Speaking and Media Appearances

Charles Euchner is available for speaking at colleges and universities, conferences, book festivals, and other events.

He frequently speaks on civil rights and political activism. He also delivers one- and two-day “boot camps” on writing.

Get samples of Charlie Euchner’s talks by clicking these links:

Past Audiences

Over his career as a journalist, professor, planner, and researcher, Euchner has spoken at a wide range of public forums –- including academic conferences, workshops for policy makers, professional associations, and community groups. In addition, he has appeared frequently on television and radio broadcasts, including “Nightline,” “Morning Edition,” “Only a Game,” and “Talk of the Nation.”

Conference and other speaking appearances have included:

American Planning Association: In a review of the City of Boston’s comprehensive initiative, which he coordinated from 1997 to 2000, Euchner argued on behalf of a ”consilience” approach to planning. Consilience refers to a “jumping together” of knowledge after a long process of consideration of facts and considerations from different realms of community life.

American Political Science Association: Euchner has given papers and served on panels for a number of national APSA conferences in Washington and Chicago. He has also spoken at regional meetings in Newark, Atlanta, Albuquerque, Springfield, and Philadelphia.

Atlanta Regional Conference: Speaking at an annual training session convened at St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, Euchner argued that the “smart growth” movement offered little potential for addressing the concerns that most matter to residents of either urban or suburban areas. Euchner suggested dropping the rhetoric of smart growth and instead adopt strategies to address issues with a greater salience — like crime, education, economic development, government efficiency. Such a strategy, he suggested, would have a greater potential for success than the abstract and finger-wagging rhetoric of the smart-growth movement. At an earlier gathering in Boston, Euchner explained how Boston’s experience might inform Atlanta’s regional planners.

Boston Charter Day: The founder and lead organizer of the first-ever celebration of Boston’s anniversary, Euchner moderated the 2003 panel discussion on the contribution of Boston to the national conservation movement.

Boston Society of Architects:  A regular participant in a yearlong “How We Live: A Civic Initiative for a Livable New England,” from 2000 to 2004, Euchner helped organize two events at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Build Boston: Euchner has participated in three annual panel discussion entitled “Tough Talk About Smart Growth” at Boston’s World Trade Center.

Freedom Forum: In a keynote address on media coverage of the politics of sports stadiums, Euchner
challenged reporters to be more aggressive and creative in their work.

Governor’s CEO Summit  for Greater Boston:  At the invitation of the administration of Governor Mitt Romney
moderated a summit of corporate executives. The summit included participation from Governor Romney and leading Cabinet officials on economic development.

Loudoun County Authors Series: Euchner spoke about his two books on baseball, The Last Nine Innings and Little League, Big Dreams, at the author series at the Loudoun County Public Library in Virginia in September 2006. The work of photographer Isabel Chenoweth, who covered the Little League World Series for the latter book, was on display at the library for two months.

Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth: In a public forum on the economic and community impacts of minor-league baseball, Euchner argued that cities hosting teams often pay too much to get any economic benefits. Independent leagues offer a greater chance to benefit, since their teams are not subject to the expensive stadium standards of major-league parent organizations. But even when stadiums come at no price to the locality, the benefits of teams are negligible.

National College Media Convention:  Euchner teaches his writing system at the annual convention in New York, which draws 1,200 college journalists from, across the country.

Pioneer Institute for Public Policy:  At the public forum to release a major report on housing regulations in Massachusettts, Euchner provided an overview of the report he authored for the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston and participated in the panel discussion.

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston: As executive director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Euchner moderated a number of conferences and panel discussions on topics, including educational reform, housing regulations, transportation policy, regional planning, urban parks, and public-sector management. Notable conferences included “The ‘D’ Word,”The Varieties of Regionalism,” and “Uncommon Ground.”

Regional Planning Association: Euchner spoke on a proposal for a new football stadiumfor the New York Jets on the West Side of Manhattan. The conference was a galvanizing event in the campaign against the stadium proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Richmond Events: Regular presenter to invitation-only conferences for CEOs and other Fortune 500 executives.

Vanderbilt Media Immersion: Every August Euchner teaches a two-day seminar on writing to incoming freshman. The program offers an interactive approach, in which students conduct interviews and write stories using the Elements of Writing approach.

Weiner Center for Public Policy: At the biennial gathering of the Urban Seminar on Children’s Health and Safety, coordinated by Harvard Professor William Julius Wilson, Euchner outlined seven simple rules for making social change in poverty and other policy areas.