Brown Bag Lecture Series 2026

Janet Naughton

Passionate about Florida’s social, architectural, and environmental history, Naughton has written or co-authored more than a dozen books. Her titles include Pioneering Palm Beach: The Deweys and the South Florida Frontier, Legendary Locals of West Palm Beach, and The Crystal Ball Chronicles, all co-authored with Ginger L. Pedersen, as well as several volumes in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America and Vintage Postcard series.

Her fascination with Florida’s built environment and the stories behind it led her to William Manly King Jr., whose influence on South Florida’s architecture had long been overlooked. This book grew out of years of research, community history work, and a desire to preserve the stories behind the structures we often pass without notice.

Known for her meticulous use of primary sources, Naughton approaches research like a detective, cross-checking historic records, photographs, and firsthand accounts to separate fact from myth. Inspired since childhood by Nancy Drew’s love of clue-hunting, she thrives on tracking down elusive evidence, exploring historic landmarks, and leading tours such as the Moonlight Cemetery Tours of Woodlawn Cemetery. When she’s not in the archives, she’s often pedaling Florida’s coastline, chasing stories that drift in with the tide.

Maria Drumm

World traveler, writer, award-winning photographer and teacher, Ms Drumm described her own experiences traveling along the ancient trade routes that became known as the Silk Road. She also talked about the cultural influences of the religions she encountered, put into historical context, in areas like Egypt, Uzebekistan, India, Cambodia, Vietnam and China – religions such as Islam, Nestorian Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism.

Her excellent photographs took you to the Buddhist caves of Dunhuang, the Hindu temple at Ellora, the Stepwells of India, Islamic mosques in China, Petra, an ancient temple compound in Egypt that bore the marks of three great religions, and many other sites that Westerners rarely travel to. Her photographs were not just of monuments and landscapes. They also showed the people and the way they live now, in some areas very similar to that of their ancestors.  You can see some of these photographs in her 2014 book, Silk Road Journeys, and on her website.

Ms Drumm stressed that “For over a thousand years, the Silk Road was more than a series of trade routes for silk and other products. Ideas and philosophies were exchanged and molded by local cultures.” Her talk was a unique way to help us understand the religions and cultures along those routes.

Brian Reagh 

Brian is a former teacher turned librarian who specializes in creative technology and making. As the overseer of the Creative Edge Studio, a DIY-focused makerspace at the Boynton Beach City Library, Brian works closely with members of the community on hands-on creative projects. He has assisted small business owners, event planners, and artists in finding practical and inventive ways to use tools such as 3D printing, laser cutting, and sublimation to bring their ideas to life.

Jackie Schneider

Jackie Schneider, MS RD LDN is a Registered Dietitian for Baptist Health working in the Clinical Nutrition Department at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. She is also the founder of Well Up Nutrition, a private outpatient nutrition practice in Boca Raton, FL. Jackie earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a Master’s Degree in Clinical Nutrition at New York University. She completed her clinical training through NYU at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, with concentrations in medical nutrition therapy for oncology and cancer treatment, renal disease, liver disease, diabetes management, cardiovascular disease, post-surgery care, weight-loss, weight gain, allergies/sensitivities, and food-drug interactions. Jackie has worked with a variety of clients in acute and outpatient settings and has extensive experience counseling men, women, and teens with health concerns ranging from cardiovascular disease, GI health, renal issues, and weight loss to fertility, diabetes, hypertension, and more. In addition to nutrition counseling, Jackie also presents workshops and lectures to businesses, universities, and community organizations and writes articles, content, and programming for companies and media outlets.

Boynton Beach Garden Club

Back in 1938, Boynton Beach was a small village shaking off its farming roots, growing into a thriving town with civic pride and great ambitions. 

A small group of women banded together to form the Boynton Beach Garden Club, organized by its first president Bertha Chadwell. The club’s goal was to encourage home and civic beautification; the goals today are versions of the same, though greatly expanded.

One of the club’s early projects was the planting of trees. The old Boynton Beach High School, located at Seacrest and Ocean, received two magnificent Ceiba pentrandra trees (of the Kapok family).  Decades later, Boynton’s Town Square Redevelopment Project endangered the survival of the area’s prized trees, including one the club had planted. In 2020, our club, along with other civic organizations, saved the surviving 55-foot tall, 65 year-old tree from destruction. A two-year project, which required the pruning of roots and limbs, used a crane to move the kapok tree across the street—where it can be enjoyed today!

Another early project was to have a proper cemetery. Members worked tirelessly on the project for years, and in 1952, the club turned that cemetery over to the City of Boynton Beach. 

Club members started a fine collection of horticultural books that was eventually incorporated into Boynton Beach’s first public library. 

In 1953, the Boynton Beach Garden Club expanded its horizons to state and national levels when it became a member of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, and thus a member of the National Garden Clubs.

At one time, Route 1 was the only highway to run up the eastern coast. When it was widened and named Federal Highway, Boynton Beach Garden Club undertook the planting and maintaining of two full miles of it. In 1968, we also donated a Blue Star Memorial Marker, which was placed at the northern edge of the city to honor the country’s servicemen and women. The marker has since been renovated and the site landscaped. Our members participate in an annual ceremony at the site every November to honor veterans.

Today, the club works together with the City of Boynton Beach to maintain a number of community gardens and various other beautification efforts around the city. We meet once a month, always with an interesting program. Several times a year, we have hands-on workshops and get togethers for fundraisers, enjoy bus trips, carpool trips, and much more.