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Admiral James Stavridis

Wednesday, October 08, 2025 @ 6:00pm



Grunin Center - Main Stage
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754

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About Admiral James Stavridis

A Florida native, Jim Stavridis attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, and spent 37 years in the Navy, rising to the rank of 4-star Admiral. Among his many commands were four years as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and counter piracy off the coast of Africa. He also commanded US Southern Command in Miami, charged with military operations through Latin America for nearly three years. He was the longest-serving Combatant Commander in recent US history. Following his military career, he served for five years as the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. He led the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks. Admiral Stavridis was promoted directly from 1-star rank to 3- star rank in 2004.

He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational leadership, along with more than 50 US and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat.

In 2016, he was vetted for Vice President by Secretary Hillary Clinton, and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position with President Donald Trump.

He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student. He speaks Spanish and French.

Admiral Stavridis has published thirteen books on leadership, character, risk, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. An active user of social networks, he has tens of thousands of connections. His TED talk on 21st century security in 2012 has close to one million views. He tweeted the end of combat operations in the Libyan NATO intervention. Two of his most popular books are the novel 2034: A Novel of the Next World War which was a New York Times bestseller and is being published in 22 languages; and To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and The Crucible of Decision. His most recent book, The Admiral’s Bookshelf, highlights twenty-five essential leadership lessons drawn from classic works of literature.

Admiral Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and Chief International Security Analyst for NBC News.

He is happily married to Laura, and they have two daughters – one working at Google and the other a Nurse Practitioner and former naval officer, both married to physicians.

The sponsors of the Blauvelt Speaker Series have generously underwritten the cost of tickets for this program. 

The Blauvelt Speaker Series is funded in part by the generosity of the late Bradford Thomas & Eleanor G. Blauvelt and the Wintrode Family Foundation.




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EVENT PREVIEWS

(UNION, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG) presents the East Coast premiere of Destroying David at the DMK Theater at Union Arts Center from October 9-18 and at the Sieminski Theater from October 23-25, 2026. Destroying David is a thrilling, witty and heartfelt solo show about the power of art to help us through our darkest hours. The play is written and performed by Emmy Award-nominee Jason Odell Williams. ATG's new Producing Artistic Director Charlotte Cohn will direct.



NJPAC

NJPAC presents Comedian Darren Fleet on October 23rd

(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents a night of comedy with acclaimed comedian Darren Fleet on Friday, October 23, 2026 at 8:00pm. Audiences are invited to experience the unique brand of humor that has made Fleet one of the most talked-about comedians on today's entertainment scene.



Monmouth

Monmouth Arts to Honor George Clinton, Dorothea Bongiovi, Harlan Coben, Nicole Atkins and PNC Bank Arts Center at Annual Gala

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- Monmouth Arts presents BRING ON THE FUNK: Where the Arts Get Down, an unforgettable celebration of music, creativity, culture, and community taking place on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at the iconic The Asbury Hotel and Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park. The evening will honor an extraordinary lineup of trailblazers and cultural leaders whose work has made a lasting impact across music, literature, community service, and the arts.



Outpost

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