LEWISTON — Sandy Parakilas, head of growth and operations at CitizenNet, will be the featured speaker at the Great Falls Forum lecture series at noon Thursday, Dec. 20, in Callahan Hall at the Lewiston Public Library.

Parakilas’ talk is titled, “Life in Silicon Valley.”

Parakilas is a new technology specialist and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles and San Francisco with an illustrious resume, including stints at Facebook, Amazon and Tom Sawyer Entertainment.

While in California, he helped launch several companies with mixed results before finally creating a new startup that succeeded.

In his Great Falls Forum presentation, Parakilas will tell his life story, from growing up in L/A and graduating from Lewiston High School to his move to California and his subsequent business endeavors. He will also speak about the culture of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley.

Admission is free to all Forum events and no reservations are required. The presentation will take place from noon to 1 p.m. in Callahan Hall at the Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon St..

Attendees are invited to bring brown-bag lunches, or to take advantage of the Forum’s partnership with Guthries cafe and request one of the eatery’s custom-made, gourmet sandwiches or salads to be delivered to the library before the talk. Orders may be placed by calling Guthries at 376-3344.

The menu is available at www.guthriesplace.com. Coffee, tea and bottled water will be available onsite at the library.

The Great Falls Forum is co-sponsored by Bates College, Lewiston Public Library and the Sun Journal.

More information on Thursday’s lecture or other upcoming events in the Great Falls Forum series is available by contacting the Lewiston Public Library at 513-3135 or www.LPLonline.org.