Ann Kirschner Speaker & Booking Information

Ann Kirschner, acclaimed historian, author, and internationally recognized expert on technology and education, knows how to dig deep into history to find the untold stories of strong, determined women and bring them to life on the page. Her latest book, Lady at the O.K. Corral: The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp (Harper), tells the story of the woman who was Wyatt Earp's common law wife for almost 50 years. Josephine is the same woman who sparked the world's most famous gunfight and helped shape the legend of Wyatt Earp and the Wild West, yet her name has been nearly erased from history. At long last, Kirschner gives Josephine the recognition she deserves, detailing how an aspiring actress and dancer from New York landed in Tombstone, Arizona and stole the heart of the most famous lawman of the Old West. Josephine's story is a colorful one, full of ambition, adventure, self-invention, and devotion that proves to be a reflection of America itself, from the post Civil War years to World War II. An active speaker, Kirschner regularly appears at schools and universities, historical societies, libraries, corporations, and women's groups.

Kirschner is also the author of Sala's Gift: My Mother's Holocaust Story, the heartbreaking, true story of her own mother's survival in seven different Nazi labor camps. The book is based on a collection of more than 350 letters and a diary that Kirschner's mother kept hidden while she was in the labor camps. The original letters are now in a permanent collection at the New York Public Library and are the subject of a traveling exhibit in the United States and Europe. The book was also made into a theatrical play, Letters to Sala, by Arlene Hutton, and a documentary film, The Letter Carrier, by Murray Nossel.

Kirschner's eclectic career has kept her in the forefront of technology and education, beginning with the early days of cable and satellite television, as well as the birth of the Internet and social media. Her experience as an entrepreneur and co-founder of five start-up companies spans the developing world of digital media for communication, entertainment, and research. Her own career has unfolded within a wide variety of organizations, from nonprofits to start-ups to corporations. She has balanced her various roles as teacher, marketer, new product developer, technology evangelist, and CEO with 40 years of marriage and raising three children.

A writer and contributor to a variety of newspapers and other publications, Kirschner began her career as a lecturer in Victorian literature at Princeton University, where she earned a Ph.D. in English. She now serves as the Dean of Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York. An entrepreneur in media and technology, Kirschner created satellite and internet businesses for the National Football League and Columbia University's online education company, Fathom. She was named one of New York Magazine's Millennium New Yorkers and was honored as a distinguished graduate of Princeton University and the University of Buffalo. She also serves on the board of directors for numerous organizations, including Apollo, Public Agenda, the Jewish Women's Archive, and the Princeton University Graduate School Leadership Council. She lives in New York with her husband, Dr. Harold Weinberg, and is the mother of Elisabeth, Caroline, and Peter.