Theme: The Great Undone

TEDxLaSierraUniversity returns this November 10 with our fourth event: “The Great Undone.”

It’s that feeling you get when you just need that one final step, minute, or push to achieve a goal; that passionate impatience when you are so close you can taste it; that moment when the finish line comes into view. It’s the “great undone” in each of our lives. Join us on Friday November 10, 2017 for a day of exploring, celebrating, and achieving the great undone in our world.

And you don’t have to wait to engage in this year’s theme. Tell us about or show us “The Great Undone” in your life that you are facing or have completed by using the hashtags #TEDxLaSierraUniversity and #TheGreatUndone on public Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts. Your photos, words, phrases, and stories will be used to create a number of visual and interactive elements at our November 10 event.

Zapara School of Business: La Sierra University
4500 Riverwalk Pkwy
Riverside, California, 92505
United States

Dale Marsden

School District Superintendent

Dr. Dale Marsden is superintendent of the San Bernardino City Unified School District, California’s 8th largest urban public school district serving a diverse student population comprised of 73% Latino and 14% African-American with a 91% poverty rate. The district serves over 50,000 students in 76 schools within a 98 square mile radius. Under his leadership, the district has become a catalyst to lead the City of San Bernardino beyond bankruptcy to a community of excellence. Much of Dr. Marsden’s current efforts are working in tandem with Gallup, Inc. to evaluate community-wide measures of Hope, Engagement and Well-Being to ensure thriving schools and community.

Justine Froelker

Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator

Full of grit and grace, Justine Brooks Froelker, uses her passion, the occasional curse word (when appropriate, of course), and humor to vulnerably share her truth to light up the world. Justine is an advocate for speaking shame and learning to thrive after life doesn’t turn out how you hoped, dreamed, and planned. Her spirit helps others to feel seen and empowered to change their own lives, no matter how life has turned out – to ultimately do the work of happy. Justine is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator (based on the research of Brené Brown) practicing in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the author of her best-selling books Ever Upward and The Mother of Second Chances [www.everupward.org]. Justine lives in Saint Louis with her husband Chad and their three dogs. She enjoys her childfull life by spending time with friends and family, practicing creative self-care, laughing (sometimes at herself) and building butterfly gardens.

Lee Grismer

Research Biologist + Reptile Expert

Dr. Lee Grismer is one of the world’s leading experts on the amphibians and reptiles of Southeast Asia and is a professor and the Director of Research in the Biology Department at La Sierra University. Lee has taken hundreds of students with him on research trips into some of the most remote jungles in Peninsular Malaysia which in many cases for them, has resulted in life-changing experiences. “I’m always happy to open doors for students who think that medicine is the only way to go in biology and I’m even happier when they reverse course and enter graduate school to become ecologists and conservationists.” In his career, Lee has discovered and described over 170 new species to science, and many of those descriptions were co-authored with his students. He has published over 300 scientific papers and has written three books on the amphibians and reptiles of Baja California, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore.

Marjorie Abalos

CEO + Social Entrepreneur

Marjorie Abalos, CEO and Founder of CLODS Inc., a New York City based mission-driven social enterprise that generates measurable social impact by improving healthcare region by region. Marjorie is also Board Chair and Founder of Out4Good Ltd., a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that mentors, pairs, and helps improve the policy and decision-making processes of decision makers in their efforts to create a “peaceful” balance between the “rule of law” and “human rights.” She has held senior management positions and played key roles at software and renewable energy firms both for Global 500 companies and startups, as well as, a life-long history of being engaged in public service and social justice projects. She has traveled to more than 50 countries and has led engagements developing process improvement plans which have empowered millions of disenfranchised, underserviced, and marginalized people throughout the world transform into the Information Age.

Mark Abdollahian

CEO and Strategy + Analytics Researcher

Dr. Mark Abdollahian is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at ACERTAS. His focus is on designing and delivering advanced analytics for data driven decision-making. His global experience spans corporate strategy, national policy, economic development, finance, public-private partnerships, M&A and business process re-engineering. He creates, architects and implements enterprise class data and strategy analytics used by the US Government, the World Bank and the United Nations as well as private sector companies worldwide. He is author of Power Transitions: Strategies for the 21st Century, The Performance of Nations, and dozens of articles on data driven strategy across business, politics and economics. Dr. Abdollahian is a board member for several private and nonprofit enterprises, lecturing to audiences worldwide on strategy and analytics.

Mike Wogu

Fashion Entrepreneur

Entrepreneur, visionary, traveler, dancer, bag designer, husband, and first time father, Michael Wogu is a man who wears many hats…and often forgets to hang them neatly back on the rack. After finishing grad-school with an MBA Michael chose a path less trodden and left for China to study Mandarin and Chinese culture, while working as an English teacher and Dance instructor. Upon his return to the US, he took the reigns of his grad school term project turned boutique travel goods line MBARQGO, and began the grueling yet fulfilling road of turning his entrepreneurial ambitions into reality. His pieces have been seen on the likes of T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Scooter Braun, and Travie McCoy to name a few. Along with the exciting wins and epic adventures, Michael has also experienced painful losses and fortitude testing trials while on this journey. You can follow his work and movement on Instagram @woguwinning

Ray Lozano

Drug and Substance Prevention Specialist

Ray Lozano’s first-hand childhood experience with family members’ alcohol and drug dependence led to a curiosity about the consequences of drugs and alcohol and what life could look like without abusing these substances. This inspired a lifelong commitment to never use drugs or get drunk. Coming from a personal non-use background uniquely positions Ray in the field of drug and alcohol prevention. Since 1986, Ray Lozano has actively studied the most effective methods of educating and encouraging young people promoting life choices that foster potential. This pursuit resulted in the development of a unique educational approach, which Ray has used to train tens of thousands of middle and high school students, teachers and caregivers of youth in every state across America and internationally.

Shasta Nelson

CEO + Author

Shasta Nelson is passionate about all things friendship. As founder and CEO of GirlFriendCircles.com— the female-friendship learning community—she speaks and writes regularly on this important topic. She is the author of two books: Friendships Don’t Just Happen! The Guide to Creating a Meaningful Circle of Girl- Friends and Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness. Her spirited and soulful voice can also be read at Shasta’s Friendship Blog and in her relationship health column in The Huffington Post. She’s been interviewed on the Today show, Katie Couric’s show Katie, The Early Show, and on Fox Extra. She’s been consulted on friendship matters by writers and reporters from such magazines as Cosmopolitan, More, Real Simple, Redbook, and Good Housekeeping, and from such newspapers as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Tim Gillespie

Pastor + Design Thinker

Dr. Timothy Gillespie is currently the lead pastor at the CrossWalk Church in Redlands, California. (www.crosswalkvillage.com) Prior to this position, he was the Faith Community and Health Liaison for Loma Linda University Health. He has worked in Loma Linda for the past 13 years, becoming the Chaplain at Loma Linda Academy in 2001 and moving to the University Church in 2007 as their Young Adult Pastor. His interest in GIS and Faith Community Engagement began at LLUH and has continued with work in the local community in conjunction with the School of Public Health in their Place-Based Faith Initiative. There, he was trained in design thinking, experience design, and innovation. He also holds faculty positions at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Azusa Pacific University School of Nursing, La Sierra University Divinity School. He is married to Sara and has three kids. He has an earned Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics and Future Studies.