Theme: Think again!

A half-day event designed to get attendees to "Think Again!!" about important ideas and issues affecting our community and our world.

Event videos at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsRNoUx8w3rOGwJ-GBMAGe70ZWOpPGNyu

White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church
328 Maple Street
Mahtomedi, Minnesota, 55115
United States

Alyne Torenvliet

Alyne Torenvliet is planning to major in biochemistry and pursue a career in the medical field. She is involved in three sports at the high school as well as a community service club and National Honor Society.

Apirl Seifert

After losing her father to colon cancer at the age 11 and being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 14, April Seifert became keenly aware that time and health are some of the most valuable gifts we have and that life is meant to be lived actively and to the fullest. Today, April helps people do just that. As co-founder of Peak Mind: The Center for Psychological Strength and host of the Building Psychological Strength podcast, April helps people cultivate the confidence, resilience, and mental flexibility they need to thrive through life’s ups and downs. April holds a Ph.D. in social cognitive psychology. She is wife to a hunky ER physician and mom to two strong, independent girls.

Ava Schimnowski

Ava Schimnowski enjoys running cross country, track, and Nordic skiing. She is interested in studying environmental biology at a university.

Brent Olson

Brent Olson has been a county commissioner in Big Stone County, Minnesota, for 15 years. He made a living as a farmer for 30 years and was with the Soil and Water Conservation District for 12 years, helping the district win two Goodyear Awards for outstanding work in soil and water conservation. He’s served on the Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council, Big Stone County Pork Producers, the United Methodist Board of Ordained Ministries, and the board of the New Life Primary School in Mizac, Haiti. He was a 2012 Bush Foundation Fellow and his fellowship project, The Inadvertent Café, became a book. He’s written over 1,300 columns and articles, filed stories from six continents, and published six books.

Carolyn Porter

Carolyn Porter is a graphic designer, type designer, and author. Her first font, P22 Marcel Script, garnered four international honors, including the prestigious Certificate for Typographic Excellence from the New York Type Director’s Club, typeface competitions by Communication Arts and Print magazines, and selection for the 2015 Project Passion exhibition. In the book Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate, Carolyn recounts her obsessive quest for information about Marcel Heuzé, the World War II French forced laborer whose beautiful handwriting inspired the font. The book was awarded gold medals from the Military Writers Society of America and Independent Publisher and was a finalist for a 2018 Minnesota Book Award.

Hindolo Pokawa

As a child in Sierra Leone, Hindolo Pokawa experienced the brutal violence, economic destruction, and social disintegration of civil war. After finishing high school in Zimbabwe, where he fled when the war escalated, he entered the U.S. on a student visa and earned his undergraduate degree in political science and global studies with a minor in African–African American studies, focusing on peace and governance. He later earned his Master of Liberal Studies with a focus on literacy in mining communities in rural Sierra Leone. As founder and executive director of the Sierra Leone Foundation for New Democracy, Hindolo builds local communities’ capacity to see themselves as part of the solution to problems they face.

Junita Flowers

Junita Flowers, known as the Hope-Muncher-in-Chief for her hope-filled messages inspiring women to live their best lives, is an entrepreneur and inspirational speaker. Over two decades of work with nonprofit organizations, she has advocated for families and equipping youth to lead fearlessly. She built upon her experiences from the nonprofit sector to found Junita’s Jar, a mission-driven cookie company. Committed to inspiring the courage needed to conquer limiting fears and challenges, Junita continues to empower young adults as leaders by fostering open dialogue and increasing awareness of the need to reduce relationship violence against women. Junita’s personal mission statement is, “pursue purpose, create change and make an impact.”

Kyle "KC" Legacion

Kyle recently graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota / Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program with a minor in sustainability studies. A classically trained actor, he has experience in a variety of other fields, including videography, community organizing, and music. Kyle intends to continue into academia, eventually pursuing a Ph.D. existing somewhere within the intersection of Internet studies, sustainable design, popular culture, and ecopsychology. Ultimately, Kyle is fueled by the passion to tell the stories that connect us back with the earth.

Mary Edmunds

Mary Edmunds is involved in sports and Interact club and hopes to have a career in environmental policy and management.

Ruby Ales

Ruby Ales is involved in the National Honor Society and likes to spend her free time outside. She would like to study biochemistry or molecular biology and eventually earn a higher degree in science. Her favorite field of study outside of life sciences is math.

Vasav Sahni

Vasav Sahni is a scientist at 3M Corporate, where he leads teams to develop new products and technologies by drawing upon inspiration from Nature — spiders, geckos, butterflies, and dragons. He has a Ph.D. in polymer science from the University of Akron and a B.Tech. in textile technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. He is an avid proponent for careers in science and collaborates with Discovery Education to mentor young scientists to develop scientific solutions to global problems. He is chief scientific adviser and board member of HD Solvera, a nonprofit that aims to develop new therapies for neurodegenerative conditions. His hobbies include dancing and acting, and he has performed in several dance-drama productions throughout the Twin Cities.