Expertise: Classic Films

Available for in-person lectures in: All Markets

Available via Zoom? Yes

To book Dan, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com

A lifelong film lover, Dan Hudak has worked extensively as a film critic in print, radio and television. He has provided film reviews and commentary for WPLG-TV (ABC) Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, ABCNews.com, the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, CNN.com, indieWIRE.com, New Orleans Times-Picayune, Newsday, Orlando Sentinel, San Francisco Examiner and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

He is the owner of Hudak On Hollywood, Inc., and his popular "Hudak On Hollywood" lectures are given throughout the United States. He is the former chairman of the Florida Film Critics Circle and a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association. He studied Film History and Criticism at Bard College and the University of Miami, where he received his M.A. in Film Studies. To give Dan a piece of your mind, e-mail him at dan@hudakonhollywood.com.

Expertise: Classical & Pop Music

Available for in-person lectures in: Minneapolis

Available via Zoom? Yes

To book Karen, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com

Professor Karen Painter has taught music history to musicians and non-majors for nearly three decades—at Dartmouth College, Harvard University, and since 2007 at the University of Minnesota. An expert on musical listening in past eras, Painter loves engaging with a broader public on the subject of classical music, music in film, and popular music. She has organized scholarly events for the public, working with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Ojai Festival, the Berlin Academy, and the Friends of the Salzburg Festival. Painter’s past lecture venues include the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera, and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Painter has published widely in scholarly journals as well as edited or authored books with academic presses.

Expertise: Minnesota's Caves

Available for in-person lectures in: Minneapolis

Available via Zoom? Yes

To book Greg, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com

Greg Brick Ph.D. was employed as a hydrogeologist at several environmental consulting firms and has taught geology at local colleges and universities. He has published more than 200 articles and was the recipient of the 2005 Cave History Award from the National Speleological Society. His first book, Iowa Underground: A Guide to the State’s Subterranean Treasures, was published by Trails Media Group in 2004. His second book, Subterranean Twin Cities, published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2009, won an award from the American Institute of Architects. His third book, Minnesota Caves: History and Lore, was published by The History Press in 2017 and was nominated for the Minnesota Book Awards. His latest project, Caves and Karst of the Upper Midwest, published in 2021, is an academic volume of contributed chapters by experts on each of the states covered. His work has been featured in National Geographic Adventure magazine as well as on the History Channel. He has led guided tours of caves for the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota College of Continuing Education. He established the Minnesota Spring Inventory at the DNR and mapped thousands of springs around the state.

Expertise: Jazz & Rock n' Roll

Available for in-person lectures in: Minneapolis

Available via Zoom? No

To book John, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com

Dr. John Leisenring is a long-time teacher and professional musician, having taught music for forty years, and performed as a trombonist for almost seventy years. Dr. Leisenring taught at the University of Texas-Austin, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

He has performed for some 20 years with the KC Opera Orchestra, the KC Ballet Orchestra, and as a jazz musician in some 20 states and nine foreign countries, including jazz festivals in Sydney, Melbourne, Berlin, Montreux, and Newport twice. John’s University teaching involved, among other coursework, classes in the History and Development of American Music: Jazz and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Expertise: American History, Civil War

Available for in-person lectures in: Minneapolis

Available via Zoom? Yes

To book Stefan, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com

Stefan Lund is a Minneapolis native and with nearly a decade of experience as an educator and writer in the field of American history. He received his PhD in history in 2022 after five years of work at the University of Virginia’s John Nau Center for Civil War History and now teaches college-level U.S. history to Twin Cities area high school students. His peer-reviewed work has appeared in the Annals of Iowa historical journal and his writing about American history has been published by the Washington Post and Star Tribune. Stefan began offering adult enrichment courses focusing on nineteenth-century America in 2022 with a series of lectures on the origins of the American Civil War and another on the Civil War’s influence on American art. With a passion for the early history of the United States Stefan enjoys discussing anything from the Revolutionary crisis to the Reconstruction period.

Expertise: Classical Music, Ballet, Opera

Available for in-person lectures in: Minneapolis

Available via Zoom? Yes

To book Daniel, e-mail: dan@hudakonhollywood.com

Daniel E. Freeman is a music historian of international repute born in Everett, Washington. He has taught music history at the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, and the University of Minnesota. He also appears regularly as a lecturer for the Smithsonian Institution. He is also a pianist with experience as a soloist and accompanist for instrumentalists, vocalists, and dancers.