Midday Musings
In the spirit of civic engagement, intellectual exchange, and meaningful connections, the Roosevelt Library Social Club (RLSC) and the Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio is launching a monthly series.
“Expecting the Unexpected”
This forward-looking theme invites leaders across diverse industries to share stories of innovation, challenge, disruption, and transformation—offering guests not just insights but inspiration. Each session will feature a keynote speaker or moderated conversation followed by open Q&A. Speakers will be drawn from business, government, arts, education, tech, medicine, military, and more. Guests are encouraged to bring curiosity and questions—these lunches are designed to challenge assumptions and foster new connections.
DETAILS
When: 2nd Thursday of each Month in 2025 (September 11, October 9, November 13, December 11)
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Where: Roosevelt Library | 311 Roosevelt Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78210
Cost: $35 per lunch session for RLSC and Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio Members or $45 per lunch session for non-members (general public)
Includes: lunch entrée with vegetarian or vegan alternative, brownie dessert, iced tea, and the speaker program
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SPEAKER THEMES
Crisis & Creativity: How unexpected moments become breakthrough opportunities
Rethinking Growth: Lessons from the East Side to the boardroom
Global to Local: Navigating international diplomacy and hometown impact
Tech, Ethics, and Tomorrow: Future trends from AI to human capital
Behind the Curtain: Untold stories from public servants, entrepreneurs, and artists
LIMITED TO 30 GUESTS - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
DRESS CODE: BUSINESS / BUSINESS CASUAL
RESERVATIONS
CLICK BELOW TO RESERVE SEATS
PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW FOR INFORMATION ABOUT JOINING THE ROOSEVELT LIBRARY SOCIAL CLUB
MENUS
Thursday, September 11, 2025
French Apple Chicken with Cannellini Beans
Chicken thighs braised in apple cider and served with fried apple wedges
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Thursday, October 9, 2025
Dijon Chicken with Mashed Potatoes
Pan-seared chicken breast covered with a creamy, Dijon mustard sauce
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Thursday, November 13, 2025
Coq Au Vin with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Chicken thighs and drumsticks braised with red wine, mushrooms, carrots, and garlic
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Thursday, December 11, 2025
Chicken Francese with Lemon Orzo
Crispy, golden chicken breast simmered in a velvety lemon butter sauce
Larry S. Schlesinger, MD
Larry S. Schlesinger, MD - speaker for September 11, 2025
Larry S. Schlesinger, MD, is an internationally recognized authority in infectious diseases with a particular interest in tuberculosis and lung biology. He took the reins of leadership as President/CEO of Texas Biomed in 2017 and has led a transformational strategic planning process that is currently being implemented.
Since coming to San Antonio, Dr. Schlesinger has made a huge impact on the San Antonio biomedical research community, particularly building stronger relationships and innovative partnerships with UT Health San Antonio, Southwest Research Institute, the University of Texas at San Antonio, other colleges and universities in the region and the private sector biomedical landscape. He serves on the Boards of Biomed SA and the SA Medical Foundation and has spoken in several city wide venues discussing the virtues of working together to achieve great things.
Dr. Schlesinger also serves as a Professor at Texas Biomed and is Principal Investigator of several ongoing research grants. He serves as PI for the Southwest National Primate Research Center Base Grant. In 2018, Dr. Schlesinger was named a Healthcare Hero by the San Antonio Business Journal in the area of Outstanding Medical Researcher.
Dr. Schlesinger earned a BA in Biology from Cornell University and MD from Rutgers Medical School. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan and clinical and research fellowships in Infectious Diseases at UCLA. He joined the faculty at the University of Iowa in 1991 where he served as Fellowship Director for the Division of Infectious Diseases and Associate Chair of the Department of Medicine. He moved to the Ohio State University in 2002 where he served as Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine until 2011 when he became first chair of Microbial Infection & Immunity. He also founded the university-wide Center for Microbial Interface Biology (now Infectious Diseases Research Institute).
Dr. Schlesinger is a leading physician scientist whose studies focus on the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and other airborne infectious agents that subvert lung immune mechanisms. His discoveries have led to greater insight into the unique attributes that soluble and cellular components of the innate immune system of humans bring to the microbe-host interface, translating them into drug discovery platforms. He is a prolific scholar, having authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, reviews and chapters in leading textbooks on tuberculosis and lung biology. He is also editor of 2 books. He has been continuously funded by the NIH and a number of other agencies for 30 years, a member or chair of several NIH study sections (recent NIAID council member) and other private and federal agencies, and a Fellow of the AAAS, American Academy of Microbiology, AAP, and IDSA. He has served on many advisory boards for universities, NIH, and FDA among others.
Dr. Schlesinger has placed great emphasis on education and mentoring throughout his career, particularly in clinical and translational research, and has been committed to building strong interdisciplinary academic programs through his leadership on training grants and as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program.
Suhail Arastu - Chair, Speaker's Bureau
Suhail Arastu was raised in San Antonio, Texas and studied Neurobiology & Classics at The University of California, Berkeley where he competed as a gymnast. In Philadelphia he began graduate studies before moving to a small Japanese mountain village for a year of contemplation, deep sea fishing, hiking, skiing and teaching. He then traveled the world by ship under the auspices of the United Nations Economic & Social Council before returning home in 2008. Suhail works in Institutional Advancement for Musical Bridges Around the World, a non-profit performing arts company charged to unite, educate and inspire through culturally diverse visual and performing arts.
Arastu served two terms as a Trustee of The Mind Science Foundation, one term on the Board of Directors of Gemini Ink, and is the Arts & Culture Chair for Anuja San Antonio – the organization that manages San Antonio’s Sister City Relations with Chennai, India. Arastu is the Mayor’s appointee to the Public Art Commission and enjoys serving on the Board of Directors of Constitution Cafe & The Lone Star Art Alliance.
He was elected to Class XL of Leadership San Antonio and completed a Marshall Memorial Fellowship in Spring of 2018; in August of the same year he was appointed to serve on the Board of Sister Cities International, a Washington DC based organization that grew out of the League of Cities under President Eisenhower. Arastu was named 40 Under 40 by the Business Journal in 2020. He leads Yoga privately and at Yoga in Motion and serves on the Advisory Council of International Yoga Day – a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. A collection of Arastu’s photographs from seven continents was shown at PechaKucha Volume 5.
Lunch & Learn at the Roosevelt Library is organized by Suhail Arastu
PARKING AT THE ROOSEVELT LIBRARY
The Roosevelt Library has about 50 complimentary self-parking spaces available to guests. Street parking is also available. Vehicles should not be left in the Roosevelt Library parking lot overnight. The Roosevelt Library will not be liable for theft or damages to vehicles or the contents of vehicles.
MAP TO THE ROOSEVELT LIBRARY
311 Roosevelt Avenue, San Antonio, Texas 78210
FROM NORTH CENTRAL: take US-281 South to exit 140A onto Florida St. toward Carolina Street; turn right onto Florida Street; turn left onto South Saint Mary’s Street; turn left onto Roosevelt Park; run right into the Roosevelt Library parking lot.
HISTORY OF THE ROOSEVELT LIBRARY
In 1929 the library opened as the Roosevelt Park Branch Library, San Antonio’s South side library, and in 1968 it closed. The building is located across from the Roosevelt Park which marks the beginning of the Mission Reach Ecosystem Restoration and Recreation Project, an eight mile stretch of the San Antonio River that has received designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, the building’s architect was John Marriott who also designed the Carnegie Library in Delaware, Ohio. Leland Stone purchased the building in 2013 and, as heralded by SA2020, it is a “new kind of gathering space.”
Reserved Seat for ONE. Gratuity included.
This nonrefundable ticket is transferable.