Theme: Explore

The event lasted from 10 am until just after 4 pm, ET. Registration started at 8 am. Tickets sold well during our early bird period and then again after Labor Day, when they became available. We had three blocks, with 4 speakers in each block, some entertainment and TED videos. The day, in the new venue for us, the Halton Theatre at Central Piedmont Community College, was great.

Halton Theatre, CPCC
1206 Elizabeth Avenue
Charlotte, North Carolina, 28204
United States

Satarah

Satarah is the lovechild of Satya and Sarah Hahn, two passionate and talented professional bellydancers, aerialists and fire performers that have come together to produce fantastic events and entertain the world. Between the two of them, they have been professionally performing for over 10 years, bringing a dynamic and exciting experience wherever they may go. Currently calling Charlotte home, this duo travels near and far to perform at events and teach workshops. www.facebook.com/satarah

Anne A. Madden, Ph. D.

Postdoctoral researcher, North Carolina State University

Anne A. Madden, Ph.D., Postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Rob Dunn at North Carolina State University. Dr. Madden received her Ph.D. in biology from Tufts University, and her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College. She is a former Alfred P. Sloan Microbiology of the Built Environment Postdoctoral Fellow, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, Tufts Institute of the Environment Fellow, and American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Fellow. Dr. Madden’s research focuses on understanding the microbial communities associated with animals and the human applications of these microbes. Her work has led to the discovery of a new fungal species, novel antibiotics, patent-pending technology regarding beer brewing, and a greater understanding of the microbial life that lives around us.

Ben Vandgrift

Software Engineer

Ben Vandgrift struggles daily with a compulsion to solve problems. His decades-old journey has most recently led him to Clojure, allowing him to solve many software problems elegantly and efficiently. He works as a software engineer when he’s not being mauled by his rescue panther. I struggle with a problem-solving compulsion. Like Alton Brown, there’s nothing I hate more than not knowing everything–learning new things is a life’s work, a hobby, a profession, and a joy.

Charles Hunt

Founder, The Audacity Firm, LLC

Adept at leveraging transparency to inspire and get results, this former College Recruiting, Talent Management, Diversity, and Supply Chain leader left the corporate world to fulfill his vision of building unbreakable spirits and cultivating resiliency for those who, like him, have The Audacity to Succeed. He helps students & young professionals build resilience, believe in bigger and greater for themselves, and create the educational, financial, and professional plans to get there. As the founder of The Audacity Firm, LLC, his firm provides professional & personal development programs, coaching, and events to equip clients with financial literacy/education, workforce readiness, professional development, and career planning tips, tools, and strategies to LIVE, DO, and BE BETTER.

David Jessup, Jr.

Founder and CEO, Digi-Bridge

David is the founder and chief executive officer of Digi-Bridge, a federally recognized Charlotte-based nonprofit working at the nexus of technology and education. The organization believes that the “digital divide”- a reality that affords only some students with the access needed in order to be successful in a global economy- is exacerbating the country’s educational achievement gap. Employing a three-pronged strategy to eradicate this divide, David oversees advocacy activities, consultancy efforts and educational course offerings carried out by Digi-Bridge. As a former corps member with Teach For America, David brings his educational experience to the forefront in support of 21st century teaching and learning. David received a bachelor’s degree in political science and pre-law from The University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in non-profit management from the same institution.

James Ford

Program Director at the Public School Forum of North Carolina

James E. Ford is the Program Director at the Public School Forum of North Carolina, an education think-tank and advocacy organization. Prior to this, he served as the 2014-15 North Carolina Teacher of the Year. Ford taught World History at Garinger High School in Charlotte, NC starting in 2010. Ford earned a bachelor of science in mass communication from Illinois State University in 2003 and a master’s degree in teaching from Rockford University in 2009. Ford was recognized as Charlotte Magazine’s 2014 Charlottean of the Year, the 2014 National Alliance of Black School Educators’ Teacher of the Year and is a Carnegie Fellow. Ford is a self-professed equity warrior who believes education is a human right. He writes and speaks extensively on the topics of race, class, and education and advocates for the most disadvantaged student populations. He writes for Education Post, Charlotte Agenda and EducationNC.

Jonell Logan

Curator, Arts Advocate, and Founder of 300 Arts Project, LLC

Jonell Logan is an independent curator, arts advocate, and founder of 300 Arts Project, LLC. 300 Arts is an arts management and consulting company that helps museums, colleges, and collectors expand and document their exhibitions, scholarship, and collections. Our mission is to support increased arts engagement, education, and appreciation through the presentation and investigation of contemporary art. To that end, Logan served as the adviser and catalog essayist for the Columbia Museum of Art’s current exhibition, REMIX: Themes and Variations in African-American Art. She is currently organizing exhibitions for the Carrack Modern in Durham, and The Light Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina. Logan has worked at a number of arts organizations including The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of Art; Studio Museum in Harlem in New York; the Gibbes Museum in Charleston, South Carolina; and the Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lara Americo

Musician, Songwriter and Videographer

Lara Americo is a musician, songwriter and videographer. Her weekly web series, Untitled with Lara Americo, appears in Creative Loafing Charlotte and focuses on the local music scene. She interviews guests in a variety of spaces in Charlotte, including Petra’s Piano Bar, The Last Word bookstore and The Diamond. Her guests have included Dust and Ashes, The Stolen Hearts, and Bless These Sounds Under the City. When she is not interviewing musicians on Untitled, she is performing onstage at festivals and events, including NC Trans Pride 2015. She is a regular at Petra’s Piano Bar, The Evening Muse and Hattie’s Tap & Tavern. She plays drums, guitar and bass and mixes her own songs together on the same track. She is currently working on her first EP to be released in 2016.

Laurie Smithwick

Founder

Laurie Smithwick is a design addict who has spent much of her career staring into monitors. She’s also a collector of things, a french-fry lover, a cilantro hater, a maker, a chef, a mom of twins, a happy wife, and a loyal friend. In 2013, Laurie set out to change her complicated, yet inevitable relationship with screens. The goal was to make interacting with technology more meaningful. To do less consuming, less curating, and more creating. This led to the launch of Make Club, an online community that urges and inspires us to step away from the screen and make something. Laurie is also a Grammy-nominated designer, the Creative Director and Founder of LEAP Design, the Chief Creator at Spatty+Co, and a partner in the Alt Summit design conference. She lives in Charlotte, NC with her one husband, two daughters, and three cats.

Lou Solomon

Founder

Lou Solomon is a CEO, author and communications expert who is also a survivor of the Impostor Syndrome, a widespread condition that prevents successful people from internalizing and enjoying their accomplishments. Lou is a member of the adjunct faculty at the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte, and co-founder of the school’s annual TWIST Conference for Women. She released her first book, Say Something Real in 2010 and is currently working on her second book. Lou’s articles and insights have been published by Fast Company, Entrepreneur.com, CEO.com, HBR and more. She regularly conducts surveys in collaboration with Harris Interactive on leadership and the human connection.

Mark Moore

Co-Founder

Mark Moore is the co-founder of MANA Nutrition, one of the world’s leading suppliers of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food,(RUTF) the front line defense against severe acute malnutrition. Mark and his team raised $13 million in 2011 to build MANA’s 30,000 square foot production facility which now employs more than 60 people and supplies partners such as UNICEF, the World Food Program, World Vision, Doctors without Borders and USAID to aid in their efforts in fighting malnutrition in more than 50 countries across the globe. MANA has grown exponentially in the last five years, supplying over $20 million worth of RUTF in 2015 to the UN and US government. Mark was an Unreasonable Institute Fellow in Boulder, CO in 2013 where he and others launched Calorie Cloud, an effort to harvest excess calories in the US and send them into 500 calorie packets of RUTF. Calorie Cloud now partners with the US Fund for UNICEF to run UNICEF Kid Power, the first ever fit for good tech platform.

Naeem Fazal

Pastor

Naeem Fazal, a Pakistani, was born and raised in Kuwait. He grew up in a Muslim family, was a teenager in the midst of the Gulf War, and came to the United States in 1992. He had a supernatural experience with Christ that changed the course of his life. His story has been told on several networks and publications. He is the author of the book Ex-Muslim and the founding pastor of Mosaic Church in Charlotte, NC. He is also co-founder of a city wide initiative called “What If Everyone.” Naeem also frequently speaks at events, conferences and churches around the country. Naeem currently resides in Charlotte with his wife Ashley and their son and daughter.

Scott Galloway

Director

Scott Galloway has written, directed and produced feature films that have been released theatrically throughout the world, broadcast nationally and showcased at film festivals from Cannes to Kenya. He has also written, directed, and produced more than 800 television shows for fourteen different networks. His work has won Audience Choice, Emmys, New York Film and Television, Cine Golden Eagle and Telly awards. He has been selected as a feature director for the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers and as a delegate for the American Documentary Showcase, a U.S. Department of State initiative featuring documentary filmmakers and their films said to represent the best in American documentary filmmaking. In 2014, Galloway created the 100 Words Film Festival. The mission of the festival is to democratize film for all professional and student filmmakers. The inaugural festival sold out and premiered 30 films made by filmmakers from across the country.