Alexis Acosta

Alexis, a Charlottean since 2006, is the marketing director of digital marketing agency, Studiobanks. When not volunteering for TEDx, Social Fresh, the American Advertising Federation of Charlotte and Circle de Luz, she enjoys practicing yoga and staying connected with her family in Texas, Colorado, Mexico and Washington, D.C. Alexis is a fan of positive attitudes, good people, multi-tasking and, you guessed it, community service. Follow her at @alexisacosta.

Albert Banks

Albert plays a critical role in leading Myjive into the digital age by leveraging his computer science background to understand the application of emerging technologies into consumer culture. Through his experience as a former Technical Director at AT&T, Albert distinguishes the relationship between technology and people as a new movement from passive audiences to active participants.

Sara Beth Jones

Sara Beth, a digital media intern for TEDxCLT, is currently a senior at Queens University planning to graduate in May of 2012. She will earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communications with New Media Design and Psychology minors.  Sara Beth is passionate about new media design and social media and hopes to begin her career along that path. Keep an eye out for her featured blog posts and social media updates with TEDxCLT. Follow her @jones_sb. 

Holly Bretschneider

Chief Style Officer of Salutations Fine Stationery & Gifts. 2011 Trendy Stationer of the Year. Founder, Blog Boutique. Founder, GOOD {Guild of Original Designers}. Organizer of the Charlotte chapter of Room to Read. Wife. Mother. Social entrepreneur. Futurist. Believer in the power of dream-making and risk-taking.
Websites: Salutations.com, BlogBoutique.com, GOODesigners.com, @Salutations

Crista Cammaroto

Crista Cammaroto is a curator in the photographic arena, reviewer, and interdisciplinary artist. She was former Artistic Director and curator of The Light Factory and today curator of art for the first TEDx Charlotte. She currently teaches at Queens University and her experience in academia has included Chair of the Photography Dept. at CPCC, and Chair of the Photography Dept. at Oregon College of Arts and Craft. Crista is a prolific working artist, her residencies include Little Italy Arts Center, The McColl Center for Visual Art, and Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Denver Art Museum, UNCC, the Bechtler Collection, she has received an ASC Project Grant and local exhibits include: Levine Museum of The New South, Joie Lassiter Gallery, the McColl Center, Upstairs Gallery in Tryon NC and Blue Spiral in Asheville.

Ron Edelen

Ron’s synergetic film and design background establishes the agency’s foundation for progressive, story-driven creative solutions. At Myjive, Ron has shown continued success in directing award winning interactive experiences for the Discovery Channel Store and Warner Brothers Home Video.

Valaida Fullwood

For over a decade, Valaida Fullwood has worked as a writer, creative consultant and project manager, primarily in education, the arts and philanthropy. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and managed international economic development projects for major corporations, living and working overseas prior to establishing a consultant practice in Charlotte.

Valaida gleefully feeds a ravenous appetite for travel and closer to home engages in civic life through Charlotte ViewPoint, Community Investment Network and Wesley Heights Community Association. She is a founder of New Generation of African American Philanthropists a giving circle, giving back which engages in grantmaking and has a book under development on philanthropic traditions in the black community.

Angela Gala

Angela is founder and principal in Rogers and Gala Creative Partners, Inc., an event design and production firm. Her firm is built on the foundation that events are vehicles for connecting human beings to each other, ideas, concepts and products. Good events engage humanity.

Angela has been featured on The Today Show with business partner Sikky Rogers. She’s been quoted about party and event planning by The Associated Press, ABCNews.com, MSNBC.com, and the web site of The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily paper. Closer to home, Angela has landed in the pages of The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Magazine, and The Charlotte Business Journal.

Sarah Hada

A native of Montreal; Sarah Hada is the corporate communications director for a global Fortune® 500 company by day. After hours, she does pro bono work for cultural groups; loves vintage, books, art, film, collecting, and connecting. Follow her at @sarahada.

Brian Haselton

Brian started his career with Nike and then went on to work for some of the best creative shops in Portland, Seattle and Charlotte. During his 15 + year career, he has worked on, developed and evolved brands for organizations such as Apple, Transamerica, McDonalds, Nike, Bank of America, Freightliner and Dunkin Donuts.

Genevieve Jooste

Desiree Kane

Desiree Kane is co-creator of The PPL, a Charlotte-centric initiative surrounding the Democratic National Convention in 2012. She’s chair of TEDxCharlotte’s e-communications/social media committee, returning steering committee member and oversees the TEDxCharlotte interns. She was invited by NASA in 2011 to participate and report on the final Atlantis shuttle launch, is a Charlotte Viewpoint opinion columnist and Social Media Charlotte board member. Active in the civic and social spaces, she can be found at @TEDxCharlotte, @CLTBlog, and/or @dbirdy.

Manoj P. Kesavan

Manoj P. Kesavan is the founder of Point8 Forum, an open informal venue for individuals from the various creative fields to come together for conversation, critique and collaboration. They have been organizing discussion forums, collaborative projects and other events independently and in collaboration with the major cultural institutions of the region. Point8 also organizes the Pecha Kucha series in Charlotte, and runs the Point8 Blog on the Creative Loafing website. Manoj’s primary practice is architecture, with frequent detours into academics and writing, while maintaining a constant involvement in the community. Websites: www.point8.org | blogs.creativeloafing.com/point8 | point8.org/pechakucha

Rose Le

Rose Le is a Digital Media intern for TEDxCharlotte as a part of a Master’s program in Educational Technology through San Diego State. Rose is an Instructional Designer for a Time Warner Cable, specializing in eLearning and activity-driven learning solutions.  Rose has a BBA in Economics and Japanese Studies and spent three years teaching in Niigata, Japan. @onerosele

Candice Langston

Native Charlottean. Wife. Mother. Daughter. Friend. Devoted dog owner. Citizen. Leader. Follower. Volunteer. Fundraiser. Traveler. TV-watcher. Design magazine reader. Local restaurant go-er. Grateful neighbor.

Oh yeah, TED fan. @CandiceLangston

Siu Lipton

Siu is Chair of the Art Department at Queens University of Charlotte. She received her doctorate degree in Art History from the University of Oxford, UK, and her MA from McGill University, Canada. She specializes in 19th and 20th century art and criticism, and the business of art. Her book on Scandinavian Artists in Paris was published in 2002 and she lectures internationally. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Mint Museums.

Siu spent her childhood living in Africa and the South Pacific, and continues to be passionate about travel, culture, languages, and of course, art.

Winn Maddrey

Winn is the Executive Vice President for Topics Education, a strategic communications company that works with businesses and non-profits – locally and nationally. He is a communications veteran, political junkie, cause marketer and engaged in the local community.

Winn has served as a speechwriter for a member of the US House of Representatives and a communications officer in the US Department of Commerce. He has also owned three communications firms, including Crescent PR, Capital Strategies, and Blue Nine Partners.

Brett McCoy

Brett is an experienced researcher, brand planner and social media strategist who leverages consumer thinking and market insights to create engaging, relevant and creative brand experiences.

Kim McCulloch

Co-founder of Lydia’s Loft–a smaller-scale version of Crisis Assistance Ministry in Charlotte.

I have served on the ASC NORTH BOARD since it’s inception. Recently I have become involved with The Relatives and am working with a group to help kids from 18-24 who have little or no family support .

After the first TEDxCharlotte steering Committee meeting I realized my mind was being stimulated and taken to places it had never been before. Hey, isn’t that what TED is about?

Micaila Milburn Thomas

Micaila/Ayorinde is a visual and performing artist dedicated to uplifting the human experience through the use of the arts. Using her background in psychology and the healing arts, she has worked in Charlotte for 15+ as an artist, teacher, actor, singer/songwriter, healing facilitator and cultural educator. She has performed on radio, camera and stage and has conducted classes and workshops with people of widely diverse ages and backgrounds. Her visual work has appeared in theaters, galleries and gift shops locally and in New Mexico. As a performer, she has appeared on stage, television and radio.

Dorne Pentes

Dorne Pentes (aka Mr Krispy), Mediamaker (TV spots, marketing films, online content, indie film,) father of two headstrong, creative kids, UNC Grad (BA English), Hooper, Burner, old Charlotte guy, NODA Denizen, punk rock hippie, NYU Grad (Film), owner of a picture of Richard Petty getting his nose powdered and co-owner of Fort Awesome, an artist’s escape in Ashe County.

Favorite Charlotte Stuff: the big block burger at the Penguin, view from the Matheson Street Bridge, The Riverview Inn, Sledding on the Veteran’s Park hill, East Lincoln Motor Speedway Dirt Track Dates.

Websites for more Dorne Info: wonderworldtv.net; flowerchilddvd.com; lansingrocksgreen.com; spinrevolution.com

Justin Ruckman

Justin is the co-founder and executive editor at CLT Blog, a citizen news media outlet based in Charlotte. He is also a founding partner at Priceless Misc, a creative and social media group, which has services clients both locally and internationally. Justin is a native of the Charlotte area, with an academic background in music, art and mass media.

Tracy Russ

Tracy Russ is a published writer and communications consultant, and is the CEO/Founder of Russ Communications, based in Charlotte, NC.

He has worked on a number of citizen engagement initiatives across the U.S. that seek to build social capital, create equity across lines of difference and inspire positive solutions to the challenges of climate change. He is a proponent of blending the arts, civic change and organizational development practices into communications efforts that create change in communities and organizations. In his free time, he enjoys reading, a night of good beers and bad puns, writing haiku, running and painting.

Carlos Salum

Carlos Salum is a leaders’ peak performance advisor and the founder of Salum International Resources. He developed Performance Architecture, a process that helps executives design a personalized blueprint for achieving breakthrough, based on principles utilized by world-class athletes and artists. His clients’ list includes corporations headquartered in four continents. As the founder of the SIR Conferences, he hosted the first visit of Richard Saul Wurman, creator of the legendary TED Conferences to Charlotte in 2010. www.saluminternational.com www.sirconferences.com

Anna Stokkebye

A recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Stokkebye earned a Bachelor of Arts in multimedia arts and sciences with minors in Spanish and art. She also interned at National Environmental Model and Analysis Center (NEMAC) in Asheville, N.C. and Nørgaard Mikkelsen A/S in Denmark. She was recently hired by Luquire George Andrews (LGA) as a junior designer in the agency’s digital media department.

Charles Thomas

Charles Thomas is an artist, educator and entrepreneur. A native of Charlotte, NC, Thomas is the education director of The Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film. His responsibilities include designing and implementing educational programming and classes for youth and adults in the form of outreach and continuing education classes. Thomas has been a photographer and educator in Charlotte for over 10 years. Thomas graduated from Duke University with a degree in Economics and received his photography training from Central Piedmont Community College. He is also the owner of Sankofa Photography.

His international travels include: India, South Africa, Europe, Mexico, Puerto Rico and most recently China.

Deborah Triplett

Deborah has been a photographer for over 25 years in Charlotte. For many years she has run one of the more successful photography studios in the Southeast. In recent years she has come full circle – back to the basic life rule of K.I.S.S. and she now works one on one with her clients crafting portraits for both private and commercial commissions as well as fine art and other subject matters.

Her work has been published in national trade magazines; displayed in galleries locally as well as the West Coast and she has appeared on television discussing her business and photography.

Matthew Tyndall

Matthew is the co-founder and managing editor at CLT Blog, a citizen news media outlet based in Charlotte. He is also a founding partner at Priceless Misc, a creative and social media group, which has services clients both locally and internationally. As a student in his final year at UNC Charlotte, he is studying History, International Studies, and Software information systems. Matthew has lived in Charlotte for five years and is originally from Fayetteville, NC.

Mike Wirth

Mike is an award winning designer, educator and artist who specializes in information design and data visualization. An Assistant Professor of Art and Director of the New Media Design major at Queens University of Charlotte, Mike was a featured artist displaying an interactive digital installation at the inaugural 2010 TEDxCharlotte event. mikewirthart.com

Mike Watson

Host

Mike Watson, fine artist/painter of visceral figures and believer in the power of nonverbal communication. Mike is also an educator of fashion marketing and design at The Art Institute of Charlotte,lover of Nike SB’s, has been featured in the Charlotte Observer’s style section, and contributed fashion articles to the Baltimore Sun, the Florida Ponte Vedra Beach Recorder, WBTV Charlotte, and others. Additionally, Mike was the featured speaker at the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, on Andy Warhol and his iconic use of imagery. He is a winner of the SILO public works project awarded by ASC and recently produced a fashion show at Toronto fashion week. Mike worked on the ASC creative committee’s 10 year Charlotte arts plan and has collaborated with Neiman Marcus on its Fashions Night Out and Art and Fashion events.In the past Mike has won national awards for visual merchandising and store design, has lead a variety of creative and fashion focused workshops and firmly believes that the happiness in his life comes from his wife, vinyl records, yoga, and always asking the question WHY.