Theme: Showing Up

Once again Colorado will join the global TEDxWomen event with TEDxCherryCreekWomen2018.
Bringing an incredible array of speakers and entertainers this will be the premiere event in Colorado for 2018.

Infinity Park Event Center
4400 E Kentucky Ave
Glendale, Colorado, 80246
United States

Abby Jones

Founder of “Abby’s Pay it Forward Project”

Abby Jones is the founder of “Abby’s Pay it Forward Project” which began as a simple project when she was born where her grandparents would gift her $25 every year to pay forward in some way. The money can not be spent on herself; instead it must be used to make the world a better place. Over the years, Abby has taken the money and turned it into thousands more dollars through fundraising efforts. She has donated money to Children of the Night, The Red Panda Network, Shelterbox, New Eyes for the Needy, Anchor School for the Blind, PETA and several other organizations. In 2017 she received the “Compassionate Activist” award for her donation of $1,100 to PETA. Abby is in 7th grade where she excels in all of her subjects. She has traveled to 8 different countries and all over the United States with her parents and grandparents. Abby’s big goal in life is to leave the world a better place than she found it.

Barbara Gehring

Comedienne

Barbara Gehring & Linda Klein (Creators of The Secret Comedy of Women®)Ms. Gehring and Ms. Klein both began writing and performing comedy at an early age. While young Barbara directed elaborate puppet shows in her secret fort a thousand miles away in Canada, little Linda was producing extravagant backyard circuses in a tiny Colorado mountain town. Neither could have foreseen how well these skills would blend together decades later when they wrote the hit comedy show The Secret Comedy of Women. Had they known each other all those years ago, The Secret Comedy of Women is exactly the type of show they would have created together and now as adults, it is exactly the kind of show in which they’ve always wanted to perform. Learn more at SecretComedyOfWomen.com or join their enthusiastic fan base at fb.com/GirlsOnlyComedy

Chelley Canales

Entrepreneur, writer and performing artist

Chelley Canales is a budding entrepreneur, writer and performing artist with a firecracker spirit in a form that can hardly contain it. A voracious reader and lover of learning, her curiosity about life is insatiable. Raised in Littleton, CO, Chelley was fortunate enough to explore her love of the performing arts in her schools and community. She earned a BFA in Theatre from Stephens College in Missouri, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and was the recipient of the Trustee Award for outstanding leadership and service capabilities. In her professional theatrical career, Chelley has performed throughout the Denver metro area and beyond, including Littleton Town Hall Arts Center, The Arvada Center, The Aurora Fox, Vintage Theatre and Breckenridge Backstage Theatre. Chelley believes strongly in supporting youth development in our communities, and this drew her to a career working with non-profits in special events and corporate partnerships.

Em Possible

Entertainer

Emily Geeves, professionally known as Em Possible, is a singer, songwriter, and musician who hails from Cincinnati, Ohio but has called Denver home for the last ten years. Her passion for music developed at a very young age thanks to her mother exposing her to a variety of genres/artists. Her love for music continued to grow over the years through her solo performances, as well as with the influence of her band members and the appearances they have made together. Versatility is one of Em Possible’s strongest virtues. She can sing country, reggae, provide standout vocals on EDM production and keep a staccato rhythm with hip-hop lovers alike. She has always loved the instrumental charisma that comes with a live band, as well as the intimate singer/songwriter production with just her voice and guitar. She writes all of her own lyrics, which are inspired by personal experiences.

Emily Harvey

Disability rights attorney

Emily Harvey completed the Boulder Ironman triathlon in June of 2018, making her one of only a handful of female amputees to achieve Iron(wo)man status. Emily’s leg was amputated when she was 2 years old because of a condition called fibular hemimelia. She grew up playing sports and riding horses but did not get into the specific sports that make up a triathlon – swimming, biking, or running – until she was an adult. For a long time, Emily did not think she would ever be a runner because it was so hard to do on the prosthesis she grew up wearing. That all changed in 2013 when she got her first running leg, and she has not looked back since. Emily currently works as a disability rights attorney at Disability Law Colorado, which is a nonprofit that provides free or low-cost legal services for people with disabilities whose rights have been infringed.

Jasmine McBride

Entertainer

Jasmine McBride is a multidisciplinary artist, radio personality, and host from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She drives to inspire a breakthrough from society’s standards with the development of her artistic phenomena and life wisdom. Aspiring a career in the arts, she’s dwells in multiple hobbies on the journey to her calling. With the goal to connect people internationally, she uses her power of artistic expression to emerge relation through emotion. If you aren’t catching her indulged in some type of artform, such as dance, poetry, fashion, or film, you’ll probably catch her speaking in depth to someone with extensive hand movement. Being an empath with a shared love for health, she works hard to be able to contribute to the Earth, youth, and the less fortunate wellbeing. Student leader, activist, and animal lover. Jasmine is ready to express, progress, and inspire.

Jean East

Empowerment and community practice, advocacy for women’s rights and leadership

Dr. Jean F. East is a social worker and recently retired as a professor from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. Dr. East has over 40 years of professional practice experience with a specialization in empowerment and community practice, advocacy for women’s rights and leadership.. She co-founded a non-profit, Project WISE, (Women’s Initiative for Service and Empowerment), which supported women for 20 years who were financially vulnerable through supportive services, leadership development and advocacy. Dr. East was named 2003 Social Worker of the Year by the Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. She also won the University of Denver’s 2006 Distinguished Teaching Award and received a 2007 “Be Bold” award from the Women’s Foundation of Colorado. She was the 2016-18 Co-Chair of the Council on Social Work Education’s Council on the Role and Status of Women.

Jennifer Burnett

Performer

There is a voice echoing through the Rockies, and that voice is Jennifer Burnett. Jennifer is honored to be a part of the TEDX Cherry Creek Women 2018 event. She serves as the Artistic Director and a lead soloist at Mile Hi Church. As a vocal artist, songwriter, musician, creative entrepreneur, wife and mother, she continues to nurture her personal growth as a woman in leadership in today’s ever-changing world. She has released two self-produced albums, The Colors of Love and One Small Miracle. Her album, One Small Miracle, received the Positive Music Association Seal of Excellence. Its breakout anthem, Be, is dedicated to women everywhere, reminding them that they do not need outside approval or success to be loved, and that they can always advance their lives on their own terms.Her mission is to bring joy, laughter, and excellence everywhere she goes, reminding people to expect more from themselves than they thought was possible, and that life is good.

Johanna Walker

Storytelling maven

Johanna Walker is the fear-blasting, storytelling maven for coaches, consultants, leaders and change-makers. She is the founder of Women Who Speak, a transformational speaker coaching program for female leaders, and Girls Who Speak, where adolescent girls connect to their authentic voice. She hosts The Speaker’s Playground, an unconventional training group where creative entrepreneurs and community leaders become confident and memorable speakers, and is the co-founder and co-host of Boulder’s popular bi-monthly story slam series, Truth Be Told, where people from the audience come to the stage and tell true stories about their lives. As a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, she has presented for corporations, non-profits, start-ups and community organizations, helping audiences develop authentic presence as speakers, find the ideas they want to be known for so, and craft those ideas into compelling presentations.

Karyn Ruth White

Comedienne

Karyn Ruth White believes that her job is; “To keep an eye on humanity and report back.” As a funny Keynote Presenter and Trainer, she focuses her humor on helping business thrive and have fun doing it. She is the owner of Laugh and Learn Productions, LLC, a Denver-based enterprise dedicated to helping people live with less stress and work with more joy. She spent 10 years traveling the U.S. as a Professional Stand-up Comedian, headlining Comedy Clubs and Theaters. She is a Comedy Show Producer and creator of HERSTERICS™, a platform for female comedy. She is the co-author of Your Seventh Sense; How to Think like A Comedian; a book helping people hone the same observational techniques used by professional comedians, to create perspective and laughter from everyday experience. Her second book is titled Dream Droppings; An Entrepreneur’s Field Guide.

Kelly Dore

Human Rights Advocate

Kelly is a wife, mother of 4, Human Rights Advocate, businesswoman, former Legislator and survivor leader who has worked extensively in the field of Anti-Human Trafficking and uses her life experiences to create awareness, educate communities, track legislation and help create new laws to support victims of Human Trafficking. She has sat on many State and National Level boards and is heavily involved in educating lawmakers, advocating on behalf of minor victims for best practice policy and raising money for various non-profits for Human Trafficking. Kelly is an author and public speaker who works closely with Community and Faith Based organizations to educate them on public awareness. Kelly is the Executive Director of the National Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition which she founded with other professional survivor leaders to help advocate, educate and raise awareness to the degree of Human Sex and Labor trafficking in Colorado and the Nation.

Kïrsten Blake

Chapter BE

Kïrsten Blake is the Creator and Founder of Chapter BE, an organization that guides individuals as they reframe their narrative from doing to BEing through individualized coaching, facilitation, and storytelling. She has interviewed nearly 600 people to highlight their stories of BEing, in the hopes of helping others (re)connect to their own BEing, as well as find connections to our common humanity. These stories have been highlighted in the Chapter BE podcast, The BE Stories storytelling project, The Being of a Nation road trip, and The Huffington Post. Kïrsten’s love of cities, stories, and exploring new places has resulted in her living, working, and playing in New York City/Brooklyn, Washington D.C., St. Thomas (USVI), and Denver, CO – with her work and curiosities focused toward education, human connection, and issues of equity.

Linda Klein

Comedienne

Barbara Gehring & Linda Klein (Creators of The Secret Comedy of Women®) Ms. Gehring and Ms. Klein both began writing and performing comedy at an early age. While young Barbara directed elaborate puppet shows in her secret fort a thousand miles away in Canada, little Linda was producing extravagant backyard circuses in a tiny Colorado mountain town. Neither could have foreseen how well these skills would blend together decades later when they wrote the hit comedy show The Secret Comedy of Women. Had they known each other all those years ago, The Secret Comedy of Women is exactly the type of show they would have created together and now as adults, it is exactly the kind of show in which they’ve always wanted to perform. Learn more at SecretComedyOfWomen.com or join their enthusiastic fan base at fb.com/GirlsOnlyComedy

Lisa Lee

Teacher

Lisa Lee is a native of Athens, Georgia, and currently lives in the state of which she is a ‘heart native’ – Colorado. A 31-year teaching veteran, Lisa currently co-facilitates the Gifted and Talented program at Wheat Ridge High School in Jefferson County. She has won many awards in her career, among them a finalist for the 2017 Colorado Teacher of the Year. However, Lisa considers her greatest accomplishments those which are intrinsic – making a difference in her community and those in which she comes into contact with on a daily basis. One area in which she carries that out is in her other passion, that of being an international keynote motivational speaker. Lisa embraces the opportunity to learn and grow with people of all backgrounds and ages. She believes that every person deserves an equal chance to grow and thrive, and that – with support and encouragement – we all have the ability to have a positive impact. When she isn’t in the company of the greatest teenagers on the planet,

Pat Jacques

Pioneer woman racing men’s motocross, successful entrepreneur, and founder of ADVWoman.

On and off her motorcycle Pat Jacques is a genuine, courageous, authentic BadAss! She transformed her early life of violence and abuse to become a pioneer woman racing men’s motocross, successful entrepreneur, and founder of ADVWoman. Her mission is to empower women through off road motorcycling. Pat has been riding, racing and teaching motorcycling over 40 years. She developed training techniques specifically addressing women’s unique physicality, communication, and learning styles. She has a talent for breaking skills into teachable pieces, inspiring confidence, and helping riders to achieve tremendous success. Yet Pat is quick to add, “I may be teaching motorcycling, but what I’m really doing is empowering women.” She led the first ever all woman Colorado Backcountry Discovery Tour; a breathtaking, challenging multi day off road route travelling 675 miles across Colorado with mountain passes over 12,000 feet in elevation.

Phylecia Jones

Budgetologist

Phylecia Jones is a Budgetologist, Speaker and Financial Advocate who is on a mission to change the world one budget at a time. As the creator of Keep Up with Mrs. Jones and the Host of the daily morning show, and podcast, Ask the Budgetologist, Phylecia is the savvy go-to budgeting nerd that business owners turn to for money advice. During a 5-year span of getting rid of $25,000+ in debt, managing to increase a net worth to over $500,000 and leaving a 6-figure salaried job to start a business, Phylecia realized that that millionaire status does not happen overnight and managing that thin line of having money, and not having money, can be stressful. With a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and a Master’s in Systems Engineering, Phylecia proudly served 13 years as a civilian Computer Scientist for the US Navy and Department of Defense, supporting sailors and soldiers across the world, but realized that it was not enough.

Savita Ginde

Women's reproductive and health rights

Dr. Savita Ginde is a first-generation American, the daughter of Indian immigrants. After completing her fellowship in 2003, Dr. Ginde moved to Colorado to work for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Dr. Ginde served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of PPRM for fourteen years. Throughout her tenure with PPRM, she worked to broaden the scope of PPRM’s healthcare, expanding its services to include transgender care, integrated abortion care, and to develop the clinical research program into a widely admired and comprehensive clinical training program. Recently, Dr. Ginde was at the center of a major controversy involving a fabricated news story. This experience provided her with unique insight into the state of modern-day journalism and the boundaries around the free speech afforded to Americans through the First Amendment. She has firsthand account of how media and reproductive rights can weave a dangerous thread of intersectionality.

Shahira Qudrat

Business leader & consultant

Raised amidst two cultures, Afghan-American and proud Muslim woman Shahira N. Qudrat found herself at odds with her identity. In her debut novel, Authenticity in America: A Memoir of Rebellion & Dual Identities, she discusses the challenges of navigating dual-cultures and encourages Multi-American women to embrace their own dual-identities. Her book is set to launch December 2018. Shahira is also the founder of Multi-American Moxie, a community of dual-identity American women who desire personal and professional leadership development. Her work focuses on building gender equity & inclusivity, especially with first & second generation American women who desire to live in their zone of authenticity. With over 12 years of corporate/non-profit experience, and an MBA under her belt, Shahira serves as a business leader & consultant. Her own core strengths include organizational change management, high functioning team development, business strategy planning, and project management.

Teri Smith

Addiction and Alcoholism Advocate

Teri D. Smith is the Director of Development for Stout Street Foundation, a non-profit treatment program for addiction and alcoholism. After gaining her own sobriety, Teri developed a passion for bringing awareness to addiction and helping those in need. Over the course of her 13-year career in addiction treatment, Teri’s open, transparent approach to recovery has helped hundreds of people achieve sobriety and reclaim their lives. Her tenacity for fundraising to aid those in need has increased the understanding that recovery is possible and should be lived out loud, free of shame. She strives to build a stronger community through openness, healing, and a legacy of helping others.

Voices Rock

Entertainer

Voices Rock! offers adults (and teenagers 16 and older) the chance to sing pop, rock, Motown, gospel and chart songs without the need to audition, read music or have any previous singing experience. The music ranges from songs you grew up with to those you and your kids love today. There is zero pressure. All it requires is a love for music and having fun! Voices Rock! is more than a choir – it’s a musical experience unlike any other. Find your voice. Make new friends. Participate in something meaningful. This is truly a choir for the people.