Theme: The Big Questions

Now into our second year, Ashbury College will host its own TEDx conference. This year, our topic is The Big Questions... which will now, thanks to our wonderful speakers, have answers.

362 Mariposa Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

Alyssa Chow

Grade 10 student at Ashbury College

Alyssa Chow is a grade 10 student at Ashbury College. She believes in social advocacy and is very active in her community. She was recently recognized with Ottawa’s 2016 Youth Philanthropy Award for her work with the YMCA in supporting their Strong Kids Campaign. Alyssa is also a member of the Youth Service Bureau’s Youth Cabinet, where she helps plan and organize events such as the SleepOut for Youth. Being involved in both organizations, Alyssa has been able to help underprivileged children in her community while managing, Charitable Wishlist, a website aimed at connecting volunteers, donors, and charities, you can visit the site at www.charitablewishlist.com. In addition to being an active volunteer Alyssa has been a strong leader at Ashbury, being on a variety of committees and teams. She often competes in public speaking and debate competitions and recently attended the International Independent School Public Speaking Competition. Alyssa also enjoys participating on the field hock

Aurelie Gaussorgues

in the field of communication technology management

Ms Aurelie Gaussorgues is a 45 year old mother of 2 teenagers with 20 years of professional experience in communication technology especially the emergency management. She has worked in 4 different countries France, Finland, China and Canada and she is passionate about team building, specifically, running teams towards a common goal. In addition Ms Gaussorgues likes technology when it is supporting communication and helping people.

Bernard Faustenhammer

Minister Plenipotentiary - Deputy Head of Mission for the Austrian Embassy, Director of the Austrian Cultural Forum

Mr. Faustenhammer currently works with the Austrian Foreign Ministry in Ottawa, Canada, promoting cultural and scientific exchange, cooperation and understanding between his homeland and Canada. He is also an avid lover of classical music.

Ekin Kizitan

Grade 10 Student at Ashbury College

Ekin Kiziltan was born on June 5 th 2001 here in Ottawa. While both of his parents are first generation immigrants, the rest of his extended family is still living in Turkey. His personal interests include IT and computers. Since infancy he has been tinkered with technology and more recently started getting into coding languages like PHP, HTML and Python. More recently he has been putting more of his time and interest into political sciences and global affairs, especially with the current situation in Turkey and the Middle East. He has always loved public speaking and the sharing of ideas with others making TEDx feels the perfect opportunity to combine both. During his spare time he enjoys playing video games, hanging out with friends, reading, and watching TV among others.

Ella Wilson

A student at Ashbury College's Junior School.

Geoff Green

Founder and President of Students on Ice Foundation

Educator, environmentalist and social entrepreneur, Geoff Green is a respected and trusted leader in the national and international Polar community. For the past 23 years Geoff has dedicated his career to raising awareness and understanding of the Arctic and the Antarctic. He is known as a connector and bridge builder with a positive and creative spirit. Geoff is the Founder and President of the Students on Ice Foundation, an internationally renowned program that has taken more than 2,700 youth, educators, elders, experts, scientists, leaders and artists from around the world on educational journeys to the Arctic and Antarctic. www.studentsonice.com Geoff was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2012. In 2015, he was selected by Canadian Geographic as one of the top 100 Greatest Canadian Explorers. In 2010, Geoff was selected as one of the Top 25 Transformational Canadians by the Globe & Mail, CTV and La Presse, and Outpost Magazine chose Geoff as one of the “Top 5 Canadian Explorers”

Janin Dreger

Grade 12 Student at Ashbury College

Originally being from Bavaria, Germany and inspired by her experiences as a boarding student in Ashbury, Janin Dreger is further exploring the topic of educational systems in different parts of the world, as well as principles that should underline the general concept of schooling. She is keen on understanding education from different perspectives and includes the aspects of university admissions, lifelong learning and related success later in life in her talk. Janin speaks four languages and has taken part in exchanges to France, Spain and England, all together having allowed her to have gained some experience in the many European schooling systems.

First having learned about the TED concept in 2015, her first year abroad, she was immediately fascinated by the sheer variety and range of topics that could be explored in TED talks and since then has been wanting to actively participate in this concept.

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu

President/CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu is currently the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) based in Toronto.  Anishinaabe from Thunder Bay JP is a member of Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek located on the eastern shores of Lake Nipigon, Ontario.  JP completed a forestry technician diploma in 1993, obtained an undergraduate degree in forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2000 and holds an Executive MBA from Queens University. JP has over two decades of experience in the natural resource sector. His career path includes work with Aboriginal communities and organizations, environmental non-government organizations, industry and governments from across Canada.

In JP’s current capacity at CCAB, he speaks extensively not only across Canada but internationally as he shares the challenges and successes of Aboriginal business in Canada today.  In 2014 he addressed delegates at the World Indigenous Business Forum, in 2015 he presented at both the Sodexo Quality of Life Co

Kahente Horn-Miller

Assistant Professor in the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies at Carleton University

Dr. Kahente Horn-Miller (Kahente means “she walks ahead”) (Kanien:keha’ka/Mohawk) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies at Carleton University. Her performances, governance work and community-based research involve interpreting Haudenosaunee culture and bringing new life to old traditions. It is the fruit of her endeavors as a Mohawk, an educator, and a mother that she brings into her interactions with Onkwehonwe (original peoples) and the academic community. Academics for her is not only about theorizing the issues that Indigenous peoples face as a way to find solutions; it is also about putting these theories into practice. It is also through writing, research, performances and teaching that she challenges others to learn about Indigenous cultures and about themselves as human beings, which in the long term fosters relationships between Indigenous and non-native peoples that will go beyond the written word, the classroom and the research setting t

Kateri Lanthier

Published poet, professional editor and creative writing instructor.

Kateri Lanthier’s poems have been published in journals in Canada, the United States and England, most recently in The Fiddlehead, EVENT, Hazlitt, Great Lakes Review, Green Mountains Review, and the Literary Review of Canada. Her poem “The Coin Under the Leftmost Sliding Cup” won the 2013 Walrus Poetry Prize and was included in Best Canadian Poetry 2014 (Tightrope Books). Her poem “Reluctant, Reluctant” was shortlisted for Arc’s Poem of the Year 2016 and was an Editors’ Choice. She won third prize in the London, England-based 2016 Troubadour International Poetry competition. She is a full member of The League of Canadian Poets and has taught Creative Writing in the English department at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Her first collection is Reporting from Night (Iguana Books, 2011). Her second is Siren (Signal Editions, Véhicule Press, spring 2017).


Marjan Cencen

Ambassador of Slovenia

Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Canada, previously Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, also served in Russia. Before his role as a government official, His Excellency Dr Marjan Cencen was a High school teacher for more than 9 years. He studied Political science, holds Master’s Degree in Geography and PHD in International relations. He was a guest lecturer for postgraduate students - University of Ljubljana from 2002-3, also held lectures at Chinese Universities Beida, Foreign Studies, Fudan and Tibet. His Excellency Dr Marjan Cencen was the chief editor of the student newspaper, author of the scientific book “International Position of the People’s Republic of China After the End of the Cold War”; and co-author of a recently published book on Afghanistan among many others. Author of 6 TV documentary films on Western Himalayas and East Africa. Despite his hinted busy schedule, His Excellence enjoys mountain climbing and has a number of escapades under his belt, such a

Mitchell Mark-George

Grade 8 Student at Ashbury College

Mitchell Mark-George was born on a bright Wednesday morning in Orillia, Canada on July 9th 2003, but lived in Nigeria for the first 12 years of his life. During his days in Nigeria, he loved to write stories and speeches and noticed that he had a gift in creative writing. Since moving to Canada, his hobbies have increased from writing speeches, stories and poems to also creating and listening to music; writing short stories and books. His story  “The Winter Forest”  was published in late October 2016 by The Young Writer of Canada Association. In the future, he would like to use his creative writings skills as an insurance broker, a lawyer and a prestigious writer.

Nevin Elgendy

Life Coach at Martha Beck Institute in Ottawa, Ontario

Nevin Elgendy is a Life Coach at Martha Beck Life Coaching institute, holds a Business Management Graduate diploma from Boston University as well as a BA in Mass Communication from the American University of Cairo Nevin draws from her diverse cultural background and experience to provide woman with the tools to get clear, become confident, and go big. She brings a strong sense of intuition, calm clarity, and compassion to her clients. Her guidance and loyalty give women a chance to reach their full potential, and prepare the heart and mind for a new life. Nevin encourages women to work their way through limiting beliefs and change the story they tell themselves.  Nevin spends her time between her native Egypt and adoptive Canada. She is trilingual and has taught workshops internationally. She’s a mother of four children. Some of her recent work includes a talk at the Rotary Club of Alexandria, as well as an upcoming event at Mercedes Benz in Jordan surrounding female empowerment.

Ryan Zanganeh

Ryan in a Grade 11 Student at Ashbury College.

Warren Creates

Specialist in Immigration and Citizenship Law, Head of the Immigration Law Group

Born and raised in Montreal, Mr Creates was educated with two university degrees (BA in Sociology and Bachelor’s in Law Degree) in Ontario. Though Mr Creates lives in Ottawa, he has practiced Immigration, Citizenship, Refugee and Humanitarian Law in about 50 different countries worldwide with 30 years of service under his name. He is also a Certified Specialist by the Law Society of Upper Canada. In addition to his individual successes, Mr Creates is frequently quoted by the media and respected by his peers.  He is one of Canada’s leading immigration lawyers and has received 3 significant awards for his philanthropic, charitable, and community work.  Has been granted honorary citizenship, tribal status, and the tribal title “Waadee” by the Afar indigenous people of the Horn of Africa.  “Waadee” means “Savior”.