Theme: For

Now more than ever, ideas matter. Ideas can help create possibilities. Ideas can help solve challenges.
In a world when so many are against or anti, we want to be solutions-oriented.

TEDxFargo 2017 asks, "What are you for?"

207 4th St N
Fargo, North Dakota, 58102
United States

Adelynn Mrosko

Student- Gay Pilots Association

Adelynn Mrosko is an undergraduate student at the University of North Dakota majoring in Commercial Aviation. In her time at UND, Adelynn has done extensive work in promoting LGBT+ visibility and equality within the aerospace college. In late 2015, she created the first ever university chapter for the National Gay Pilots Association at the University of North Dakota. Since then, Adelynn’s templet has been used to create more NGPA university chapters at different aerospace colleges all around the country. Currently, Adelynn is an advocacy writer at the National Gay Pilots Association. Over the past two years, her writing has been focused on educating the aviation community on current transgender issues.

Andy Maus

Executive Director- Plains Art Museum

Andy Maus is the Director/CEO of Plains Art Museum, an organization that first sparked his love for art museums and the roles we play in building stronger, more innovative and healthier communities. The Plains Art Museum, located in downtown Fargo, is the largest and only AAM-accredited art museum in North Dakota and has several strong focus areas including modern and contemporary exhibitions, regional artists, Native American programming, cultural diversity, creative placemaking, learning, and artistic creation.

Anish Shroff

Commentator- ESPN

Anish Shroff is a studio host, anchor and play-by-play commentator for college sports, including lacrosse, football, basketball, and baseball. Shroff joined ESPN in January 2008 as an anchor and studio host for ESPNEWS, ESPN’s 24-hour sports news network.

Bridget McManamon

Student- Moorhead Senior High School

Bridget McManamon is 17 years old and a Junior at Moorhead Senior High School. She started the charitable organization Herstory to increase access to menstrual hygiene products, empower young women to have a better understanding of their physical well being and increase their confidence and ability to access leadership opportunities within their schools and communities.

Chef Gavin Kaysen

Culinary Champion- Spoon and Stable

Chef Gavin Kaysen opened the Spoon and Stable restaurant in Minneapolis in 2014 and is helping the next generation of young culinarians refine their skills in the kitchen. He is one of the founding mentors of the nonprofit ment’or BKB Foundation (formerly Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation), for which he currently serves as Team USA’s head coach in preparing for the famed biennial culinary competition that showcases the world’s best up-and-coming chefs.

Dr. Ali Fadlallah

Student- Harvard

Ali is a musician, writer, and social entrepreneur from Dearborn, MI, and a Lebanese, Muslim-American, and a doctoral graduate from Harvard. Ali runs Rima Records, an independent record label that supports top performers in the music industry who are passionate about social change, and top reformers in the education sector who are passionate about career-focused schooling within arts, media, and entertainment.

Dr. Michael Burns

Professor- Texas State University

Dr. Burns is an award-winning Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies and the Honors College at Texas State University. Dr. Burns' professional experiences outside of academia include working for NBC’s Today Show at the 2006 Torino, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Felecia Hatcher

Fellow- White House

Globally sought-after speaker, author, and kick ass mother Felecia Hatcher is a White House award Winning entrepreneur, Co-Founder of Code Fever and Blacktech Week.

Izzy Marcil

Izzy Marcil is a folk pop singer-songwriter originally from North Dakota and Minnesota. With influences as diverse as 90s rock icons U2 and the Goo Goo Dolls, and contemporary pop artists Sara Barielles and Ingrid Michaelson, Izzy’s songs capture the energy and passion of multiple generations of musicians and songwriters. Izzy aspires to empower others through her intimate lyrics, which paint stories of personal challenges and victories. In the summer of 2016, Izzy released her debut 5-song EP. Since then she has been touring locally and nationally, as well as writing and recording new music. She has performed in sold-out shows across the country, including opening for The Voice finalist, Kat Perkins. She recently performed her single ‘Unafraid’ for TEDxFargo. After her recent graduation from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Songwriting, Izzy is now living in LA. Her music is available on iTunes, Spotify, and all major streaming services. Watch out for her latest single, ‘Deep’, available now.

James Lanman

James Lanman is a neo-soul singer originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. After years of performing with various musical projects from London to Los Angeles, Lanman decided to go nomadic, embarking on an ambitious solo tour while living out of a converted van. The 100 Days Tour will entail Lanman playing one hundred acoustic concerts across the United States and Canada throughout 2017 in the living rooms, backyards and rooftops of his biggest fans.

Kathryn Helgaas Burgum

First Lady- North Dakota

First Lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum has donated her time and leadership to many charitable endeavors including at-risk women and children, animal welfare, visionary artists and the arts. Now, as First Lady, her priority is supporting and developing initiatives for fighting addiction in North Dakota’s communities.

Kelly Krenzel

Founder- Hope Blooms

As a marketing and communications specialist for Hospice of the Red River Valley, Kelly Krenzel focuses telling the hospice mission through those who have experienced it firsthand. She is truly moved by the small, but beautiful moments she has witnessed among hospice patients and their families and staff. Inspired by this work, the love for her Grandma Freda, a bit of a green thumb and incredible amount of compassion for others, Kelly started Hope Blooms, a flower recycling project, to spread joy, happiness and emotional healing to those facing difficult times. Kelly grew up in Bismarck, N.D., and moved to Fargo 15 years ago to earn a mass communications degree from MSUM. She met her now husband, Scotty, at a local pizzeria 5 years ago, and the two have been adventuring ever since. In late 2015, the pair embarked on their biggest adventure yet with the arrival of their son, Henry Fisher. In her spare time, Kelly loves being with family and friends.

Kevin Peterson

Program Manager- New Hampshire Community Foundation

From New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Upper Valley office in Hanover, Kevin co-leads design and implementation of the Impact Investing Program. He also manages four grant programs: a statewide environment portfolio; the Wellborn Ecology Fund; the Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund; and regional grants/nonprofit/donor relations in the Upper Valley.

Kevin Wang

Founder- TEALS | Microsoft

Kevin has an undergrad in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley and a graduate degree in Education from Harvard University.  He built and taught a CS program for three years at a San Francisco Bay Area high school. He was a member of the MIT Teacher Education Program‘s StarLogo programming language team, a Teaching Fellow for Harvard CS 1, and held engineering fellow positions at Lockheed Martin and Toyota.  Kevin was a software engineer in the Microsoft Office 365 group when he founded TEALS in 2009.  He now runs TEALS full time generously supported by Microsoft Philanthropies.  Kevin spends what little of his free time trying to not be outsmarted by his dog while watching British panel quiz shows.

Kitty Westin

Advocate- Ann Westin Foundation

Kitty Westin, a licensed psychologist, founded the Anna Westin Foundation (now known as The Emily Program Foundation) following the death from anorexia of her daughter, Anna, in 2000. Soon after Anna’s death the foundation opened Minnesota’s first residential treatment program for eating disorders; The Anna Westin House. Kitty is an advocate for people affected by eating disorders and has become a nationally and internationally recognized authority on the impact mental illness has on individuals, their families and the community.

Lt. Governor Donna Lynne

Lt. Governor- State of Colorado

Donna Lynne, DrPH, was sworn in as Colorado’s 49th Lieutenant Governor and Chief Operating Officer on May 12, 2016. She is widely respected as both a leader in the private sector and an expert in the health field.

Mark Hurlburt

Founder- Prime Digital Academy

As the Chief Strategy Officer at The Nerdery, one of the top 20 fastest growing companies in Minnesota, Mark Hurlburt was an early advocate of the company’s exploration of partnering with agencies to handle the interactive needs of their end clients. As an advocate for a strong company culture, Mark helped to build the working environment that has been voted as the best place to work in the Twin Cities for two consecutive years by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Melody Warnick

Author- This is Where you Belong

After 13 years of chronic moving, Melody Warnick managed to fall madly in love with her adopted hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia, then wrote a book about how other people could do the same. "This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are" (Viking, 2016) helps Movers and Stayers alike rethink the value of their community and was described by Richard Florida as “an important book for so many people who are choosing their place to live."

Mert Hilmi Iseri

Founder- SwipeSense

Mert Hilmi Iseri is the young turk of design. He is the co-founder of Design for America, a national initiative amongst college students to use design thinking for social impact in their communities. He is also fortunate enough to have the best job in the world as the CEO of SwipeSense, aiming to eliminate Hospital-Acquired Infections from US hospitals and beyond.

Nastesho Ulow

Student- West Fargo High School

Leaving Africa in 2012, Nastesho Ulow's strong roots in culture followed her to America. In Fargo, Ulow became passionate about community involvement so Ulow and her friends created a Minority Inclusion Association; their hope being more minority students would have a voice and feel comfortable to partake in the community.

Rear Admiral Stuart Munsch

Rear Admiral- US Navy

Stuart was raised in small towns in North Dakota and has had a long career in the U.S. Navy. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and, as a Rhodes Scholar, Oxford University. Stuart has deployed around the world in submarines and an aircraft carrier and has commanded a submarine, a squadron of submarines and our largest overseas submarine command that spanned from the Suez Canal to the International Date Line. Ashore he has had several Pentagon assignments, including twice serving as a military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense; and, as a White House Fellow, a special assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture. He presently is a Rear Admiral and serves on the Navy Staff in the operations, plans and strategy office. The son of teachers, education and leadership have always remained important to Stuart and he still feels most at home when he is on the prairie.

Sam Reid

Consultant

Sam is an idealist realist who was raised by ex-hippies in Northern California. He spent the last 3 decades chasing big questions through careers in construction, social venture capital, and strategy consulting before falling for his South Dakota dream girl, launching his own consulting firm, and realizing that even when he's his own boss, it's still really hard to be the father, husband, leader, and friend that he wants to be.

Sister Thomas Welder

President- U of Mary

Sister Thomas Welder, a native of Bismarck, North Dakota, and a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery, has served the University of Mary as teacher and administrator since the 1960’s. She is committed to fostering servant leadership development in students and colleagues through living mission and core values.

Steve Gadlin

Shark Tank / Who Wants to be a Millionaire | I want to draw a cat for you

Steve Gadlin is a serial silly projects guy. He appeared on ABC's Shark Tank and struck a deal with Mark Cuban with his stick figure cat drawing company, "I Want To Draw a Cat For You!"

Steve Rohr

Publicist- The Oscars

Steve Rohr is a widely-recognized Communication expert, bestselling author, professor and the Show Publicist for the Academy Awards.® As a Communication expert, Steve has made over a hundred media appearances in the US, Canada and UK.

Wendy Guillies

CEO- Kauffman Foundation

Wendy Guillies is the president and chief executive officer of the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Guillies leads the Foundation’s work to boost student achievement in Kansas City and to accelerate entrepreneurship across the country.

Will Davis

Will is responsible for the TEDx platform's development. This includes regional strategy, supporting TEDx regional workshops and helping evolve individual event experiences.