Honoring the Past, Illuminating the Future: Finlandia Foundation’s Lecturer of the Year in Washington, D.C.
Written By:
Finlandia Foundation
Contributed by Andrea Rasmussen, President of Finlandia Foundation National Capital Chapter
In a room where history once gathered, we gathered again.
On a spring evening in Washington, D.C., the Finlandia Foundation National Capital Chapter hosted its Annual Kalevala Dinner at the historic Gadsby’s Tavern: a place where George Washington himself once dined, where early American leaders shaped a nation, and where echoes of the past still linger in the walls.
This year’s celebration carried a deeper resonance. As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, we are invited not only to look back—but to remember who helped build this country, and whose stories are still being uncovered and shared.
For generations, Finnish Americans, Finns, and friends of Finland have contributed to the fabric of this nation. Their stories are woven quietly into the broader American narrative—through perseverance, through community, through sisu.
The evening also offered a moment of reflection. We honored the lives of two cherished members of the chapter—Janice Pakonen Foley and Karin Rahkonen—whose dedication, warmth, and spirit continue to shape the community they helped build. Their legacy lives on not only in memory, but in action—in every gathering, every shared story, every act of cultural preservation.
As guests looked around the historic ballroom, they stood not only in a place of American history, but within a living continuum of it.
The program brought together distinguished guests, including Finlandia Foundation National Executive Director Thomas Flanagan, and honored Anne-Mari Paster, alongside members of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution—bridging past and present through shared heritage and civic pride.
At the heart of the evening was the 2026 Finlandia Foundation Lecturer of the Year, John E. Smith III, known as Jay.
A public historian and archivist, Jay has dedicated years to researching the life and legacy of John Morton—one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence—uncovering his Finnish roots and the cultural influences that shaped his role in the founding of the United States.
In this milestone year leading up to America’s 250th anniversary, his lecture offered something powerful: a reminder that the story of America is not singular. It is layered, multicultural, and still unfolding. Finnish heritage, often overlooked in early American history, is part of that story.
And now, it is being brought to light.
Through research, storytelling, and reflection, this lecture connects past to present—revealing how identity, migration, and cultural values helped shape the ideals of a nation.
As we move forward into this historic year, Finlandia Foundation National is proud to carry this story across the country. The 2026 Lecturer of the Year program will continue to travel to chapters nationwide, sharing this important and timely narrative with communities from coast to coast.
Because history is not only something we inherit.
It is something we continue to tell.
—and in telling it, we shape what comes next
Photos by Daniela Herrera-Michaca