TEDxTraverseCity invites you to consider our theme for 2015: NOW WHAT? Many of us have emerged from experiences of great triumph, harrowing moments, lengthy research, exhilarating discovery, or evolving circumstances. Maybe there was an aha! moment. It is natural to want to know what comes next. How do you decide? What propels you forward, through the “now what” and beyond? Our speakers identify their experiences with utter clarity, demonstrating that to arrive at “now what” is essentially to open the door to a (perhaps new found) ability to serve and help others in a bigger, more far-reaching way than previously imagined.

We encourage TEDxTraverseCity participants to pause at the beginning of the day to set an intention. Pay attention to how you respond to the speakers. Have you become alert to your own now what? Being open to go big, have a broader reach, will immediately impact our community for the better. We earnestly wish everyone to view the day as a launching pad – to benefit our personal, local, national, and international communities.

Dennos Museum Center, NMC
1701 E Front Street
Traverse City, Michigan, 49686
United States

Allison Powell

Allison Powell is pursuing a Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. She is passionate about innovation, medical device design, and global health. As an undergraduate, she developed an interest in global health as a Medical Technician repairing hospital equipment in Tanzania through Engineering World Health. This summer she will be working in Ethiopia on a maternal health-related biomedical design project through the U of M’s Humanitarian Technology Institute (HTI) and Global Health Design Program. After a good family friend, Dr. Michael Barry, passed away from ALS last summer, she was inspired to try to make the lives of those with such debilitating diseases easier through medical design. She is the co-inventor and founder of PuffBarry, an alternative communication device for ALS and other muscular degenerative diseases. She plans to attend medical school, with goals of helping patients individually and globally through this interdisciplinary education.

Angie McArthur

Angie McArthur is a senior partner of Professional Thinking Partners (ptp-partners.com), and since joining the company in 1998 has co-facilitated and designed global conferences, leadership retreats, training programs, and ongoing one-on-one Thinking Partnerships in organizations from non-profits to Fortune 500s. She is the co-author of two books by Random House: Collaborative Intelligence (due Aug 2015), and Relational Intelligence (2016). Angie is also one of the creators of the Worldwide Women’s Web, a network formed in 2001 to retain women in corporate leadership roles. As an expert in perceptual thinking patterns, she has developed communication strategies for authors, corporations and CEO’s, and the ongoing Executive Champions Workshop. She has designed interactive web assessments and products for corporate training programs. Angie has also worked extensively with youth as part of SmartWiredParentingRevolution.com.

Anthea Rossouw

Born, raised and educated in South Africa, Anthea Rossouw has spent most of her working life as a lone white woman in township communities across the land. Transcending barriers and pioneering innovative and outcomes based solutions to sustainable poverty relief, Anthea focuses predominantly, but not exclusively, on empowering women and youth to take charge of their future by using local community resources to develop sustainable micro-enterprises. She has found alternative ways that work locally, resulting in growth and dignity while simultaneously building universal bridges of understanding amongst diverse people. Locals at grass roots revere Anthea, where she has changed the lives of many people who in turn have become changers of the future. Known by the moniker The Dreamcatcher (Die Droomvanger) in communities across the country, she is making Nelson Mandela’s dream, “for a better life for his people in post Apartheid South Africa,” work. See www.dreamcatchersouthafrica.com.

Brian Kruger

Brian Kruger started making movies when he was 10 years old, with a Super8 camera that was given to him by his grandfather. In the 40 years that followed, Kruger has been a high school teacher, professional comedian, and the founder of a company that became the largest provider of magazine publishing software in the world. In 2010, he left the software industry and started Stunt3 Multimedia to make educational documentaries. In the last five years, along with his writing collaborator, Buddy Moorehouse, Kruger has made five feature-length documentaries that have aired on PBS, ABC and MLB TV. Together, Kruger and Moorehouse have garnered two Emmy nominations for their documentary films. Kruger is currently working on two new documentary projects, while also acting as Chief Marketing Officer for Foris Solutions, a Grosse Pointe-based franchise investment group.

Chris Sterr

Chris Sterr is a multifaceted guitar player and vocalist. With roots that run as far back as the delta and Chicago blues, to the experimental and improvisational sounds of Jeff Beck, John Scofield, to the pop-rock sensibility of Ryan Adams, he performs a wide array of music. Born in Detroit, he embraced the sounds of Motown. The Beatles, The Moody Blues, Cream, Pink Floyd, and Moby Grape largely shaped an early musical palette, creating a musical and sonic frame of reference that would shape his taste and vision. He toured nationally for 10 years with his Detroit-based band, Bump. In Traverse City since 2010, Sterr performs solo and with artists such as his trio, and Chicago-based Stolen Silver. His latest project is The Pocket, a 4-piece inflecting a fusion of Jazz, fusion, rock, blues, and soul. The Pocket holds a residency at Kilkenny's Irish Public House on Wednesdays. Sterr's solo show includes both guitar and synth sounds, and live loops both for atmosphere and backing tracks.

Dawn Moses

Dawn Moses works in the financial services industry as a financial advisor, offers private piano instruction on the weekends and is a part time student at Northwestern Michigan College. Early on, she ran the household and home-schooled her children. Twenty years ago, she began teaching piano in her home and discovered a joy and enthusiasm for instilling in students of all ages a love of music, technical skills, theory and sight reading, and most importantly, a belief in their own abilities and talents. Dawn serves her community through the local County Fair, Parks and Recreation committee and developing grassroots homeschool groups. She is on the County Fair board, promoting agriculture, small town America, and non-profit board development. She is a member of the Kalkaska chapter of Kiwanis and volunteers at her church by organizing a nursing home ministry. Dawn and her husband, Tony, live with three of their younger children. Dawn has 7 children, 2 stepchildren and 3 grandchildren.

Dr. David Hendricks

David Hendricks is a board certified physician. In the early 1980's, he took vows as a Buddhist practitioner, and regularly studied with a Tibetan monk and professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 1989 he met the Dalai Lama who made a suggestion that changed his life. He and his wife, a Buddhist scholar capable of translating Sanskrit and Tibetan, left the U.S. in 2003 for north India and The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, and translated and studied a text on Buddhist psychology. They returned to the United States in 2005, and began a treatment center for substance use disorders and other mental health issues. David is currently writing a book about a new treatment methodology incorporating what he and his wife learned in India, that promises to enhance the success of treatment for these disorders.

Drew Hale

Drew Hale is a singer/songwriter from Traverse City, Michigan. He and his wife Emily are parents of 3 boys, all adopted out of the foster care system. As foster parents they share a love for kids growing up in the system, and a passion for raising awareness about orphan care, as well as the imminent needs of the foster care system in Michigan and around the US.

Drew Ramsey

Drew Ramsey, M.D. is a psychiatrist, author, and farmer. He is one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of using dietary change to help balance moods, sharpen brain function, and improve mental health. An assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, his clinical work focuses on the treatment of depression and anxiety. Using the latest brain science and nutritional research, modern treatments, and delicious foods he aims to help people live to their happiest, healthiest lives. His bestseller, 50 Shades of Kale (HarperWave 2013), helped elevate kale to celebrity status and has made this superfood accessible to thousands. His first book, The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood and Lean, Energized Body (Rodale 2011), explores the impact of modern diets on brain health and proposes a solution of recipes and meal plans. Dr. Ramsey is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Linda Fletcher

Linda Fletcher grew up as an Army brat and as an adult had an Army career of her own. She retired from the Army Nurse Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel and then formed and operated several businesses in Florida before "retiring" in Traverse City, Michigan. Almost 9 years ago she realized her father who was a WWII hero had PTSD and that he had never spoken one word about it. In an effort to understand more about him and their family dynamics she began to learn about PTSD. This led her to found A Matter of Honor (amoh.us), a 501C3 dedicated to educating, exploring, and expanding our understanding and treatment of PTSD. Her study has underscored the importance of moral injury and the need to help warriors repair from it. She believes this is mostly an inside job that can be strongly supported by the public but most effectively by other veterans who have shared the experiences. She is currently exploring ways to establish non-medical support groups to provide that pathway to healing.

Mary Fisher

Mary Fisher is a global leader in the arena of social change through positive thought and action. She urges transformation in healthcare, to revise the perception and treatment of AIDS, to enable women’s empowerment through right livelihood and to inspire individuals longing for meaningful, joyful lives. Mary is best known for her stunning keynote address speaking truth to power at the 1992 Republican National Convention – a speech since ranked by Oxford University as one of “the best 100 American speeches of the 20th Century.” Diagnosed with HIV in 1991 and with breast cancer in 2012, she shares her experience, strength and hope with boundless energy. As an artist, she trains women worldwide to earn a dignified living using her original techniques and materials. Major initiatives have been built on her creative and organizational groundwork. Mary is an outspoken advocate for vulnerable people around the world, and author of 6 books, including MESSENGER. www.maryfisher.com.

Mike Moran

Mike Moran is a national award-winning songwriter from Northern Michigan. In 2006 and 2008, he was voted best solo musician by the Northern Express and was runner-up in The Southern California Acoustic Competition in 2010 and 2011. He returned to Michigan in 2012 but took close to a year off from performing due a shoulder replacement. Moran performed in Petoskey, Michigan weekly from 2003 to 2012. He now produces 7 podcasts, including Short's Cast of Short's Brewing Company, Drink My Brewcast out of Traverse City, and 2x E-Commerce out of the UK. You may find more information about Mike on Facebook under Mike Moran Music, and at quarterafterproductions.com.

Penny Rosin

Penny Rosin is the "Big Sister" in the musical group "Oh Brother Big Sister." Oh Brother Big Sister is an eclectic sensation! This brother and sister duo from Northern Michigan covers the music spectrum with entrancing harmonies and ingenious musical arrangements. With a comfortable, comedic essence that makes you feel like you’re with old friends in the comfort of your happy place, the BIG-sister-little-brother duo deliver music that encompasses a wide variety of music genres with an original acoustic sound that makes each performance an experience. Penny and Radel Rosin hail from a small speck on the mitten where they were raised in a family with deep musical roots, which will be obvious in their passion for music and ease in entertaining. If you are searching for a fresh, distinctive sound with an element of surprise-the search is over-Oh Brother Big Sister is pure pleasure. www.ohbrotherbigsister.com

Priscilla Were

Priscilla Were is an educational system reformer. She heads Butere School in Kenya where she is pioneering a unique model of raising aspirations and attainment levels in students from underprivileged communities. In her first job as a volunteer untrained teacher after her A levels (high school), she was tasked with starting a school that is still thriving. Her 31-year teaching career took her through deputy principal for 2 years and principal for 29 years, during which she transformed the two schools in character and academic achievement; she moved the schools to top ten ranking nationally. Her current school, Butere High School, has moved from a grade point average in the 2+ range to 7.4 (on a 12 point scale) in 4 years. But more important is her vision of building a school on values. The school has no rules, no prefects (supervisors, overseers and custodians of rules). The girls are coached, mentored and encouraged to live the values such as honesty and integrity on a daily basis.

Radel Rosin

Radel Rosin is the "little brother" in the musical group, "Oh Brother Big Sister." Oh Brother Big Sister is an eclectic sensation! This brother and sister duo from Northern Michigan covers the music spectrum with entrancing harmonies and ingenious musical arrangements. With a comfortable, comedic essence that makes you feel like you’re with old friends in the comfort of your happy place, the BIG-sister-little-brother duo deliver music that encompasses a wide variety of music genres with an original acoustic sound that makes each performance an experience. Penny and Radel Rosin hail from a small speck on the mitten where they were raised in a family with deep musical roots, which will be obvious in their passion for music and ease in entertaining. If you are searching for a fresh, distinctive sound with an element of surprise-the search is over-Oh Brother Big Sister is pure pleasure. www.ohbrotherbigsister.com

Rebecca Lessard

Rebecca Lessard is an internationally respected expert in the field of raptor rehabilitation and education. She has a B.S. in Biology from Bemidji State University (Minnesota). In 1988 she and her husband Don moved to northern Michigan. A few years later she had her first interaction with an injured Red Tailed Hawk and it was this ‘raptorian’ experience that forever changed her life direction. Rebecca and Don earned the required permits and set up a small raptor rehabilitation program in their back yard; it grew, and in 2001 Wings of Wonder was officially “hatched” as a federally-recognized nonprofit organization (wingsofwonder.org). Wings of Wonder now admits over 80 sick, injured and orphaned raptors each year for rehabilitation. Rebecca, and her 11 non-releasable raptors, presents over 150 educational programs annually, introducing 10,000 people each year to the wonders of raptors. Rebecca is fully aware that her life is ruled by a raptor that weighs less than a stick of butter.

Terrie Taylor

Dr. Terrie Taylor is a clinician who has been studying the pathogenesis of cerebral malaria in Malawian children since 1986. Together with Professor Malcolm Molyneux, Dr. Taylor established the Blantyre Malaria Project at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital. Their work has generated many useful insights about pediatric cerebral malaria. Following Swarthmore College and the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dr. Taylor studied at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and then joined the faculty of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University. Because of the generous and sustained support provided by MSU, Dr. Taylor has been able to spend six months each year in Malawi. While there, she is actively involved in patient care on the Paediatric Research Ward. Each year, she hosts 24 Michigan State medical students on clinical tropical medicine electives in her home, the “MSU House”. She returns to Michigan State for six months of teaching (July – December).

Titos Sompa

Titos Sompa is Founder and Artistic Director of Mbongi Dance Theater Project, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to advancing and celebrating the cultural arts of Africa, especially the music and dance of the Congo. He is a charismatic and gifted performing artist, teacher, and healer, who has inspired artists, students and audiences with his African cultural orientation that holistically integrated music, dance, singing, folklore and spirituality. Noted especially as a master Congolese drummer, percussionist, and kalimba player, Mr. Sompa utilizes his multiple talents to make known and keep alive Congolese musical and cultural traditions that offer healing, spiritual grounding, and affirming community to the Western world. Mr. Sompa devotes special attention to young people. He designs educational programs that teach self-esteem, promote values and behaviors that build community awareness, and help them imagine a future. See www.mbongivillage.org.