Livermore, CA - Continuing the second year of the exciting partnership where Bankhead Presents The Rae Dorough Speaker Series, Livermore Valley Arts is honored to share a powerful speaker for the Tri-Valley this March. At age 14, gaining national attention after being abducted from her Salt Lake City home, Elizabeth Smart is an American child safety activist and ABC News commentator who, on Sunday, March 30, will be speaking on Overcoming Adversity: The Elizabeth Smart Story Abduction Survivor, Founder of Elizabeth Smart Foundation, Inspiring Communicator of Hope. This powerful story of survival in the 2024—2025 RDSS season will definitely move and inspire the Tri-Valley; this poignant matinee speaker performance will take place at the beautiful Bankhead Theater in Downtown Livermore.

The abduction of Elizabeth Smart was one of the most followed child abduction cases of our time. Smart was abducted on June 5, 2002, and her captors controlled her by threatening to kill her and her family if she tried to escape. Fortunately, the police safely returned Smart back to her family on March 12, 2003, after being held prisoner for 9 grueling months. Through this traumatic experience, Smart has become an advocate for change related to child abduction, recovery programs, and National legislation. Elizabeth triumphantly testified before her captor and the world about the very private nightmare she suffered during her abduction, which led to a conviction. Founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, Smart has also helped promote The National AMBER Alert, The Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act, and other safety legislation to help prevent abductions. Smart has chronicled her experiences in The New York Times best-selling book, My Story. In addition, she and other abduction survivors worked with the Department of Justice to create a survivor’s guide, entitled, You’re Not Alone: The Journey From Abduction to Empowerment, meant to encourage children who have gone through similar experiences not to give up but to know that there is hope for a rewarding life.

Smart’s abduction and recovery continue to motivate parents, law enforcement, and leaders worldwide to focus on children’s safety. She emphasizes vigilance by everyday people and the belief that hope always exists to find every missing child. Smart’s example is a daily demonstration that there really is life after a tragic event. Smart attended Brigham Young University, studying music as a harp performance major. She married her husband Matthew in 2012. Bankhead Presents The Rae Dorough Speaker Series is proud to be bringing such an inspiring speaker to the Tri-Valley on March 30. Audiences do not want to miss this unforgettable, powerful afternoon. This speaking engagement is sponsored in part by Jean King.

Tickets for all shows in the 2024—2025 Bankhead Presents season are available online, by calling 925-373-6800, or at the box office windows. For a complete list of events, visit LivermoreArts.org.

The speaker series honors the late Rae Dorough, a respected Livermore resident and strong supporter of cultural events. Members of her family and friends were the initiating sponsors in 2008. The series features provocative, entertaining, and enlightening presentations on a wide variety of topics. Past speakers have included engineers, scientists, fiction and non-fiction writers and historians, entrepreneurs, comedians and entertainers, diplomats, astronauts, journalists, and even a former secretary of defense. Sponsored in part by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, Sandia National Laboratories, the Alameda County Arts Commission, Towne Center Books, and ImageSetters, the Rae Dorough series also partners with the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District and Las Positas College to provide free or reduced-price tickets to students and educators. Additionally, individual and corporate supporters help sponsor specific presentations.

Date/Time: Sunday, March 30, 2025, at 3:00pm

Tickets: $25-$65 ($25 student/military personnel) / Groups of 10 or more save 20%