Updated Oct. 31
Drones, free college and the power of hacking are the ideas worth spreading that will be the focus of the second TEDx in Kalamazoo on Nov. 8.
The TEDx organizers drew speakers from across Michigan for the event at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. They also will invite more local artists, musicians and foodies to be part of the evening.
Talks on community engagement through social media, the importance of anonymous commenting in telling the news, teaching youth through tradeskills, and civic hacking are among the topics that will fill out the lineup of talks at the second TEDxKalamazoo.
Here are three recently announced presenters at the upcoming event:
Sarah Lee is the Director of Marketing and Communications for award-winning company Greenleaf Hospitality Group and a social media strategist. She directs and manages the marketing initiatives with her team for the various restaurants, retail, hotels and Wings Stadium marketing efforts. Previously she served as the director of communications for the Kalamazoo Regional Chamber of Commerce. She also founded two social media groups called TweetUp Kalamazoo and Foursquare Kalamazoo.
Jen Eyer has been building online communities for more than a decade. As a news producer for MLive.com in the early 2000s, she managed the company's first reader forums, and later helped pioneer comments on blogs on MLive. She moved into the realm of audience engagement on AnnArbor.com, using statistics to maximize the reach of digital content, creating online communities around certain topics, and developing ways to maintain civility in online discussions.
Penny Weller brings a wealth of experience in performance insights related to global business services, benchmarking, and service delivery, including outsourcing and captive models. Weller works directly with senior leadership of more than 100 companies to provide insights, research, and guidance toward world-class operational performance.
Also appearing is Matt Hampel, who has worked with nonprofits, newspapers, universities, and other organizations to build tools for the public good. Before founding LocalData, he was a Code for America Fellow at the City of Detroit. His team made public information more public and helped residents engage with the city through technology.
And Ethan Alexander, Executive Director of the Open Roads Bike Program, an emerging nonprofit organization, also will speak.
To attend TEDx Kalamazoo 2013, attendees will need to apply, as there is a minimum amount of space available. The 2013 TEDx Kalamazoo event application has been released.
Organizers are also seeking sponsors, artists and musicians to participate in the event.
Those asked to be part of TEDx Kalamazoo are:
Dr. Charles Severance, an early pioneer in massive online open courses (MOOCs) and open source software. Severance, an associate professor at the University of Michigan, teaches the history of the internet on the cutting-edge Coursera teaching platform to students around the world. His first free Coursera class was attended by 56,000 students online.
Dr. Jonathan Robison, coeditor of the journal Health at Every Size and assistant professor of holistic health care at Michigan State University and Western Michigan University. Robinson teaches the historical evolution of a cultural obsession with thinness and promotes a more balanced perspective on self image. He has been working with patients with weight and eating disorder conditions for more than 20 years with spiritual and holistic medicine techniques.Many of his teachings contradict well-entrenched cultural ideals.
Danny Ellis, a 25 year old native of Portage and CEO of SkySpecs. Ellis is currently working with legislators in Washington, D.C., to be able to launch his company, which will manufacture and sell small, easy to use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or flying drones. The company has raised more than $100,000 in grants and competitions awards since its conception in 2011. Ellis sees many civilian uses for the drones and is seeking permission to do so.
TEDx is a program of local, self organized events designed to unite people for a shared a TED-like experience.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Daniel Proczko, TEDx
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