Theme: Influence

This year’s TEDxWestChester features speakers who explore the influence we exert on one another, on our communities, on our own minds. They are influencers and innovators improving lives locally in our Chester County and Philadelphia neighborhoods. Their experiences have shaped their ideas – and – their ideas are shaping the future. Please take a look at our flickr event link: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJMAAgn

Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center
226 North High Street
West Chester, Pennsylvania, 19380
United States

Christine Martey-Ochola

Entrepreneur and Scientist

Dr. Christine Martey-Ochola is a serial entrepreneur and is the co-founder of Avo Global Ltd, an engineering, education, and public health management consulting firm. She also co-founded Nuele, a natural hair care company based in Pennsylvania. She has had a successful career as an academic consultant and biochemistry professor where she run cancer research on targeted chemotherapeutic delivery for many years. Dr. Martey-Ochola is keen on economic community development and received an award from the White House as a champion of change due to her work with diaspora communities in the United States on matters of economic empowerment. She is currently working on an initiative to establish a STEM and Performing Arts School in Pennsylvania.

Gabriel Nathan

Editor In Chief

Gabe is an author, editor, actor, playwright, director, mental health and suicide awareness advocate. He is the Editor in Chief of OC87 Recovery Diaries, an online mental health publication that tells stories of mental health, empowerment, and change. For five years, he worked at Montgomery County Emergency Service, Inc. (MCES), a non-profit crisis psychiatric hospital in the capacity of Allied Therapist and, later, as Development Specialist. At MCES, he created innovative programs such as a psychiatric visiting nurse program, a suicide prevention collaboration with SEPTA, and an Inpatient Concert Series that brought professional performing artists to entertain the patients and enrich their inpatient experience. Gabe serves on the Board of Directors of Prevent Suicide PA. He lives in a suburb of Philadelphia with his wife, twins, a long-haired German shepherd named Sadie and a basset hound named Tennessee.

Harold Strawbridge

HealthCare

Throughout his career Harold has used a unique set of tools to make “things” visible. What things? The causes of poor process performance; the steps to improve performance; the ways to make continuous improvement part of everyday work. Making things visible engages the people in a process to identify and implement measurable improvements. Engaged people make sure changes are done with and not to the people in the process. Making things visible is an approach Harold developed while serving organizations such as The Inglis Foundation, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Siemens Health Systems and Shared Medical Systems. By making things visible, people see why things are the way they are which serves as the basis for how to make things better. Harold is President of Strawbridge Consulting.

Jennifer Croneberger

Speaker and Leadership Consultant

Jennifer Croneberger is a 4-time TEDx speaker and compassionate leadership/culture change consultant. She holds a Master’s Degree in Sports and Performance Psychology and she has spoken for clients that include Nike, Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin, The US Department of Defense, The NIH and the USDA. She also holds a certification from the Harvard Business School in Sustainable Business Strategy and is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and published her first book in 2012 titled “These Five Words Are Mine."

Matt Tenney

Leadership Development

Matt Tenney is the author of “Serve to Be Great: Leadership Lessons from a Prison, a Monastery, and a Boardroom,” which is used in the leadership development programs of universities, government bodies, and companies to help leaders achieve better outcomes while living happier, more fulfilling lives. Matt is also the founder and CEO of The Generous Group, a marketing company whose primary goal is to create the conditions for world peace by loving employees well, helping employees to become happier, more loving human beings, and by inspiring other leaders and organizations to make love their top priority.