153rd Summer Assembly | August 30, 2026 

With the conclusion of Chautauqua Institution’s 2026 Summer Assembly, the Closing Three Taps ceremony offered a moment to reflect on the season and look ahead to the work and promise of the years to come. 

The evening marked the conclusion of Kyle Keogh’s service as Interim Chief Executive and the beginning of a new chapter under Chautauqua’s 19th president, Mark Coolidge Johnson. Keogh reflected on stewardship and the responsibility to pass Chautauqua forward. Board Chair Laurie Branch expressed the community’s gratitude for Keogh’s leadership during a consequential period of transition. Johnson then offered his first remarks to the community on the eve of beginning his presidency. 

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Kyle Keogh: “The Privilege of Stewardship” 

Kyle Keogh, Interim Chief Executive, Chautauqua Institution 

Good evening, Chautauqua. 

Nine weeks ago, we gathered here to begin another Chautauqua summer, and I talked about gratitude: gratitude for this place, for the people and programs that bring it to life, and for the opportunity we have each summer to come together as a community. 

As we reach the end of those nine weeks, I find myself returning to that idea but thinking about it a little differently. Gratitude is partly about recognizing what we’ve been given. Stewardship is about deciding what we’re going to do with it. 

All of us, in one way or another, have been given something extraordinary here. Some of you inherited Chautauqua quite literally. Your parents or grandparents brought you here, and a Chautauqua summer has been part of your family for as long as you can remember. Others discovered this place later, including some of you who experienced Chautauqua for the first time this summer, and began making it part of your own lives. 

But what we’ve been given isn’t simply these grounds, the Amphitheater or nine weeks of programs. It’s an idea: that there is value in bringing people together to think, to listen, to experience, to challenge themselves and to know one another. 

For me, that has become deeply personal. My family loves Chautauqua, and watching this place become part of who my children are has been one of my life’s great gifts. They’ve encountered music and art and ideas here. They’ve learned to be curious and to ask questions. I believe they are better because Chautauqua has been part of their lives. 

So when we talk about caring for Chautauqua for the next generation, that doesn’t feel abstract to me. They’re my kids. They’re your children and grandchildren. They’re already here, developing their own relationship with this place and, in many cases, their own very strong opinions about it. 

They’re already inheriting Chautauqua. The question for the rest of us is what we will give them. 

None of what we experienced this summer simply happened. Employees spend an entire year preparing for these nine weeks. Artists, speakers and teachers bring their talents. Donors make experiences possible that revenue from gate passes and tickets can’t support alone. Trustees accept responsibility for the long-term health of the Institution. And all of you care for Chautauqua by coming here, participating in it, bringing others into it and, yes, telling us when you think we can do better. 

You have done a particularly good job with that last one. 

One thing I can say after 16 months in this role: Chautauquans never run out of opinions, and you make sure I hear them. I saw it. I read it. I may have even woken up at 3 a.m. thinking about it. 

And I am genuinely grateful for it, because those high expectations come from people who care about this place. 

The Rev. Natalie Hanson captured that beautifully this summer when she said, “Chautauqua is a wonderful place, but it could be more wonderful.” I think both halves of that sentence matter. 

We should be proud of what Chautauqua is. But caring for it cannot simply mean preserving the version each of us happens to love most. Chautauqua continues because generations before us understood that there are things that are essential and must be protected, and there are things that must change if those essential things are going to endure. 

We face that same responsibility. We have to make Chautauqua accessible and welcoming to families, young people and people who haven’t traditionally found their way here. We have to make it easier for someone who didn’t grow up here to understand why this place might matter to them. And we have to make responsible decisions about our resources so that the mission we care so deeply about is supported by an Institution strong enough to deliver it. We have to do it together. 

As I look at where we are tonight, I believe we have strengthened Chautauqua. Not because every problem is solved or every decision was right. They weren’t. But people continue to choose this place and invest in its future. We understand more about what our patrons value and where we need to do better. And we have continued to deliver the ideas, art, music, faith, recreation and community that are at the heart of Chautauqua. 

We have work ahead, but we have a strong foundation from which to do it. 

That matters to me personally tonight because these are my final words as Chautauqua’s Interim Chief Executive Officer. 

When I was asked to serve, I knew I was being entrusted, for a time, with a place my family loves. My responsibility was to work alongside the remarkable people here, make the best decisions we could, try to leave Chautauqua a little stronger than we found it and, when the time came, hand that responsibility forward. 

I’m deeply grateful to our board for its trust, to our employees for the extraordinary work they do, much of it unseen, and to all of you for your candor, support and belief in Chautauqua. Would you join me in thanking the people who made this season possible? 

Tomorrow, Mark Johnson will become Chautauqua’s 19th president and take on the responsibility of leading this Institution into its next chapter. I am excited for Mark and confident in his leadership. What we hand to him is not an Institution free of challenges. It is something much more valuable: an Institution with an enduring mission, talented people, a deeply committed community and the strength to continue evolving. 

And that’s really the cycle. We inherit something extraordinary. We care for it together. We try to leave it stronger than we found it. And when our time comes, we pass it forward. 

But passing Chautauqua forward isn’t only about who leads it next. Many lectures on our stages call us to take what we learned and ask, “What do we take home with us?” I think that’s a question worth carrying. 

Do we leave here a little more curious? A little more willing to listen? More open to being challenged? More willing to make room for people who haven’t always been part of the conversation? Because if we do, then what happens at Chautauqua matters far beyond these gates. 

That’s what I want my children to inherit. I want them to inherit the Chautauqua I love, but I don’t need them to inherit exactly the Chautauqua I inherited. I want them to see an Institution strong enough to become theirs, and I want them to be stronger because it was part of their lives. 

And there is one final thing I need to do tonight. Those of you who were here nine weeks ago may remember that we did not have the traditional gavel. We did, however, have a coffee mug. 

And so, in what I would like the historical record to describe as an act of decisive executive leadership, I opened the 153rd Summer Assembly with three taps of this. I considered using it again tonight. There would be a certain symmetry to that. But tonight, I think it’s time for the real thing. 

Chautauqua was here long before any of us, and if we care for it well, it will be here long after us. Thank you for trusting me to help care for it for a while. 

Until we gather again. 

[Three taps of the gavel.] 

And with those three taps, the 153rd Summer Assembly of Chautauqua Institution is officially concluded. 

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Laurie Branch: Remarks to the Community 

Laurie Branch, Chair, Chautauqua Board of Trustees 

Kyle’s theme for us this summer has been gratitude. It has been a great rallying cry for our entire community because we have so much to be grateful for. I am personally grateful to all of you who have filled our venues, our streets, our lakefront and our hearts with your presence over the past nine weeks. What a joy it is to see you each day, enjoying your own made-to-order version of Chautauqua. 

Of course, we are all grateful to the people who made this summer season possible. I first want to acknowledge all the seasonal and full-time employees and volunteers who make this entire experience possible. Many are here with us tonight and seated in the choir loft so that we can see and acknowledge them with a round of applause. 

Next, I want to draw your attention to the people onstage with me. The leadership team seated on one side orchestrated what I think we all agree has been an outstanding Summer Assembly. On the other side are our trustees, who spend countless hours helping to guide this Institution and assure its future. Could we please acknowledge the contributions of the amazingly dedicated people sitting on both sides of the stage? 

Finally, right at the top of the list of things for which I am most grateful this season is Kyle’s service as our Interim CEO. 

Kyle stepped into a whirlwind last year. We faced significant financial challenges and had only a short window of time to take action. We faced increasing concern from our community about our future. And the grace needed in any healthy relationship to allow for differing views around a common goal was wearing thin. 

Then Kyle walked in the door. The wind and noise seemed to drop to a level where we could begin to hear one another. He brought the words resilience and relevance into our lexicon. He galvanized the administrative leadership team to take charge and find the budget reductions needed to right the ship. 

He held hours and hours of listening sessions and in-person dialogue forums, and he hosted online webinars throughout the year to help everyone feel informed and included. He met with donors and community groups to address concerns. He walked the grounds to meet patrons and spent time in the Colonnade and our other office locations connecting with employees. Wherever he went, he gathered ideas and feedback and showed a phenomenal level of availability. We’re just not sure when he slept. 

In short, Kyle was absolutely the leader we needed for this moment in Chautauqua’s history. I am incredibly grateful that he said yes to the call to lead Chautauqua at such a critical time. Please join me in a round of applause to let him know how grateful we all are. 

Sometimes I find it hard to read the last chapter of a book I love. One way I get myself through a bittersweet ending is to look ahead to the next book I have been wanting to read. With that analogy in mind, I want to introduce the next “great book” we are going to enjoy together: Mark Johnson. 

Mark comes to us after a distinguished 33-year career in the United States diplomatic corps. Many of you may have spotted Mark, his wife, Sue, or one of their sons, Kiefer, Shane or Finn, when they were here for Weeks Six and Seven. We tried to keep their official duties to a reasonable level so they could simply enjoy being Chautauquans, and apparently it worked. By all accounts, they loved it here. 

Mark is slated to begin his role as president tomorrow, so it isn’t fair to ask him what his vision for our future is or what his priorities will be. But I think we can ask him to share a bit about what he is looking forward to and how we might help him. 

Please help me give a warm welcome to our incoming president, Mark Johnson. 

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Mark Coolidge Johnson: Closing Remarks 

Mark Coolidge Johnson, Incoming President, Chautauqua Institution 

Thank you, Laurie, and thank you to the Board of Trustees for giving me this incredible opportunity. Truly, it is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I don’t think you can fully appreciate what it means to me and my family to be standing here tonight.

Before I say anything else, I want to thank my family. My wife, Sue; our sons Shane, Finn and Kiefer; my stepmother, Jan; my brother Tom and his wife Jane; and many other family members and friends such as my Mom Christy and brother and sister Todd and Kim who are here with us or watching from afar. Your love and support have made this moment possible.

Tomorrow, I officially begin my work as Chautauqua’s president. Laurie has reminded me of that. Tamara has reminded me of that. The leadership team has reminded me of that. So yes, I promise I’ll show up for work tomorrow.

But tonight, I’d like to reflect on what it means to be here.

My family has been connected to Chautauqua for most of my life. I’ve been coming here since I was about five years old. We cross-country skied here in the winter. We sledded down the hills. We fished along the lakefront. Some of my earliest memories were formed on these grounds.

I attended my first concert here in the Amphitheater. It was Chuck Mangione. Years later, I learned that it was also Natalie Merchant’s first concert. We discovered we’d both been there, sitting in the same Amphitheater, experiencing the same performance. The following year I came back for Bad Company, which sounds a little cooler, but the truth is Chuck Mangione was first.

The Amphitheater feels almost surreal to me. Not only because of the remarkable history that has unfolded on this stage, but because of the deeply personal connections I have to it.

I watched Soviet-American exchanges take place here during the Cold War. Those experiences helped shape the path that eventually led me into diplomacy and public service. I listened to lectures and conversations that challenged my assumptions and expanded my thinking. Those programs taught me that it is possible to hold two competing ideas in your head at the same time and engage perspectives different from your own.

That may be one of Chautauqua’s greatest gifts.

Whether someone comes here for a day, a week, a season or a lifetime, I hope they leave with a greater capacity for curiosity, understanding and citizenship. I hope they return home better equipped to strengthen their communities and contribute to a more thoughtful and civil society.

This stage also carries family history. My brother and sister swept the floors of this Amphitheater. My father, Joe Johnson, whom many of you knew, devoted so much of himself to this Institution. Those connections are part of what makes this place sacred to me.

Sue and I had the opportunity to spend time here during Weeks Six and Seven, experiencing Chautauqua not as candidates in a presidential search, but simply as Chautauquans. We participated in the lectures, the arts, worship, recreation and the countless conversations that happen on porches, sidewalks and lakefront walks.

Those experiences reinforced something I came to understand more deeply throughout the search process.

The four pillars of Chautauqua are essential. But there are two additional qualities that stand out to me: community and purpose.

This is a community that welcomes people with different perspectives and encourages them to engage one another thoughtfully and respectfully. It is a place where disagreement can coexist with civility and where ideas are explored rather than dismissed.

Quite frankly, I think our country could use a little more Chautauqua right now.

What drew me back here was that sense of community and that sense of purpose. Chautauqua stands for something important, and I believe its mission matters as much today as it ever has.

I also want to thank Kyle and Liz Keogh for opening their hearts and their home to our family during this transition. I want to thank Tamara Silzle and the entire leadership team for their support, guidance and hospitality. They have been extraordinary stewards of this Institution and of a tradition that stretches back more than 150 years while continuing to evolve and innovate.

I am not going to spend tonight talking about a vision. I’m not even on the job yet.

Lewis Miller and Bishop John Heyl Vincent did a pretty good job with the vision, and generations of leaders such as Kyle, Michael Hill, Tom Becker, and Dan Bratton and more have helped carry it forward. My responsibility right now is not to arrive with all the answers. My responsibility is to listen, learn and understand.

I want to hear from all of you. I want to hear from our employees, our leadership team, our patrons and property owners. I want to hear from Jamestown, Chautauqua County and communities throughout Western New York. I want to understand what Chautauqua means to you and what possibilities you see for its future.

I want to meet everybody, longtime Chautauquans and first-time visitors alike.

As we look ahead, I hope we continue to preserve what is timeless about this Institution while remaining open to the innovations that keep it vibrant and relevant for future generations.

Most of all, I want people to understand something that has become increasingly clear to me.

The magic of Chautauqua is not the place.

The magic is the people.

It is each and every one of you. It is the ideas you share, the conversations you have, the friendships you build and the commitment you bring to making your communities better.

So my hope is that we continue this work together. That we take what we learn here back to our homes, our neighborhoods and our professions. That we return next summer with new ideas, new energy and new experiences to share.

And that we leave something for our children and grandchildren that is even stronger than what we inherited.

Thank you for welcoming my family and me into this community. I look forward to listening, learning and working alongside all of you.

Let’s do this together.

Thank you.