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).

Jamrich Auditorium
1401 Presque Isle Ave
Marquette, Michigan, 49855
United States

Abigail Zeman

Student

Abigail Zeman, an NMU junior, majors in English Writing with a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate and a journalism minor. As a recipient of the 2016 Barnard Student Writing Award for her Shakespearean paper entitled “Masking Disability: Hypermasculine and Neo-Misogynistic Richard,” Zeman is also honored to have participated in the Freshman Fellowship Program and Celebration of Student Scholarship to present her research on linguistics and surrealism.

Emily Stulz

Assistant Communications Director

Emily Stulz is currently the assistant director of social media and communications at Central Michigan University. With a bachelors in multi-media journalism and a master’s in higher education and student affairs, working in the communications environment at universities is the best way for Emily to bring her passions together. “I am inspired daily in my work through social media to portray the reality that is life, rather than the glamorized version. Many times, we become so blinded by sharing our personal highlight reel that we forget that people are struggling just as much as we are. No one is going to be honest about the fact that their muffler broke but will always be happy to tell you about the promotion they received at work. I think that for social media to continue to be social, we need to take it back and use it in a way that mirrors real life."

Jes Thompson

Communications Professor

Jessica Thompson is an associate professor in the Communication and Performance Studies department at NMU. She teaches courses in public relations, new media and environmental communication. Her research is focused on collaboration, climate change and public lands. Over the past decade she has participated in dozens of projects across the Western US, Mexico, India, Singapore and Mongolia. She has published more than 40 manuscripts and is currently finishing her second book, “America’s Largest Classroom: What We Learn From Our National Parks.” She earned her PhD in Environmental Communication at the University of Utah (2007) and she is a graduate of NMU (2001).

Kathryn Remlinger

English Professor/Linguist + Author

Dr. Kathryn Remlinger grew up in Columbus, Ohio. She earned a B.A. in French and sociology and an M.A. in English from Morehead State University and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Technical Communication with emphasis in sociolinguistics from Michigan Technological University. She is currently Professor of English at Grand Valley State University where she teaches a range of socio-cultural linguistics courses. Her research broadly focuses on the relationship between language, identity, and place and more specifically on how we use language to shape ideas about dialects and our perceptions about groups of speakers, the role of tourism and media in affecting language attitudes and awareness, as well as the history and development of regional dialects. She is author of Yooper Talk: Dialect as Identity in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She balances her life with cycling, cross-country skiing, and spending time with friends and her spouse, Robert Bell.

Kaylee Laakso

Kaylee Laakso is a native of Upper Michigan who recently returned to the area after working, studying, and traveling worldwide for the past decade. As someone who is fervent about security matters, world affairs, and strategic communication, she seeks to engage with others to exchange knowledge, ideas, and experiences in hopes of building better informed, engaged, and innovative communities. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Northern Michigan University and a Master of Professional Studies in Security and Safety Leadership from George Washington University. Kaylee is the owner of L&M Strategic Solutions, a woman-owned, veteran-owned small business based in Mohawk, Michigan.

Liz Peppin

Physician Assistant

Liz Peppin is a physician assistant practicing outpatient internal medicine and pediatrics in Marquette, MI. She appreciates firsthand the challenges of the pain epidemic, having gone through most of a decade of her own persistent pain while also trying to help her patients deal with their pain. She believes the evolving neuroscience of persistent pain has great potential to help patients chart a course out of suffering and back to living. In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing, reading, and watching cats be cats.

Nancy Langston

Environmental Historian + Author

Nancy Langston is an environmental historian who explores the connections between toxics, environmental health, and industrial changes in Lake Superior and other boreal watersheds. She is the author of four books, including the recent “Sustaining Lake Superior: An Extraordinary Lake in a Changing World.” Nancy spent 17 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies and the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology. She started at MTU in 2013. During 2012-2013, Nancy was the King Carl XVI Gustaf Professor of Environmental Science, in residence in the Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious studies at Umeå University.

Ryan Brandt

Graduate Student

Ryan Brandt is a neuroscientist who studies the pathology associated with neurodegenerative diseases. His research focuses on a family of proteins called neurotrophins which play roles in the development, survival, and maintenance of neurons. Ryan received his B.S. in Biology from NMU in 2012 and currently is a M.S. Biology Candidate graduating in May, 2018. He has 7 years of collective research experience in the field of neuroscience. Ryan enjoys teaching neuroscience and physiology through facilitating an engaging environment. He is also a music enthusiast and dedicated guitar player.