GREAT Day 2025 Keynote: V Spehar

The Jack '76 and Carol '76 Kramer Endowed Lectureship

In 2008, Jack and Carol Kramer, both graduates of the class of 1976, established the Kramer Lecture endowed lectureship, which serves as the anchor for GREAT Day. The lectureship exemplifies the type of leadership, passion and dedication that permeate the Kramers’ lives. Jack and Carol approach life with a shared intensity and commitment to others, and Geneseo is blessed to count them among our most enthusiastic supporters. They serve as models to our students, our alumni and the Geneseo community as a whole. 

Keynote Speaker: V Spehar, "New Media Literacy" 

A focus on citizen education and combating misinformation in the complicated media environment that we live in.

Time and Location: Wednesday, April 23, 1:00 p.m., in Wadsworth Auditorium

image of person podcasting
V. Spehar (Source: collectivespeakers.com)

V Spehar (they/them), a Rochester-based LGBTQIA+ podcaster, online personality, and citizen journalist, launched Under the Desk News on TikTok in April 2020 with the aim to make news media less intimidating and easier to understand. 

Their one-minute segments have attracted a bipartisan audience and 2.9 million followers. In 2022, Spehar launched V Interesting, a GLAAD-nominated long-form podcast with original reporting that tackles various topics, from Gen Z voter engagement to gender-affirming surgery. 

Their reporting has taken them to the press room of the 2023 State of the Union to hosting NBC’s livestream of the Thanksgiving Day parade to speaking at UNESCO summits. This year, Spehar received a special achievement Webby for their concise and compassionate reporting.