Peabody and Emmy Award-Winning Journalist Mark Preston to Visit New England College for NEC’s President’s Speaker Series
Mark Preston, CNN’s Senior Political Analyst and Vice President of Political and Special Events Programming, will appear March 26 at this New England College community event.
Henniker, N.H. – New England College will welcome Mark Preston, Vice President of Political and Special Events Programming and a Senior Political Analyst for CNN Worldwide, on March 26 for a thought-provoking discussion on the state of U.S. politics as part of New England College’s President’s Speaker Series.
NEC President Dr. Wayne F. Lesperance, Jr. encourages all members of the NEC community to attend the 5:00 p.m. event at the Rosamond Page Putnam Center for the Performing Arts, emphasizing Mr. Preston’s visit comes at a time when “we are experiencing incredible and unprecedented change in our country.”
“We are honored to have Mark join us as part of our Speaker Series,” said Dr. Lesperance. “His deep insights and behind-the-scenes perspective will provide our students and community with a richer understanding of the political forces shaping our world today.”
For nearly 30 years, Mr. Preston has had a front-row seat to the most historic political stories from Bush v. Gore and the rise of Barack Obama and Donald Trump to some of the nation’s most tragic events including the September 11 terrorist attacks, Parkland High School shooting and the unsuccessful January 6, 2020, efforts to prevent the orderly transition of power.
Along the way, Mr. Preston has successfully navigated partisan political waters to play a critical role in securing the rights to produce more than 30 presidential debates—some of the most important in our nation’s history—ranging from historic 2007 CNN-YouTube presidential debates to the game-changing 2024 general presidential election debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Puck describes Mr. Preston as CNN’s “secret weapon…a gruff but affable Boston Irish Catholic who derives his charm from an unapologetic barroom vernacular. One longtime colleague aptly noted that his lack of diplomacy somehow makes him ‘the most diplomatic person ever,’ adding that such sincerity and authenticity have endeared him to operatives on both sides of the aisle.”
While focused on politics, Mr. Preston is also charged with helping to develop live primetime specials and has collaborated closely with entertainment icons such as Clive Davis to produce the first concert on New York’s Great Lawn post-COVID and Live Nation Urban to produce back-to-back Juneteenth concerts featuring some of the greatest African American entertainers of our generation at the Hollywood Bowl and Greek Theatre.
Leading this important installment of the President’s Speakers Series will be New Hampshire news veteran and NEC Assistant Professor of Communications Colleen McElveen.
New England College’s President’s Speaker Series brings influential voices to campus, fostering dialogue and intellectual engagement across a wide range of disciplines with previous speakers ranging from author and humorist Harrison Scott Key and Mastercard executive vice president Shamina Singh to New Hampshire business leader Jay Lucas; and Chard deNiord, Poet Laureate of Vermont from 2015–2019.
CONTACT:
Josh McElveen
603-540-7031
josh@mcelveenstrategies.com
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