Join us for our Annual Gala on November 6th
Support the American Irish Historical Society as we become a focal point of the contemporary transatlantic Irish experience, a place where current public issues are explored, where the story of the American Irish is studied and reviewed, and where the great renaissance in Irish culture is celebrated in lectures, concerts, performances, and art exhibits. Immerse yourself in the grandeur of the Gilded Age and honor the philanthropic spirit which has been the backbone of the Irish American community. Your presence continues our legacy of education, culture, and heritage.
6.30PM Cocktails followed by an 8PM Dinner, Awards, and Performance here in our stunning home at 991 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028.
Our Honorees:
Tom Higgins & Captain Scott Kelly
GOLD MEDAL HONOREE
As Head of General Services at Fiserv Inc, Tom Higgins is responsible for global real estate, global sourcing, geopolitical analysis, workplace strategy, physical security and investigations, enterprise business continuity, crisis management, and aviation. He is the driving force behind the company’s military and veteran’s affairs function, which focuses on the employment of military members, their spouses and veterans who have sacrificed much to serve their country.
Higgins served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of First Data Corporation prior to its combination with Fiserv in 2019. Prior to joining First Data, he served on the Executive Committee and was the Head of Operational Control at JPMorgan Chase & Co, where he also led the company’s military and veteran’s initiatives. Previously, Higgins spent 24 years in the public sector in national security and foreign policy, including as a member of the Senior Executive Service with the U.S. Government.
Higgins is a graduate of the State University of New York-Maritime College. He attended the U.S. Naval War College and completed the Program on Leadership for Senior Executives at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. He is a U.S. Navy veteran and serves on a number of charitable boards including the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation, OSS Society, Business Executives for National Security, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, USO of Greater New York, Meridian International Center, Wilson Center, and the Tug McGraw Foundation.
AWARD OF COURAGE
Scott Kelly is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Navy Captain and an experienced test pilot having logged more than 15,000 hours of flight time in more than 40 different aircraft and spacecraft. A former fighter pilot, Kelly flew the F-14 Tomcat aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Kelly was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1996.
A veteran of four space flights, he piloted Space Shuttle Discovery to the Hubble space telescope in 1999 and, subsequently, commanded Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to the International Space Station in 2007. His long-duration space flight experience includes two flights on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, launching and landing from Kazakhstan and two stays aboard the International Space Station as commander, the first a 159-day mission in 2010-2011 followed by his recorded-breaking 340-day mission to the ISS in 2015. During his yearlong mission, known worldwide as the “Year In Space,” he conducted three spacewalks before returning home in March 2016. His Year in Space Mission was chronicled in a Time magazine documentary series and an Emmy Award winning PBS special. Kelly has traveled more than 200 million miles, which is more than twice the distance to the Sun and has orbited the Earth more than 8,300 times.
Kelly has received many awards and honors, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was on the cover of TIME Magazine in December 2014 and was named one of its 100 Most Influential People in 2015. Kelly also was recognized at the 2015 State of the Union Address by United States President Barrack Obama. Kelly is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and a member of the Association of Space Explorers. He is a highly sought after public speaker who exemplifies leadership while testing the limits of the human spirit and endurance. In 2016 he published a New York Times bestseller memoir Endurance, A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery. More recently he published Infinite Wonder – a collection of extraordinary images he photographed aboard the International Space Station, also a New York Times bestseller.
Kelly is married to Amiko a former NASA public affairs officer and has two children, Samantha and Charlie from a previous marriage. His identical twin brother Mark, is also a former NASA astronaut and the current junior US Senator from Arizona.
PACKAGES
Chair Leadership - $50,000
Committee Table - $25,000
Committed Supporter - $12,500
Loyal Patron Ticket - $1,000