Mountains. Large, majestic, immovable. Or are they? At TEDxBirmingham 2015 we’ll hear ideas from a dozen speakers who refuse to surrender to the mountain in front of them. We hope the day will challenge your mind and spirit. Afterwards, we challenge you to take some of the ideas you hear and create transformation in your community through action. Move Mountains. Overcome the impossible.
Speakers
Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.
Unknown Lyric
Unknown Lyric, with members Jeremiah Turner on acoustic guitar and Kevin Grayson on violin, is an acoustic, classically infused instrumental duo out of Atlanta, Georgia. By fusing classical Beethoven with urban grooves and contemporary sounds, Unknown Lyric is on a mission to make instrumental music cool again.Andy Billings
Andrew Billings is the director of the Alabama Program in Sports Communication and Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in the Department of Telecommunication & Film at the University of Alabama. His research interests lie in the intersection of sport, mass media, consumption habits, and identity-laden content. His books include Olympic Media: Inside the Biggest Show on Television and The Fantasy Sport Industry: Games within Games. Andrew’s work has won numerous awards and he has lectured in nations around the world, from Spain to China to Austria. His work in the classroom has also earned him many teaching awards.Chris Davis
Chris Davis is a native son of Birmingham, and is a writer, stand-up comic, improv comedian, actor & host of View Of The City, a weekly online comedy show about Birmingham. Chris can be found emceeing comedy shows, fashion shows, musical performances, charity events, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, first dates, and once opened for Janeane Garofalo. Chris envies Howard Stern's self-proclaimed rank of King of All Media but would gladly settle, in a pinch, for Archduke of All Media.Jacquelyn Farasat
Jacquelyn Farasat co-leads a college preparation program for middle school students and supports high school students through the college admissions process. In 2009, she received her Bachelor's degree in Music from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and in 2010, she completed her Master's degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. She is now an admissions counselor at UAB, teaches piano for the non-profit organization Scrollworks, and is completing her second Master's degree in School Counseling.Kacy Catanzaro
Kacy Catanzaro is the first woman to qualify for the finals of the television sports challenge American Ninja Warrior. Originally from Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Catanzaro attended Towson University and was a Division I gymnast of the year. Since graduating, she has worked for Alpha Warrior, an obstacle-course gym in San Antonio, Texas. Catanzaro spent two years training for American Ninja Warrior. In 2014, Catanzaro became the first woman ever to complete the qualifying and city finals courses on the show. Her history-making run has since been viewed over 9 million times online.Kent Stewart
Kent Stewart and his wife hiked the first of the Seven Summits - the highest peaks on each of the world’s continents - on a whim in 2006. Since that climb, Kent only has one, Mount Everest, left to summit. He fell ill during a 2013 attempt and his 2014 attempt had to be canceled after a disastrous avalanche. Kent was on Mount Everest preparing to summit on April 25, 2015, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake ravaged Nepal. Luckily unharmed, Kent joined other climbers in rescue and recovery efforts. After their 2006 Kilimanjaro climb, where they saw the poverty of the Tanzanian children, Kent and his wife formed the Seven Summits Foundation to support children’s causes around the world. The founder and CEO of Reli Settlement Solutions, Kent is also a licensed attorney.Liz Huntley
An individual whose childhood was tainted by poverty and other challenges, Liz Huntley is a well-known child advocate in Alabama. She serves on several boards, and speaks to various audiences and challenges them to adopt her “no excuses” philosophy. She is an attorney with Lightfoot, Franklin & White who practices in the areas of Banking & Financial Services, Consumer Law, Business Litigation and Products Liability. She has clerked at both the state and federal levels, serves on DRI's Diversity for Success Seminar Committee, and is active in the Alabama State and Birmingham Bar Associations. She earned her undergraduate degree from Auburn University and her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law.Mike Saag
Dr. Michael Saag’s life’s work has been turning the most deadly virus in human history into a chronic, manageable disease. Dr. Saag is a pioneering HIV/AIDS researcher who founded the 1917 Clinic, a comprehensive HIV outpatient clinic that combines patient care with high-quality clinical trials. Over the past 25 years, the 1917 Clinic has treated more than 9,000 patients and has become recognized as one of the best sites for clinical research and care in the United States. A professor of medicine and director of the UAB Center for AIDS Research, Dr. Saag recently wrote a memoir titled Positive: One Doctor's Encounters with Death, Life, and the U.S. Healthcare System.Quang Do
Quang Do, who does not believe that anyone has a right to define what is or isn’t poetry, delivers emotional, unrestricted, breathtaking performances about heartbreak and rebirth. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he is a two-time winner of the Montevallo Poetry Slam. In 2010, Quang ranked as the seventh-best poet in the Southeast and co-coached the 2010 Skinny Bullies Slam team to a sixth-place finish at the Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam. Quang is the Coordinator of Student Activities at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he advises Alabama’s only college spoken word collective, The Magic City Arkestra of Poets.Scot Duncan
Scot Duncan teaches courses in conservation, ecology, and environmental studies at Birmingham-Southern College. Scot led the College in the creation of the Urban Environmental Studies program, and is the chief architect and science writer for TrekBirmingham.com, an educational and recreational resource that describes destinations in Birmingham where visitors can experience and learn about the natural environment. Scot is the author of Southern Wonder: Alabama’s Surprising Biodiversity, which interweaves the disciplines of ecology, evolution, and geology into a layperson’s explanation of why Alabama is home to more species than any other state east of the Mississippi River.Shelley Stewart
Shelley Stewart is the CEO of o2ideas, an advertising agency in Birmingham, and a legendary radio personality. His story is recounted in the book ‘Mattie C.'s Boy’ by Don Keith. Rising past a difficult childhood in Birmingham, he graduated from high school and joined the United States Air Force. When he returned to the segregated city in the early 1950s, he became “Shelley the Playboy” at a local radio station. During the civil rights spring of 1963, Stewart joined other black radio personalities in broadcasting coded messages to young demonstrators. In the late 1960s, he became a silent partner in the ad agency that later became o2ideas. Shelley retired from broadcasting in 2002.Sunny Slaughter
Sunny Slaughter is a nationally recognized human-trafficking activist and helped to draft Alabama’s anti-human trafficking law. She is a member of several government task forces on human trafficking. Her consulting firm serves national and international clientele and provides consulting services on criminal analysis, education policy, corporate management and community engagement. Sunny has served as a crime analyst for numerous media outlets. She considers herself an activist fighting for social justice and humanity and an advocate raising awareness about criminal behavior and victimization while giving a voice to the voiceless.Tracey Abbott
Tracey Abbott leads global strategy and financial planning for a worldwide sports retailer. A member of the 2013 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute, in 2013 Tracey founded Culture Relay, a social enterprise whose mission is to empower high school girls with life skills gained through a virtual cross-cultural exchange that utilizes and instills the principles of running. The inaugural group bridges Homewood High School in Birmingham, Alabama, with girls in Jordan. Girls connect through a virtual classroom and “buddy” relationships, with the goal to provide a path to realize their full and unique potential.Venkata Macha
Since volunteering at a hospital his freshman year of high school, Venkata Macha has been obsessed with fighting brain cancer. He won second place at the 2014 National Brain Bee, a neuroscience competition for high school students. Venkata also designed his own bioelectronic chip for immediate, non-invasive cancer detection. In addition to his interest in science, Venkata is determined to ensure all rising adults have access to volunteering opportunities. With the help of friends, he founded Innov8Young, an online volunteer hub that connects high school students to more than 200 volunteer opportunities across five states. Venkata is a senior in the Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery, Alabama.Organizing team
