Theme: Escape!

Sometimes the future begins with an escape from the past. How many ways are there to escape a mindset, location, or constrictions that limit us? Come and join our conversation with ideas worth spreading.

Lewis Family Auditorium
3575 Main Highway
Coconut Grove, Florida, 33133
United States

Amishi Jha

Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Miami

Dr. Amishi Jha has a Ph.D. from the University of California-Davis, post-doctoral training in brain imaging at Duke University, and was a faculty member at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania prior to her current post at the University of Miami. Her research focuses on the brain bases of attention, working memory, and mindfulness-based training. With grants from the US Department of Defense and several private foundations, her current projects investigate how to best promote resilience in high stress cohorts using contemplative/mind training techniques that strengthen the brain’s attention networks.

Amy Padolf

Director of Education, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Amy Padolf is the Director of Education at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, FL where she oversees multidisciplinary environmental science programs for students ranging from pre-kindergarten through post graduate studies, as well as programs for teachers, adults, and community gardeners. For nearly 20 years, Ms. Padolf has been developing and implementing science education programs with and for local, national, and international audiences. She’s launched initiatives including the Million Orchid Project and a lofty collaboration with NASA to engage school children in high-reaching science exploration. She holds a BA in Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh and a MS in Science Education from Duquesne University.

Brezlan Malina

Student, Ransom Everglades School

Brezlan Malina is a sophomore at Ransom Everglades School. As an active participant on the robotics and debate teams, she has seen the ups and downs that occur in the competitive realm. Through this process she has learned to identify her biggest weakness: perfectionism. Her ability to be introspective and thoughtful about overcoming her fears of failure has brought her onto the TEDxCoconutGrove stage; yet another challenge she is willing to take on with what she’s learned. Here she talks about the societal expectations of perfectionism, their devastating impact on humanity, and how we can escape them.

Daniel Fundora

Ambassador, Bestbuddies

Born and raised in Miami, Daniel Fundora is very active in many communities throughout Florida and advocates for people with special needs as a Best Buddies Ambassador. He is a 13 time Olympic medalist through The Special Olympics of Florida and coaches bowling when he is not at work. Daniel enjoys encouraging and inspiring people who need guidance and has established himself as a local celebrity amongst his constituency. He is an avid Star Wars, Wrestling, and Super Hero Fan, enjoys playing video games, and loves to travel the world.

Joshua Stone

Dean of Student, Ransom Everglades School

Dr. Josh Stone teaches English and serves as the Dean of Students at Ransom Everglades School. In addition to helping students use literature to expand their understanding of themselves and of the world they inhabit, Josh is a founding member of “Exchange for Change,” a non-profit organization that offers writing courses in correctional facilities situated in South Florida. Many of these courses include a writing exchange that partners students on the inside with students enrolled in colleges and high schools. Josh holds a BA in English from Emory University, and an MA and a Ph.D. from the University of Miami.

Kristin Connor

Managing Partner, Whisk Gourmet Food and Catering

Kristin Connor grew up in a family that cooked and dined together every evening. These experiences led her to a career in hospitality in Washington DC and New York City. Eventually, her hometown beckoned and she returned to Miami, where she opened Whisk Gourmet in 2006 with her brother Brendan. She learned in 2014 that success doesn’t necessarily mean happiness after a series of personal tragedies altered her life forever. Kristin reevaluates what it means to be grateful and hopeful.

Peyton Manna

Student, Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart

Peyton Manna is currently a sophomore at Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. Her voice was discovered at an early age but her attention was diverted to academics and athletics. She is an honor roll student, team member of Carrollton's Varsity soccer and track teams, and captain of her club soccer team. Engaged in academics and sports, she was unconsciously escaping her true passion. When her music teacher recognized her modern and mature vocal tone, Peyton was inspired to cultivate the gift of her voice. Canon Alan DePuy provides piano accompaniment.

Sarah Knight

Author

After fifteen years working in New York City’s top publishing houses, Sarah Knight struck out on her own. Since then, her essay “I Quit My Job Today (And So Can You!)”—that went viral, and her book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don’t Have with People You Don’t Like Doing Things You Don’t Want to Do", became a bestseller. The escape from corporate life and transformation into an “accidental anti-guru” continued when she and her husband moved to Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic. Sarah’s new book explains how to "Get Your Shit Together: How to Stop Worrying About What You Should Do So You Can Finish What You Need to Do and Start Doing What You Want to Do." Sarah graduated cum laude with a degree in English and American Literature from Harvard University.

Steven Schlozman

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Mass. General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Steve is assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a child psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He studied literature and biology at Stanford, and taught high school English. He earned his M.D. at Brown and trained in psychiatry. Steve writes about the interface of popular culture with medicine, and he also writes fiction. George Romero optioned Steve’s first novel for film. He teaches psychiatry, and a horror film seminar, for Harvard undergraduates. He has helped to design science education video games, and he has participated in research examining mental health stigma. He also writes maybe too much about zombies.

Willy Ferrer

Former US Attorney for Southern District of Florida

Willy has clerked for District Judge Stanley Marcus and has been a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to Attorney General Janet Reno, and Chief of the Federal Litigation Section at the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office. As Assistant U.S. Attorney, Willy handled money laundering, health care fraud, narcotics, human rights abuses, immigration, and firearms offenses. In 2010 President Obama appointed him US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the third largest US Attorney’s office in the country. Willy recently joined the firm of Holland and Knight as a partner to head its Global Compliance and Investigations Team. Willy received the University of Pennsylvania Law School's Alumni Award of Merit and was recognized by the Hispanic National Bar Association as the Latino Lawyer of the Year in 2015.

Zach Manzi

Clarinet Fellow, New World Symphony

Zach is a Clarinet Fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach and has performed summer seasons at the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland, the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, and the Brevard Music Institute in North Carolina. A passionate educator, he was one of twenty students awarded a Morse Teaching Artist Fellowship in 2014, with which he taught music to third graders in an underserved New York City public school. Zach received his Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School in 2015. When away from the clarinet, Zach enjoys writing, traveling, and being outdoors.

Zack Giffin

Builder, Designer, Host of "Tiny House Nation"

Zack Giffin is a well known advocate of the tiny house movement and host of the popular television show, Tiny House Nation. A home builder and carpenter by trade, Zack has worked his life around outdoor adventures, eventually turning his passion for backcountry skiing into an occupation. A longtime practitioner of simple living Zack was naturally drawn to the Tiny House movement and in 2011 built his own tiny ski chalet on wheels. Zack’s function-based use of space and inventive multi-purpose designs have become a calling card of his work and reputation.