Theme: Community

Join us February 28, 2015 as we celebrate Community at TEDxUNO. TEDxUNO speakers will discuss how they define community personally, locally, nationally, and globally and what we can do to better our own communities as we define them ourselves.

6001 Dodge Street
Omaha, Nebraska, 68182
United States

Angie Hodge

Angie Hodge is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at UNO where she helps to recruit and retain mathematics teachers. She is also an ultra-marathon runner meaning she runs races over 26.2 miles. In fact, Angie recently completed a 100 mile race. Hodge earned both her master’s degree and Ph.D. from Purdue University in mathematics and mathematics education respectively and is a Special Projects Coordinator for the Academy of Inquiry-Based Learning, a Project NExT national fellow, and a member of the MAA’s COMET (committee on the mathematical education of teachers) committee.

Anthony Hughes

Originally from Dublin, Anthony has lived in Omaha since he was 10, graduating from Millard West High School in 2012 and is currently a student of history and politics at UNO. Founded in 2010 by Drew Heckman, Queer Youth Nebraska Network is a grassroots organization that aims to create a healthy, empowered, and visible community of LGBTQ+ youth in Nebraska. With more than 700 members, the organization regularly provides support systems and helplines for those in need. Since coming out at 18, Anthony has enjoyed numerous experiences in serving the LGBT community, in particular the young people from around Omaha and throughout the state as they find their feet in this strange world of ours. Having attended both national conferences and local interest meetings focused on the manifold issues and injustices LGBT youth continually face, his commitment to helping provide professional, safe, fun, and above all meaningful resources to our state’s queer kids remains an essential priority.

Athena Ramos

Athena Ramos is a native Nebraskan who serves as the Community Health Program Coordinator for the Center for Reducing Health Disparities and an Instructor in the Department of Health Promotions, Social & Behavioral Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. In her role as Community Health Program Manager, Athena leads a Latino outreach and engagement team and serves as principal investigator for a number of community-based health research and education initiatives including a tobacco control outreach program, migrant farmworker mental health study, immigrant agricultural worker health study and various women and girls programs. She is also an entrepreneur and owns The Front Porch Eatery, a small restaurant in Murray, Nebraska.

Cameron Logsdon

Cameron Logsdon is in his second year as Assistant Director of Forensics in the UNO School of Communication. In this role, Cameron coaches the MavForensics team, which specializes in competitive speech and performance and is ranked 8th in the nation. He's also a nationally ranked single father. As an undergraduate student, Cameron was instrumental in elevating MavForensics to the national stage. He won UNO’s first national championship in competitive forensics in 2010 and followed it up with a second national championship in 2011. Cameron is an advocate for the spoken word and performing arts. He believes in the power of art to celebrate culture and create community. For nearly a decade, Cameron has been active in several performance communities in Omaha, including slam poetry, stand up comedy, sketch comedy and community theater. Cameron’s YouTube page is available at http://www.youtube.com/user/cameronlogsdon.

Denise Fellows

Denise Fellows, prior to SummerWorks, referred to herself as a “silent poet.” She said that her poetry used to ‘scream so loud to be heard by someone other than her own ears.’ Denise worked with SummerWorks in the summer of 2014, and it was there she began sharing her work.

Felicia Webster

Withlove,Felicia (real name Felicia Webster) is a motivational poet, community activist, host, organizer and teaching artist with The Nebraska Arts Council, Why Arts?, The Omaha Playhouse and Classic Upward Bound. With a Master in Education, Felicia seeks to be an inspirer of healing, using the arts and education as her medium to connect with various audiences. In her work, she infuses acting, beatboxing and music. Felicia, is also the co-creative director and co- host of Omaha’s very own Verbal Gumbo, a long withstanding soul filled spoken word open mic, and the proud mother of a son.

Jasmine Johnson

Jasmine Johnson is a sophomore at Benson High School and she participated in SummerWorks 2014.“We all became somewhat of a big family,” Johnson says of her experienced “I never for a second thought I would enjoy cleaning city parks, but if I could work at SummerWorks again I would. It was an amazing experience and opportunity.” Jasmine would like to thank her 7th grade teacher, Ms. Carlson of Monroe Middle School, for introducing her to poetry. Jasmine says poetry is the reasons she is the person she is today; it has helped her through anger, depression, and other life struggles.

Kira Cobbs

Kira Cobbs was born in 1998 in Denver, CO. She plays the piano and practices Chinese and sign language; she also participates in her school’s poetry organization, Louder Than a Bomb. She has been writing poetry since she was inspired to do so by her fourth grade teacher. Kira participated in SummerWorks in 2014.

Steve Rodie

Steven N. Rodie, FASLA, is a Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies and the Director for the Center for Urban Sustainability at UNO. He teaches courses in landscape plants, landscape and environmental appreciation and sustainability, sustainable landscape design, and green infrastructure stormwater management. He is also a certified grandfather. In his role with the Center, Rodie facilitates and promotes research, teaching, and community outreach through engagement of faculty, students, community organizations and businesses that collectively address sustainable urban design, energy, policy, transportation and quality-of-life issues. He earned B.S. in Forest Management from Colorado State University and a Master of Landscape Architecture degree from Kansas State University. Professionally, he has been elected as a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects, and is a registered landscape architect in Kansas, California and Nebraska.

Tre Brashear

Tre earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska and his law degree from the University of Iowa. For 20 years he was a private practice attorney in Omaha. In 2009, Tre and a few friends acted upon their vision that Omaha needed a music festival of its own and the nonprofit Maha Music Festival was born. Over seven years, the event has grown to include not just music, but also food, comedy, slam poetry and other elements. In 2012, Tre left private practice to become Corporate Counsel and Director of Corporate Giving for the Lozier Corporation and Lozier Foundation.