The Westport Library welcomes business executive, government official, academic, and author Fred Hochberg in conversation with Westporter Steve Parrish for a discussion of global trade policy, including President Trump’s tariff strategy, and other current events.

During a career that has spanned almost 50 years, Fred Hochberg has served as: Chairman and CEO of the Export Import Bank of the United States during the Obama Administration; Acting Administrator of the Small Business Administration during the Clinton Administration; Dean of the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy at The New School University; and President and Chief Operating Officer of the Lillian Vernon Corporation. Fred is also the author of Trade Is Not a Four-Letter Word, published by Simon & Schuster and described as “a rousing, well-argued defense of global trade in a time of isolationist entrenchment."

Steve Parrish is the retired Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs at Altria Group, Inc. and the founder of Steve Parrish Consulting Group, LLC. Additionally, Parrish is the co-chair of the Library’s Common Ground Initiative.

The Common Ground Initiative is The Westport Library’s forum for public discourse on topical issues of importance to the community. The goals of the Initiative are to: host a positive, productive conversation on how we work together to move forward as a civil society; encourage respectful, constructive dialogue; and build capacity to tackle challenging and/or controversial issues.