Theodore Roosevelt & the Secret Power of Sisters | Ed OKeefe | TEDxFargo

In his recent book, The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President, Edward F. O’Keefe contends that perhaps the most masculine president in the American memory is actually the product of unsung and extraordinary women. O’Keefe, who serves as the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, reintroduces five women lost to history who were critical to TR’s success: his mother, two sisters, and two wives. In his TEDx Fargo talk, O’Keefe focuses on Bamie and Conie, respectively TR’s elder and younger sister. One, according to her contemporaries, could have been president were she born a man. The other was essentially TR’s co-governor of New York State — yet neither is broadly known today. Come to hear about Theodore Roosevelt and the secret power of sisters — and think about how the thread of family, those who have picked you up and pushed you forward, have changed the trajectory of your life. Edward F. O’Keefe was born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota (go Rough Riders!) He is currently the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Previously, he spent two decades in broadcast and digital media at ABC News, CNN, and NowThis, during which time he received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work with Anthony Bourdain, two Webby Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award for ABC’s coverage of 9/11. A former fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, he graduated with honors from Georgetown University. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx