Theme: From Theory to Reality

Check out our Flickr for images under the tag 'TEDxGuelphU: From Theory to Reality'.

Lakeside Hope House
75 Norfolk Street
Guelph, Ontario
Canada

Wild Ontario

Wild Ontario is a live-animal, environmental education program based at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. Their incredible team of staff, volunteers and animal ambassadors travels the province, spreading their love for Ontario's nature and wildlife. They aim to teach, entertain, inspire and motivate. They love what they do, and they know that you'll love it too! There’s no question about it, they are wild about wildlife! The only thing they love more than nature is sharing it with others. They aim to educate, enlighten and entertain. They teach biology, ecology, ornithology, conservation and stewardship in a manner that everyone can understand and appreciate. They believe that learning about nature is fun, and we want you to have fun with us!

Anita Acai

Student + Biology

Anita obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Guelph, where she was a President’s Scholar, 3M National Student Fellow, and Millennium Award Laureate. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Health Science Education at McMaster University. Anita was highly involved in the University of Guelph community as a writing peer helper, academic support facilitator, and a member of student government. Her research and commentary on modern pedagogical practices, the relevance of the post-secondary education sector, and experiential and skills-based learning have been featured in several peer-reviewed publications and at both national and international conferences on teaching and learning.

Eitan Gallant

Eitan Gallant has been living and performing in Guelph for over ten years. What began as a musical hobby developed into activist mentality. He is openly concerned, and he tells you through his spoken word. “Eitan’s spoken word performances speak of peace and community… He will leave you feeling inspired and like you want to hug the stranger next to you.” -Guelph Community Music Collective.

Gabrielle Raill

Gabrielle Raill has combined her passion for education, as well as her experience as the director of Camp Ouareau, an all girls summer camp, to develop a wide range of educational and developmental programs. Gabrielle has consulted with several organizations such as The International Camping Fellowship, Concordia University, and NASA, providing expertise on creating positive community dynamics, geared toward setting up frameworks that support creative learning and diverse thinking. Since completing her B.A. in Human Relations at Concordia University, Gabrielle has become a world traveller, sharing these values and programs with an internationally diverse audience.She also has a mild obsession with dinosaurs, cause, you know, dinosaurs are really cool.

Gavin Armstrong

Impact Entrepeneur + World Health

Gavin Armstrong is a PhD candidate at the University of Guelph and a committed impact entrepreneur. He is currently serving as the Founder and President of Lucky Iron Fish™, a social enterprise attempting to alleviate iron deficiency around the world using a simple health innovation. A long term advocate and activist against hunger and malnutrition, Gavin is the first Canadian to receive the William J. Clinton Award for international work against hunger and is the inaugural recipient of the international Michaelle Jean Emergency Hunger Relief Award. He has also helped Lucky Iron Fish win a Cannes Lion Grand Prix award, two Gold Lion Awards, a Gold Cannes Health Award, and a Silver Lion Award. He has also received a Silver Innovation Award from the Edison Foundation. In 2015 Conscious Company Magazine featured Gavin as one of the seventeen 'Rising Social Entrepreneurs' of the year.

Jamie Gruman

Dr. Jamie Gruman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at the University of Guelph. He is also a founding member of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association. His textbook on Applied Social Psychology is the global market leader, and his research and writing have been reported by media outlets around the globe. In Canada he has been featured and quoted across the country in print and online in magazines such as MoneySense, Canadian Business, and Chatelaine, trade journals such as HR Professional and Public Sector Digest, and newspapers in every major city. He has appeared on CTV’s Canada AM, Global News, Report on Business Television, CBC’s The National, and has been syndicated on CBC radio. Dr. Gruman has consulted and delivered seminars for Fortune 500 corporations, public, and not-for-profit organizations including General Motors, the Canadian Federal Government, and the Children’s Wish Foundation.

Jeff West

Jeff West

Joe Richards

Camp Director + Team Work + Creating Utopia

Joe Richards has spent the last 20 years as a Summer Camp Professional. Since starting to attend summer camp at the age of 3, Joe has made it his life’s mission to change the lives of children & youth. He directs Summer Camps as a living, acts as a leadership trainer, and a keynote speaker. Having worked at numerous summer camps, Joe has the unique perspective to bring to the camping world. His goal summer after summer is to help camps succeed, and stay successful. He has done this through the creation of a different culture as Summer Camps. He is creating a culture of encouragement, a culture of support, and a culture of sharing. He wants to share his theory of an altered culture at camp, to show that it is possible to create a utopia.

Justine Tishinsky

Dr. Justine Tishinsky is a course coordinator and instructor in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS) at the University of Guelph. She coordinates a large, first year Biological Concepts of Health course, and teaches in the First Year Seminar Program, the University of Guelph-Humber’s Kinesiology Program, and a distance education offering of a Fundamentals of Nutrition course in HHNS. Since 2012, Justine has been offering a first year seminar course entitled “Sleep: 1/3 of Your Life Spent with Your Eyes Closed”, where she explores the importance of sleep to our overall health and wellbeing. As an insomniac herself, Justine has a personal interest as to why we, as a modern day society, are so quick to dismiss slumber in favour of the personal and professional demands of our lives. She explores the consequences of “Social Jet Lag”, defined as the misalignment of our social and biological clocks, on our physical, mental and emotional health.

Kneale Mann

Leadership + Commerce

Kneale Mann’s focus is helping people love being at work; helping them define their success. Looking deeper into human behaviour, he helps entrepreneurs, executives, and members of multi-functional teams work toward greater success, as individuals and organizations. He helps business do better business through coaching, workshops, webinars, action learning, and customized solutions. As a passionate leader, he has over three decades of project management, leadership development, business, marketing, media, and talent coaching experience in numerous industries and organizations including; radio, digital marketing, corporate training, real estate, financial services, healthcare and more. Kneale has shared his expertise freely on his blog since 2008, connecting with over 2 million readers in more than 170 countries. Kneale was born in Montreal, grew up in Kitchener, and after stops in Toronto, Ottawa, and Kingston, is a proud resident of Guelph and a member of the Chamber of Commerce.

Lauren Benoit

Student + Agriculture

Lauren is a 4th year Agriculture student at the University of Guelph. She was born and raised on a cash crop operation just outside of Kirkton, Ontario. She has been involved in the world of agriculture her entire life. Growing up she was a part of a youth agriculture program known as 4H. She is currently the President of the Student Federation of the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph. She loves the world of agriculture, and wants to spread her ideas about it.

Liliana Caballero

Liliana is a physics professor at the University of Guelph. She was born in Bogota, where she did her undergraduate studies at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Her passion for science led her to graduate school at Indiana University, where she studied nuclear astrophysics. After her PhD, Liliana worked as a postdoctoral fellow at major research centres in the US and Germany. She is fascinated by how tiny nuclei can determine the fate of giant stars, including how these stars can at the end of their lives produce the materials needed to support life. Conscious that one lifetime is not enough to uncover the mysteries of the Universe, Liliana aims to inspire new generations of scientists.

Pat Barclay

Pat Barclay is an Associate Professor who is cross-appointed in Psychology and the Bachelor of Arts & Sciences program (BAS) at Guelph. He applies evolutionary theory to understand why people help others: he blends social psychology, evolutionary biology, experimental economics, anthropology, and mathematical game theory to make new predictions about when, where, and how much helping will occur, by whom and to whom. His experiments often involve experimental “games”: simplified scenarios where people have conflicting motives about helping themselves versus helping others, and which involve real money… so people love to participate!

Peter Katz

Part concert, part talk, Juno Award and Canadian Screen Award-nominated singer-songwriter and 2-time TEDx fellow Peter Katz uses his journey from nervous first-timer at the open mic to playing to thousands of people all over the world, to show how he discovered the direct correlation between the moments of greatest discomfort and fear in his life, and his moments of greatest discovery and growth. What’s on the other side of that cloud called fear? What happens when you do something you thought you were too afraid to do? As it turns out, our biggest challenges are our biggest opportunities, and through his songs and stories, Peter gives permission to his audience to bravely take on their own challenges and in doing so, discover the important lessons and hidden joys that they contain.

Shelagh Meagher

Shelagh graduated from the University of Guelph as an Aggie and somehow got a job in advertising, from which she veered into high tech with IBM in Canada, England, and France. At 33 she quit an executive position to become a garden designer. She became a writer when she found herself on an extended stay in Italy without a work permit, then found her way back into an executive role in Toronto after the headhunting industry had pronounced her ‘unemployable’. She’s now freelancing, writing, and entrepreneuring beside the ocean in Nova Scotia.

Tuuli Kukkonen

Dr. Tuuli Kukkonen is a clinical psychologist, assistant professor, and director of the psychophysiology of sexual health laboratory at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.