Global Summit XVII sponsorship
Support the JES's mission of fostering dialogue for the Erie region on a global level.
Our audiences continue to show up to explore critical topics—from politics and global affairs to cutting-edge science, technology, sports, and more. And thanks to our sponsors, we’ve kept ticket prices unchanged since day one, ensuring that access to these powerful learning experiences remains open to all.
Last year, the 2024 Global Summit featured bold conversations on politics, sports, history, artificial intelligence, and social issues. It culminated in a landmark event: former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney in conversation with Erie’s own Sr. Joan Chittister—the largest event in JES history and the largest educational event ever held at the Bayfront Convention Center.
This year, we look forward to kicking off this year’s Global Summit with President Barack Obama. We will also host and welcome renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and community leader Jim Kelly, Vice President Mike Pence, and acclaimed historian Lindsay Chervinsky, plus many additional distinguished speakers who will engage and inspire audiences of all ages.
Whether you’ve sponsored the Global Summit before, supported other JES initiatives, or are considering a sponsorship for the first time, thank you for helping our community grow and thrive. Your support makes it possible for us to offer inclusive, high-quality programming that fosters civic engagement and civil dialogue—providing residents across Erie County with access to the ideas, conversations, and learning opportunities that matter most, especially in times when thoughtful public discourse is so urgently necessary.
If your organization is interested in becoming a Global Summit XVII sponsor, please contact Christine Gerlock by phone at 814-459-8000 or by email at gerlock@jeserie.org.
An Evening Exploring Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
An award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, and institution builder, Henry Louis Gates Jr. Has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films about Black history He is known for his groundbreaking genealogy and genetic series, "Finding Your Roots," which just concluded its 11th season and received an Emmy nomination.
Date/Time: Thursday, December 4, 2025 7:00-8:30PM
Location: Warner Theater, 811 State St, Erie, PA 16501
Admission:
- General Admission (Early Bird Pricing) $25
- Preferred Seating (Early Bird Pricing) $75 (Closest Section Near the Stage)
- Platinum Seating $250.00 (First Few Rows of Closest Section Near the Stage
Additional Fees: Amusement Tax, Processing Fee
Parking: TBD
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. An Emmy, Du Pont, and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, and institution builder, he has published numerous books and produced and hosted an array of documentary films about Black History, most recently Great Migrations (PBS, 2025). Gates’s groundbreaking genealogy and genetics series, Finding Your Roots, which received an Emmy nomination, just concluded its eleventh season. His latest book, The Black Box: Writing the Race (Penguin Random House, 2024), was named one of the New York Times 100 Best Books of the Year. Most recently, he was awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal from the NAACP and was elected an Honorary Fellow by the Royal Academy of Arts in England.
Gates is a recipient of a number of honorary degrees, including from his two alma maters, the University of Cambridge, and in May from Yale. He was a member of the first class awarded “genius grants” by the MacArthur Foundation in 1981, and in 1998 he became the first African American scholar to be awarded the National Humanities Medal. In 2001 he discovered the first novel written by a Black female author, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, by Hannah Craft.
A native of Piedmont, West Virginia, Gates earned his B.A. in History, summa cum laude, from Yale University in 1973, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature from Clare College at Cambridge in 1979, where he is also an Honorary Fellow. A former chair of the Pulitzer Prize board, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and serves on a wide array of boards, including the New York Public Library, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Aspen Institute, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Library of America, and The Studio Museum of Harlem. In 2011, his portrait, by Yuqi Wang, was hung in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. In 2023, his portrait, by Kerry James Marshall, was hung at the Fitzwilliam Museum at The University of Cambridge.
