A Brave New world is about possibilities. Inspired in the line from The Tempest "O Brave New World" and the vision of Aldous Huxley. Speakers will present the possibilities and audience will share their vision of their brave new world. The collective vision will be used in future TED Ed lessons.
Speakers
Speakers may not be confirmed. Check event website for more information.
Alisha Lockley
Alisha Lockley is no stranger to ministry nor the artistic commu- nity. Family members noticed her peculiar gift for expression early on. The Douglas Ander- son School of the Arts graduate (performance theatre major) began writing poetry in elemen- tary school, became the vice president of Morning Dove Cen- ter for Teen Girls at the age of 12, and started performing spo- ken word poetry professionally at the age of 17. She has also been published in two antholo- gies of poetic works. With the sharing of her gift for expres- sion, she hopes to uplift, incite conviction, and to exude a pres- ence of grace that is timeless. On May 7th 2015 Alisha gradu- ated from Florida State College at Jacksonville. In August she will be a stu- dent at the University of North Florida, majoring in Business Management/ minoring in Performance Theatre.Andres Rojas
Andres Rojas was born in Cuba and came to the United States at age 13. He attended FCCJ where he was the recipient of the Douglas M. Freels Poetry Award and the Jacksonville-State Street Review Poetry Award. After earning an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Florida, he taught creative writing and composition before earning a J.D. also from the University of Florida, and currently works for the United States Department of the Treasury. He is the poetry editor for Compose, an online literary journal, and his poetry has most recently appeared or is forthcoming in 2River View, Barrow Street, Massachusetts Review, New England Review, Notre Dame Review, and riverSedge.Dianne Fair
Professor of Natural Sciences
Dianne considers herself to be “mostly native” of Jacksonville, FL though she was born in Norwood, MA. She is currently a Professor of Natural Sciences at the Florida State College at Jacksonville’s South Campus, arriving there fresh out of graduate school in 1997. Since 1986, Dianne has taught Biology and Chemistry in its various forms from elementary school to middle school, high school to college. Her main academic interests stem from a dissertation on soil microbial ecology though plants, animals, gardening, chocolate, beer, wine, cheese, Hawaiian volcanoes, “Star Trek” and martial arts also play their parts in her wonderful life. She is an avid karate point fighter and kick boxer as well as a life-long Boston Red Sox fan. With her son, Jimmy and partner, Doug, Dianne shares her home with numerous amphibians, arachnids, birds, mammals, reptiles and sunflowers. Lots and lots of sunflowers.Jeff Hess
Professor of Communications
Dr. Jeff Hess holds a Master of Arts in speech communication from Eastern Il- linois University and a doctor- ate of educational leadership from UNF and is currently serv- ing as the dean of communica- tions and social sciences at the FSCJ South Campus. Dr. Hess has been teaching communi- cation courses for 24 years. As the director of forensics for FSCJ, Dr. Hess coached the forensics team to win over 500 state, regional, and national awards. In 2013, Dr. Hess was inducted into the Florida Col- lege System Activities Associa- tion Forensics Hall of Fame. Dr. Hess regularly teaches speech communication for business and the professions at FSCJ’s South Campus.Jonathon Fletcher
Jonathon Fletcher is a proponent of self-reliance and a believer that everyone should be concerned with how and where we derive our energy from. When his family takes a hot shower they love knowing that their hot water was heated from everlasting power of the sun. Currently Jonathon works for Mirasol Solar as their NE Florida Director. Under Mirasol, Jonathon wrote several proposals and received two awards for 500 kw solar farms which are to be built this upcoming year and next here in Jacksonville FL. On a personal note, Jonathon loves gardening, kayaking and spending time with his human family as well as his dog family and considers them all as one.Luis Mejia
Luis Mejia is a student at FSCJ. Although he has lived in the United States for 17 years, he is originally from Mexico, and is one of the thousands of people who were granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival by President Obama’s direction to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2012. Growing up between American and Mexican cultures, Luis has discovered how valuable an education is in each.Michael Smith
Servant to the poor. Butler to the great. Counselor. Philosopher. Life-long mate. Michael T. Smith is a High School dropout (and later GED recipient) that has devoted his life to advancing the cause of Justice in his generation and beyond. He has received multiple awards and citations for his work in addressing systemic racism, generational poverty, and violence. Michael is senior pastor at The Church of Jacksonville. Michael and his wife, Connie, have two children; Michael has been voted “#1 Dad” for 10 consecutive years by the “Bug” and the “Deuce,” an honor he holds most dear.Nicholas Martino
Professor of Law
After graduating from the University of North Florida, Professor Martino accepted a positIon as staff member with the Office of Congressman Ander Crenshaw. He attended Florida Coastal School of Law and was member of the Moot Court Honor Board. He is Professor at Florida State college at Jacksonville and he was Assistant Director of the Forensics program at FSCJ. The program was awarded a bronze medal at the Phi Rho Pi National Competition over 100 other participating colleges from across the nation. Professor Martino still stays active in the practice of law focusing on constitutional, criminal, and appellate law. He is concerned about how evolving technologies are impacting our privacy and individual rights. He is in the edge of law practice, privacy, and emerging technologies.Nicolas Michaud
Philosopher
Nicolas Michaud is an adjunct instructor at Florida State College at Jacksonville. He teaches philosophy, humanities, and English. Nicolas has two Master’s degrees, one in philosophy and another in English. As a philosopher, he is particularly interested in philoso- phy of education and is currently completing his doctorate in educational leadership. His research areas also include disabilities studies, feminist theory, race and gender, and ethics. His recent dissertation addresses the question of post-secondary faculty roles and the tensions and ethical issues that arise between teaching and research. As a philosopher, Nicolas is sometimes a bit lonely as others can find his constant questioning of the universe a bit... tiresome. Nicolas often writes for books that address questions of philosophy and popular culture. It’s a lonely life, but at least he has cats.Sara Childers
Autism Activist
Sara Childers has over ten years of small animal, large animal, exotic animal, and marine mammal husbandry experience, which she started acquiring at nine years old. She aspires to start at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2016 to obtain her doctorate of veterinary medicine degree and certi cate in aquatic animal health, pending her acceptance into the program. Sara is a pre-veterinarian student at the Florida State College at Jacksonville with a concentration in biology.Sara is on the autism spectrum, an advocate for fellow people with autism, and the founding president of the Spectrum of Success, Florida State College at Jacksonville’s first club devoted to helping those on the autism spectrum excel in college, learn the skills they need for life, and jobs, and be comfortable on campus.Organizing team
