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.
This year, we kicked off this year’s Global Summit with President Barack Obama. We also welcomed 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.
The Producers Behind Ken Burns Award-Winning PBS Documentaries
Location: Gannon University Waldron Campus Center - 628 Peach St, Erie, PA 16501
Date/Time: Tuesday, November 10th 7:00-8:30pm
Admission: Early Bird Pricing - General Admission $25.75 / Preferred Seating $51.50
*If you do NOT receive an email from info@jeserie.org within 24-48 hours regarding your registration, please check your spam or junk folder. Thank you!
Sarah Botstein has worked with Ken Burns for nearly 30 years and produced some of his most popular and acclaimed documentaries on PBS. Most recently, she produced and co directed The American Revolution. Her previous work includes The U.S. and the Holocaust, Hemingway, College Behind Bars, The Vietnam War, Prohibition, The War, and Jazz. Botstein also works closely with PBS LearningMedia to develop educational materials as part of the Ken Burns Classroom, and she was an original contributor to Ken Burns's UNUM. Botstein is now working on a three-part series about Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society.
David Schmidt is the producer and co-director, along with Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, of The American Revolution, a six-part, 12-hour series, which premiered on PBS in the fall of 2025. Schmidt began working with Florentine Films as a researcher and apprentice editor for The Roosevelts (2014), while also supervising the documentary's seven-episode script. His research on The Vietnam War (2017) won him the Jane Mercer Footage Researcher of the Year award, and he also worked closely on that project with writer Geoffrey C. Ward and helped coordinate postproduction. With Burns, Schmidt also produced the two-part biography Benjamin Franklin (2022) for PBS.
A graduate of Dartmouth College with a degree in History, Schmidt grew up on the Virginia Peninsula within the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown—each site only minutes from his childhood home. He spent his summers working in the living history museum in Colonial Williamsburg and on the archaeological dig at Historic Jamestown. Those childhood experiences led him to pursue a career telling American history.
