Theme: Lead

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

Mike and Josie Harper Center Ballroom
602 N 20th St
Omaha, Nebraska, 68178
United States

Amy Badura-Brack

Amy Badura-Brack is the lead investigator for clinical trials of an innovative therapy using attention control treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After initial results with military veterans were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, she received a $1.2 million grant from At Ease USA to fund a web-deliverable version of the treatment and extend the trials to survivors of domestic and community violence Badura-Brack and her team published brain-imaging research comparing veterans with and without PTSD, as well as changes in brain activity of veterans before and after treatment. She and her team are currently researching the impact of traumatic events on children’s brain development in conjunction with a major National Science Foundation sponsored grant. Badura-Brack chairs the social and behavioral Institutional Review Board. She teaches abnormal, health and introductory psychology, and supervises the psychology internship program at Creighton.

Amy Lane

Activism comes to the stage in the Theatre for Social Justice course. Led by Amy Lane, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, the course brings together Creighton students and professional playwrights to create plays exploring multifaceted perspectives surrounding such social issues as immigration, climate change, and poverty in America.

Ben Adams

Ben Adams performs “Letter from a Vet,” by Cecilia Kimes. Adams is a junior at Creighton University, studying theatre performance. He was nominated in 2017 for a Theatre Arts Guild award for his performance in Catherland, performed at Omaha’s Shelterbelt Theare. His “Letter from a Vet” performance was part of the Theatre for Social Justice segment at TEDxCreightonU. Led by Amy Lane, PhD, the Theatre for Social Justice course brings together Creighton students and professional playwrights to create plays exploring multifaceted perspectives surrounding such social issues as immigration, climate change and poverty in America. This performance was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Brian Boerner

Brian Boerner, a native of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, is a senior in the Heider College of Business majoring in business intelligence analytics and marketing. A founding member of the Collegiate Alliance of Social Entrepreneurs organization at Creighton, he has coordinated the entrepreneurship boot camp weekend 3-Day Startup for two years. Boerner also is a co-coordinator for Youth Leadership Omaha, an interactive leadership development program that works with high school students. He has spent time working with residents in the prison systems of Nebraska through Defy Ventures, a nonprofit training program for formerly incarcerated individuals. After graduation, Boerner will be working at Sandhills Energy, a renewable energy company based in Omaha.

Cory Wilson

Cory Wilson grew up in one of the poorest areas of West Texas, a desert-like place seemingly more accommodating to rattlesnakes and scorpions than to humans. Wilson began working in the oil field for his father when he was only 13. To enter oil field facilities requiring a minimum working age he would hide in toolboxes to sneak past guards. His older crewmates would jokingly wipe their dirty work gloves on his face to make it look as though he had facial hair and was older than he was. Since then he has worked in refineries across the United States, on pipelines, on drilling rigs as a roughneck and later began a career as a signalman for the nation’s largest railroad. Now a Creighton law student, Wilson says that “despite a humble and culturally homogeneous beginning, I’m fervent about creating a culture of tolerance for diverse ideas, synergy and reason.” He sees today’s cultural landscape “polarized to the point of nullity,” but he remains optimistic for the future. “I believe that our youngest generations have an incredible opportunity to leave a legacy of unison; they only need someone to tell them that is OK.”

Dawaune Hayes

Dawaune Lamont Hayes is an artist, journalist, engaged citizen and social entrepreneur with a passion for connecting people to ideas and resources necessary to inspire positive social change. A 2016 journalism graduate of Creighton, Hayes worked in arts advocacy and communications before joining forces with The Omaha Star, Nebraska’s oldest black-owned newspaper, and Mind & Soul 101.3 FM to develop NOISE (North Omaha Information Support Everyone). NOISE is a community-led news project committed to strengthening information creation and distribution in north Omaha. Hayes is the director of effort, working to encourage community members to recapture their narrative and inform their neighbors.

Duncan Werling

A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Duncan Werling played soccer at a college on the West Coast, but after a year he was homesick for the Midwest. “I missed my roots too much,” he says. Werling transferred to Creighton and joined the men’s soccer team as a goalkeeper. He is considering major options through the Heider College of Business. “I’m grateful to be able to represent Creighton both academically as well as athletically,” he says. “I very much look forward to the next few years here in an environment surrounded by so many special people.”

Grace Tierney

Grace Tierney is a Creighton freshman from Edmond, Oklahoma. She has made no groundbreaking discoveries known to date, and is currently deciding on a major from the plethora of options. Grace has hopes to enlighten you on the importance of introverted leadership.

Heather Fryer

Heather Fryer, holder of the Fr. Henry W. Casper, SJ, Professor of History at Creighton, is a scholar of the 20th century American West. Her work examines how race, class and gender have shaped the social reality of the region—in contrast to the popular mythology of the post-frontier West. The program director for American studies at Creighton, Fryer’s varied scholarly work includes the incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II and the writings of anthropologist Rosalie Hankey Wax. She devoted three years to researching and writing about the Rev. Edward J. Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, resulting in a historical biography that was sent to the Vatican in support of the case for Fr. Flanagan’s sainthood.

Josh Dotzler

Creighton alumnus and former Bluejays basketball star Josh Dotzler is committed to improving his neighborhood in North Omaha, where he is executive pastor for Bridge Church and chief executive officer for Abide, an inner-city nonprofit founded by his parents, Ron and Twany Dotzler, in 1989. Dotzler explains that he never had the intention of taking over Abide but he can see that it has been a part of God’s plan all along. “We are humbled and blessed to be a part of what my parents have built for so long.” Dotzler and his wife, Jennifer, are parents to three children, Joshua, Joseph and Julianna. He graduated from Creighton in 2009 with a degree in public relations.

Joy Doll

Creighton alumna Joy Doll is at the helm of innovative clinical care at Creighton as the executive director of the Center for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research. Creighton is one of the first in the nation to provide interprofessional education—a team-based approach to care drawing upon the shared knowledge of health care professionals to deliver better patient care. West Virginia-native Doll served in AmeriCorps VISTA before coming to Creighton to build interprofessional health outreach and address health needs with communities in Omaha, rural Nebraska and several countries. In recognition of her contributions to occupational therapy and developing the interprofessional landscape, Doll received the American Occupational Therapy Association Interprofessional Collaboration Award in Salt Lake City on April 21, 2018.

Leah Georges

Leah Georges’ research—the multigenerational workforce—sheds light on a first in America’s history: four generations interacting in a workplace, with the Gen Z group coming soon. Georges presents on generational perspectives, millennial leadership and the power of followership locally and nationally. As an assistant professor in the Graduate School, she advises students in research methods and dissertation design in the Interdisciplinary EdD Program in Leadership. An alumna of Creighton’s undergraduate program in psychology, Georges has published on topics pertaining to emotion and jury decision-making, drug and mental health courts and best practices in graduate teaching and learning. She earned a selective spot in the Greater Omaha Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Omaha Program in 2015.

Mounika Addula

A Creighton graduate student, Mounika Addula is on track to complete her master’s degree in clinical and translational science this fall. She was born and raised in India; the country she says is “known for its ‘unity in diversity.’” After graduating from medical school in her home country, Addula made her way to the United States to further her health care skills. “I have always considered research at the forefront in every field, including health care, where we need answers to the unknown and advancements in many areas.” With a passion for health advocacy, advanced education in research and an interest in internal medicine, Addula hopes to make a difference in the field of medicine as a doctor and scientist.

Oliver Alonzo

Oliver Alonzo performs his original song, “She Needs Me at Home.” Alonzo is a 2018 graduate of Creighton University, where he majored in computer science and minored in graphic design and music. He hails from Santiago, Dominican Republic. His performance was part of the Theatre for Social Justice segment at TEDxCreightonU. Led by Amy Lane, PhD, the Theatre for Social Justice course brings together Creighton students and professional playwrights to create plays exploring multifaceted perspectives surrounding such social issues as immigration, climate change and poverty in America. This performance was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Samuel Lado

Samuel Lado is a student at Creighton University seeking a degree in international relations and economics on the pre-law track. He lived abroad in the Middle East for more than 17 years and attended his first few years of college at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. Lado says living in Lebanon was a transformative experience for him. “It’s a country with many different backgrounds and ethnicities, so living there had always been interesting. It most importantly helped me develop the person I am.”

Todd Darnold

Some days Todd Darnold wishes he could swap places with Henry David Thoreau. It may be a dream, but Darnold tries to follow the poet’s ideal of simple living. His blog, The Minimalist Manager, is based on the belief that people with meaningful and clear work flourish. Darnold has embraced the philosophy in his personal and professional lives. As an associate professor of marketing and management at Creighton, who also holds the Charles “Mike” Harper Chair in Business Leadership, Darnold sees the value of minimalist leadership in motivating people, especially students, to find a purpose-driven life. The director of Leadership Programs at the Heider College of Business, Darnold consistently earns “Favorite Professor” awards from students.

Victoria Sardella

Victoria Sardella is a psychology and social work double major at Creighton. She is an executive member of Active Minds, a nonprofit organization that works to reduce the stigma of mental illness on college campuses throughout the country. She will serve as president of the organization for the 2018–2019 academic year. Last summer she participated in breakthrough research with Rogers Behavioral Health, a leading behavioral health hospital in Wisconsin. She helped develop an application that uses Cognitive Bias Modification to provide people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and depression more affordable and effective treatment options. Locally, she co-founded and continues to organize a support group for people in and around Omaha with OCD. A member of the International OCD Foundation, Sardella regularly participates at its annual conference. She envisions one day becoming a clinical psychologist. Most of all, she says she “hopes to inspire people by using her story as a platform to demonstrate how to move from a place of vulnerability to empowerment and leadership.”