Theme: Identity: Who we are and where we're going

TEDxGilbert is a nighttime event featuring 6 compelling speakers from a variety of backgrounds.

University Center
92 W. Vaughn
Gilbert, Arizona, 85233
United States

Chet Jenkins

CEO of Signature Dental

Dr. Chet Jenkins is happily married to his high school sweetheart, Jennette, and together they have five children and four beautiful granddaughters. He is currently the Founder and CEO of Signature Dental Partners where he owns and operates multiple dental offices across the Southwest Region. Chet and his family have dedicated themselves to helping Hope Arising and the people of Ethiopia. They have been able to provide dental services, supplies and general education to the people of Dera. Chet lives by the mantra, Work hard and Play even harder.

Jenn Daniels

Honorable Mayor of Gilbert

As a Wife, Mother of 4 and Mayor of the largest Town in America, Honorable Mayor Jenn Daniels knows what its like to wear a lot of hats. She has been married to her favorite person in the world, Eric Daniels, for 17 years and gets to teach four awesome kids, Ethan (14), Drew (12), Ty (10) and Kate (6) the secrets to happiness and how to clean a bathroom. As Mayor of Gilbert, AZ, she leads the Town in bold initiatives and is constantly challenging the status quo to make her Town the best it can be. Jenn loves to read, workout, bake and play games. She doesn’t believe there is such a thing as balance or problems without solutions. Her and her family are active in their church and they are really looking forward to RV-ing across America this summer.

Joe Johnston

Founder of Coffee Plantation, Joe's Real BBQ, Joe's Farm Grill & Agritopia

Joe – Called “The Best Thing to Ever Happen To Gilbert,” Joe is best known for founding Coffee Plantation, Joe’s Real BBQ, Liberty Market and Joe’s Farm Grill. He developed his family farmland into Agritopia, a progressive subdivision. He holds multiple degrees from Stanford University. He considers himself a dreamer-doer. He comes up with ideas that he feels will benefit the community and bring together the resources to make the ideas come to life.

Katey McPherson

Parent & Child Advocate

Katey McPherson is an educator and mother of 4 exhausting yet beautiful daughters. Katey serves as a Gurian Institute certified master trainer, ECRA Group educational consultant, as well as adjunct faculty at Arizona State University. Katey is the co-author of the book “WTF: Why Teens Fail-What To Fix”. Her expertise focuses on internet safety, social media responsibility, brain-based teaching and parenting strategies. In her not so spare time, Katey loves to hike and travel with her family.

Park Howell

Brand Strategy Consultant

When traditional advertising practices were in a death spiral in 2005, Park Howell knew he had to do something to survive in the industry. He studied storytelling. After 20 years of running his own ad agency, Park pivoted into a business storyteller. This freed him to consult, teach, coach and speak to help leaders of purpose-driven brands clarify their stories to amplify their impact and simplify their lives. This experience has amplified his life, too. Park created and taught the sustainable storytelling curriculum for the Executive Masters of Sustainability Leadership program at ASU, helping leaders advance their social initiatives further, faster. He also hosts the popular Business of Story podcast featuring story artists from around the world to help listeners craft and tell compelling stories that sell.

Shivansh Srivastava

Youth Community Leader

Shivansh Srivastava is a junior at Catalina Foothills High School in Tucson. He is an honors student as well as a youth community leader working with numerous charity organizations to help the under-served community, including the homeless, orphans, and refugees. Shivansh is the founder of Saraswati Vihar, a Sunday school that educates youth about Asian-Indian heritage through lessons consisting of moral stories from Hindu mythology and activities such as yoga and crafts. As a member of the Oro Valley Youth Advisory Council, a representative of Pima county in the Arizona Governor’s Youth Commission, and a captain of his high school’s Lincoln-Douglas debate team, he enjoys giving back to the community whenever he can. In his spare time, he likes to program and dabble in ping-pong and Pokémon.