madeline Albright or Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Jon Meacham, or David Axelrod—all of whom were part of our 2020 roster.”

The shows have now been picked up by PBS, increasing Whitney’s visibility. Prior to the broadcast, viewers are invited to submit questions. Thus, during the Q&A segment nowadays, it is not uncommon to have someone from Germany or England appear with a question for the speakers.

But with the increase in visibility, and with Whitney’s determination to bring the best and brightest to her show, comes more pressure and more planning.

“Laura Neminski is our executive director, but mostly we rely on volunteers,” says Whitney. “We operate on a shoestring, both financially and organizationally. But this year we are going from eight shows to 13—all on national television!”

“In most cases,” she added, “we do topics that are evergreen, viable topics that impact people worldwide, like foreign affairs and climate change.”

The COG season officially begins May 2nd with Life Beyond the Pandemic, featuring Drs. Anthony Fauci, Michael Osterholm, Kavita Patel and Anne Rimoin.

Eddie Glaude Jr, Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, will speak on Dreaming the Impossible Dream while another program features Former CIA Director John Brennan and Representative Elissa Slotkin, chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Terrorism. They will discuss The Threat Within: Rise of Domestic Terrorism.

COG will continue to donate to local charities which include Greenwoods Counseling Referrals, Inc, Susan B. Anthony Project and the New Milford Hospital. Added this year is the American Nurses Foundation Corona Virus Fund.

Even with all this success, Whitney looks forward to the day she once again can wend her way down the aisles of the Montessori auditorium to field questions from the audience.