The Bob Graham Center for Public Service provides a wide variety of programs for students and the larger public on topics related to public service, public leadership and civic engagement.
- This event has passed.
2025 Joan B. Forrest Women in Leadership Forum
March 12 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Bob Graham Center Student Fellows joined with the Bob Graham Center for Public Service to host the 2025 Joan S. Forrest Women in Leadership Forum on March 12, 2025 at 5:30 pm in the Pugh Hall Ocora.
Panelists were Gwen Graham, Teresa Cornacchione, Pegeen Hanrahan and Max Tuchman.
A recording of the event can be accessed at: https://www.youtube.com/live/82_vTVFwnCQ?si=HZLJ7PaBQy6H5ECl
A photo archive of the event is available at: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC5p9X
Gwen Graham, JD is the daughter of former Florida Senator and Governor Bob Graham. She served as the former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education. She has a distinguished career spanning law and politics, including as Chief of Labor and Employee Relations at the Leon County School District and as a Congresswoman from Florida’s Second Congressional District as the first woman ever elected from the Panhandle. She is also the proud mom of a daughter and two sons.
Teresa Cornacchione, PhD is the Civic Engagement Coordinator for the Bob Graham Center for Public Service. She earned her doctorate in political science from Florida State University in 2018. She has 20 years of teaching experience at both the secondary and the postsecondary levels, and has also served as an policy analyst in the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
Max Tuchman, MPP, MBA is the Co-Founder of Caribu, an interactive video-calling platform for kids, which was sold to Mattel. She has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Female Founders by Entrepreneur and Inc. Magazines. Max previously served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury under President Obama. She holds a B.A. from New College of Florida, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Pegeen Hanrahan, ME is a registered Professional Engineer and Associate Director of Conservation Finance Director for Trust for Public Land. A native and lifelong resident, she served Gainesville, Florida, as its Mayor from 2004-2010, and as a City Commissioner from 1996-2002, leaving office both times as a result of term limits. Pegeen holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Florida in Environmental Engineering, and a B.A. in Sociology, all with honors.