Past Speaker

BETTY FORD: First Lady, Women's Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer

New York Times bestselling authors Lisa McCubbin and former Secret Service Agent Clint Hill provided remarkable insight into the life of former First Lady Betty Ford. Lisa McCubbin, award-winning journalist and the author of four New York Times bestselling books, spoke on her newest release, Betty Ford: First Lady, Women's Advocate, Survivor, Trailblazer.

The landmark biography profiles one of our time's most admired and influential women. A collaboration with Fresh Start Women's Foundation, the O'Connor Institute Distinguished Speakers Series luncheon held Wednesday, November 28, 2018, at the Phoenix Country Club was sold out. Barbara Anderson was the Presenting Sponsor and Book Sponsor, generously providing each guest a complimentary copy of the new book.

Following McCubbin's remarks, Agent Hill joined her onstage for Q&A, answering audience questions spanning topics from Betty Ford to the five American presidents Agent Hill served. After the luncheon, the authors participated in a book signing for those in attendance.

Honorary Co-Chairs were Barbara Anderson and O'Connor Institute Board Co-Chair Gay Firestone Wray, with community leader Marlene Klotz-Collins serving as Luncheon Chair. The Host Committee included Ambassador Barbara Barrett, Deborah Bateman, Maryglenn Boals, Gena Bonsall, Sallie Brophy, Michele and Matt Feeney, Penny Gunning, Peter Hayes, Frances Haynes, Jane Jozoff, Patricia Nicholas, Pat Petznick, Terry Roman, Diane Ruebling, Judy Schubert, Beverly Stewart and Natalie Vandeventer.

The biography reveals how Betty Ford refused to be silenced by her critics as she publicly championed equal rights for women and spoke out about issues that had previously been taboo - breast cancer, depression, abortion, and sexuality. Privately, there were signs something was wrong. After a painful intervention by her family, she admitted to an addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. Her courageous decision to speak out publicly sparked a national dialogue, and in 1982, she co-founded the Betty Ford Center, which revolutionized treatment for alcoholism and inspired the modern concept of recovery.

Lisa McCubbin originally met Clint Hill while writing The Kennedy Detail in 2011. Agent Hill is best known for leaping onto the back of President Kennedy's limousine as shots were fired in Dallas in 1963. McCubbin convinced him that his stories were history, and the two subsequently penned three memoirs together chronicling his remarkable career. Mrs. Kennedy and Me became a number one New York Times bestseller, followed by Five Days in November and Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.