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Marian Fontana

Marian Fontana

Marian Fontana has been a writer and performer for the past 20 years.

 Marian has written and performed in 3 plays and 4 one- woman shows including

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Her articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Elle, Parenting and Martha Stewart magazine. Her most recent book, “A Widows Walk” was on the New York Times best selling memoir list and was chosen as the Top Ten Great Reads of 2005 by People Magazine and the Washington Post’s Book Raves of 2005. The Kirkus Book Review gave it a star rating, calling it “an engrossing and inspiring 9/11 memoir.” “An astonishing new memoir” by Vanity Fair and “the debut of a gifted writer” by Newsweek. Marian has also made appearances on “This American Life, The Brian Leherer Show and the Satellite Sisters Radio programs, the latter choosing Marian’s book as their favorite for 2005.

As a comedienne and actress, Marian has written and performed in 3 plays and 4 one- woman shows including “A Woman and her Bassoon” which was selected for the Playwrights Horizons Summerfest and “Bassoon Pieces” at Variety Arts Theater.

After losing her husband on September 11th, 2001, Marian became a political activist founding the 9-11 Families Association which has advocated for firefighters and the 9-11 victims families. Her work has been chronicled in The New York Times, The Daily News, New York Post, Washington Post and the LA Times. She has appeared as a guest on CNN, MSNBC, Dateline NBC, Larry King, Charlie Rose and many others. Her organization is slated to open “Tribute” a 9-11 Visitors Center in September, 2006 and created a volunteer docent program which utilizes the 9-11 Community including currently offering tours of Ground Zero by the 9-11 Community including rescue workers, survivors, residents, family members and others.

She currently serves as Board President for TributeWTC, and serves on The LMDC Family Advisory Board, The FDNY Family Advisory committee, The Ebbets Field Memorial Foundation and the Committee for the 2011 Police and Fire Games.

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An Evening With Marian Fontana

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Marian Fontana Standup
The Activist: Marian Fontana

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The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

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Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

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