RocSoup: What Do We Bring To The Table?

Building on the fable of Stone Soup, this year's event examines how we best leverage all of the assets our community has, as well as presenting new opportunities for how they can contribute to the improvement of our community.

500 West Ridge Road
Rochester, New York, 14604
United States

Amy Walts

Having first come to Rochester to study medical illustration in the late 1980s, and having called it home from then on, Amy Walts has had the chance to know Rochester both as an outsider and as a long-time resident. She has worked in graphic design, advertising, and publishing for many years, having also taught as adjunct faculty at RIT. Additionally, she is a busy area musician, playing concert harp, Celtic harp, electric harp, and piano. She is an award-winning speaker and humorist who is developing her speaking career and writing a book. Amy is married, with three children.

Aprille Byam

Aprille Byam is Storychick. One of three creative siblings, Aprille struggled to find her place, at times, in the corporate world. A lover of independent perspectives in literature, movies, and music, of kick-butt chicks and roller derby, and a staunch advocate for self-expression, Aprille needed to forge her own path. As a Future Experience Manager at Kodak, Aprille discovered the link between perspectives and stories and the inspiration for Storychick was born. For 2 years, Aprille has been sowing the seeds of story throughout the Rochester community – including gathering the superhero back stories for TEDxRochester. Projects are always underway!

Dan Lill

Dan, the director of R Community Bikes Inc.retired after a 32 year career teaching at the Rochester School for the Deaf. A 1968 graduate of St John Fisher, he is a life long resident of Rochester who in retirement, realized that golf was not his game if you have to take a penalty for hitting into the water. That is the penalty!!! Subsequently, volunteer work led him and his wife/soulmate Ellen to various not for profits and eventually to help establish RCB. All three of their children are in the medical field a strange fact given both he and Ellen were teachers. Dan is the proud Opah/Poppy to 6 beautiful grandchildren living in Seattle and Winchester VA.

Dawn Vogler-Elias

Dawn Vogler-Elias, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Nazareth College’s Communication Sciences and Disorders Department and Co-Director of I-SPAN, the Interdisciplinary Specialty Program in Autism at Nazareth. She also serves as the Speech-Language Pathology Discipline Coordinator within the Leadership in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) Program at the University of Rochester. Dr. Vogler-Elias holds a Ph.D. in Communication Disorders and Sciences from the University at Buffalo, a M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University at Buffalo and a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Syracuse University. She has worked as a consultant and diagnostician in a variety of clinical settings, including the Kirch Developmental Services Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Stepping Stones Learning Center.

Dr. Lou Papa

Dr. Lou Papa is a regular panelist on the Award winning PBS series “Second Opinion” representing the primary care physician’s point of view. He’s become one of viewers’ favorite for his direct and practical approach to medical care and his staunch defense of evidence-based medicine. Local and national news outlets frequently request his insight, on air and in print, for complicated and pressing medical issues including on WHEC’s “Roc City News” with Lia Lando as a medical commentator. A Professor of Clinical Medicine with the University of Rochester Center, he has been named to “Best Doctors in America” and “America’s Top Physicians”; awarded “Rochester Business Journal/Forty under Forty”, the national “Excellence in Medicine Award” from the American Medical Association Foundation, the “Rochester Business Journal Healthcare Achievement Award” and the Monroe County Medical Society “Edward Mott Moore Award”. Dr. Papa is involved in numerous teaching, civic and community activities.

Elissa Orlando

Elissa Orlando is Senior Vice President, Television and News at WXXI Public Broadcasting. Elissa oversees television programming and production for WXXI’s television stations: WXXI 21, WXXI 21.1 HD, WXXI 21.2(WXXI World) and WXXI 21.3(WXXI Create). Elissa also leads the WXXI news team in television, radio, digital and mobile news coverage and supervises the news staff and regional collaborative journalism projects. She develops program ideas, supervises the content of all national and local TV programs and actively seeks and cultivates collaborations with other community partners and media. Elissa was instrumental in the creation of the national public television series Second Opinion, and still serves as its executive producer.

Eric Wheeler

Eric Wheeler served in the armed forces and is an advocate for veterans and their families in the Rochester area. During his two decades of service, he was a member of both the United States Army and Navy Reserves. Eric deployment as a Civil Affairs Sergeant for Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia in the late 1990s and as a Staff Sergeant responsible for instructing Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations soldiers in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2004-2006. He is currently the Coordinator for the Academy for Veterans’ Success at Monroe Community College, where he also instructs courses in military history. Eric received a Bachelor of Science in History, a Master of Arts in American History, and a Master of Public Administration, all from the State University of New York, College at Brockport.

Guy Thorne

Artistic Director- His current choreographic work explores the confluence of Caribbean folklore & popular/contemporary dance forms infused with his short film and multimedia creations. Thorne was a principal dancer with Garth Fagan Dance for seven years. He is the recipient of 2014 Lillian Fairchild Memorial Award, is a Jubilation Foundation Fellow & was on the dance faculty at Nazareth College and SUNY Potsdam.

Jeff Gabel

Jeff Gabel is chief creative officer at the advertising agency Partners + Napier. With more than 30 years of industry experience, his leadership has helped craft countless brands, including Capital One, Lufthansa Airlines, Bausch + Lomb, Ray-Ban, Wegmans, UPS, Keurig Green Mountain, Xerox, and Mobil. His work has also won numerous awards, including One Show, Mobius, Telly, Prism, and ADDY awards. He has judged the North American Finalist Effie Awards and the 4A’s O’Toole Awards for Creative Excellence. Jeff’s past speaking experience includes engagements at the Rochester Advertising Federation, Association of National Advertisers, and American Association of Advertising Agencies conferences.

Jeremy Bagley

The Nazareth College Office of Veterans’ Affairs is led by Jeremy Bagley – As Coordinator for Veterans Enrollment and Supportive Services. An 8-year veteran of the US Army, he served as a non-commissioned officer in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Taking full advantage of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, Jeremy graduted Finger Lakes Community College, St. John Fisher College, and the School for Graduate Studies at SUNY Empire State College. Jeremy is a former board member and vice president of the Rochester Regional Veterans Business Council and was on the Veterans’ Advisory Board of Monroe County. Jeremy is a member of the CDS Warrior Salute Committee and Co-chairman of the Honor Flight Benefit Concert that raises money to fly World War II Veterans to Washington. Jeremy is a service-connected disabled veteran and is a member of the Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Jerry DeCarolis

Jerry DeCarolis is a creative freak who sees the “big picture” and thinks even bigger. He is an observer of people and processes, a traveler, a poker player, and a list maker. In his daily life, Jerry is a candid non-conformist, speaking his mind and often being politically incorrect. As a Rochesterian, Jerry is a big-time foodie, an advocate of buying local, and he is passionate about paying it forward by surprising people every week. As an entrepreneur, Jerry has experience in marketing, business strategy, the auto industry, car and truck dealers, personal finance, real estate marketing, website development, advertising, graphics and design, printing and publishing, and unconventional thinking. Jerry would love to see his plans improve Rochester so it can be a better place for people to live.

John "Magnus" Champlin

There isn’t much to say about John "Magnus" Champlin. Raised on a family farm, he was taught to do good and make the world a better place. He eventually moved to the city and started working in the print and publication world. His mild manner nature helped him find a new home in this city. It wasn’t long before he started to soar to new heights, helping the people and connecting the different worlds. By volunteering his time with various group such as WALL\THERAPY, VSAS, TEDx & Dudes Night Out, he found himself in league with some local friends all hoping to make the world a better place. It simply took him using his natural powers to help tie them all together. He now works for himself trying to bring the world together, to make the changes needed for a better future.

Jon Schull

Research Scientist, MAGIC (Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity) Center at RIT A biological psychologist, inventor, entrepreneur, and human-computer interaction researcher, Dr. Jon Schull is the creator of e-NABLE, an online community that designs, customizes and fabricates affordable 3D-printed prosthetic hands for children and adults with missing fingers and hands. Schull, eNABLE, and its members have been featured in conferences, magazines, and news shows worldwide, including Science Online 2014, the Intel Sales Conference, National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Alliance and the CBS Evening News. Schull’s Ph.D. is in Biological Psychology. He is the author of 19 patents, and is the former director of RIT’s Center for Student Innovation. In his current role as research scientist in MAGIC, Schull directs a new initiative in Access and Collaboration Technologies.

Lisa Barker

Lisa Barker has loved working in and contributing to her hometown of Rochester, NY for her entire adult life. She graduated from RIT with a degree in photojournalism in 2008. Her time at RIT also introduced her to meaningful work in community development, and led her to develop a passion for urban agriculture as a tool for youth engagement. She has worked with youth in farming and gardening programs at the Greater Rochester Urban Bounty (GRUB), the Southwest Area Neighborhood Association (SWAN), and currently leads youth programming at The Seedfolk Store. She is also an active participant in Rochester’s art community through initiatives including The Yards Collaborative Arts Space and Wall\Therapy.

Matt Spaull

Matthew Spaull is an award-winning director and producer. After graduating from Denison University in 2005, Matthew moved to San Francisco, CA starting as an editor. During that time he worked with clients like Ebay, Yahoo, and Startup tech companies in Silicon Valley. In 2007, Matthew was introduced to Neil Alford and Pam Kreuger, the creative team behind the National PBS Series Moneytrack and joined the team as the coordinating producer. After a successful third season where the series won five telly awards, Matthew became the Associate Producer for the ESPN series Rise UP. In 2011, Matthew moved back to his hometown of Rochester, NY to pursue his MFA in Film & Animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is currently producing his thesis film, Spiritus, a documentary about the excommunication of local church Corpus Christi in 1999.

N’Jelle Gage

N’Jelle Gage founded FuturPointe Dance with Guy Thorne in 2009 with the vision of re-introducing the Caribbean’s creative diversity to the dance community and to promote cross-cultural dialogue and conviviality. Gage teaches master classes in Caribbean contemporary dance techniques including Reggae Ballet and Tecnica Cubana. An awardee of the 2014 L. Fairchild Memorial Award & studied with renowned Ballet and Contemporary Dance faculty at Instituto Superior/Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana, Cuba graduating with a degree in performance/choreography and teaching.

Shanna Jamanis

Shanna Jamanis, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Inclusive Childhood Education at Nazareth College. She is Co-Director of I-SPAN, the Interdisciplinary Specialty Program in Autism at Nazareth. Dr. Jamanis holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, a M.S. from SUNY at Albany and a B.A. from SUNY College at Geneseo. She is a former special education teacher, integration facilitator, behavior specialist, and coordinator for autism services. Aside from teaching in inclusive schools in the Washington D.C. area and consulting for the Eugene 4J public schools in Oregon, Dr. Jamanis has also worked as an educational consultant at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities in the Autism Spectrum Disorders program.

Susan Spencer

Dr. Susan Spencer is an engineer and scientist who specializes in the quantum description of small molecule organic solar cells through both theory and experiment. She is the US Ambassador for an international charity, SolarAid, which is focused on eradicating the kerosene lantern from rural Africa by 2020. Additionally, she serves as a Climate Reality Leader for Al Gore’s foundation, the Climate Reality Project. Susan is passionate about solar, but also about rejuvenating high-tech manufacturing in Rochester through securing support for renewable energy-focused small business growth.

Ted Baumhauer

With his props in one hand and his Doctorate in the other Ted delivers unforgettable and entertaining presentations, Corporate Coaching and Leadership Development Programs. From the shop floor to the boardroom, Ted brings to life the struggles of becoming a leader and creating a group. He leaves the group with real action steps. More than training, not just entertaining, it's EnterTrainment! • Author of Little Blue Penguins: Tales for Making the Transition to Leadership • Training groups in the areas of leadership and team skills since 1982 • Featured in the Spring 2008 edition of JUGGLE Magazine • Performing member of Flower City Vaudeville

Tiffany Staropoli

Give a girl cancer and her whole world suddenly snaps into focus. Or at least that was Tiffany Staropoli’s experience. Inspired by her adventures with Stage 4 Colon Cancer in 2013, Tiffany started www.lovingcancer.com, a blog about finding and developing new ways to handle life’s most challenging obstacles. Tiffany has called Rochester home her entire adulthood and has carved a career in TV commercial and video production that has spanned 18 years. She looks forward to many more years of sharing her story and inspiring others to take the road less traveled. Tiffany lives in Irondequoit, NY with her husband and fellow cancer survivor, Rick, and three fur children: Anna, Darwin and The Man.