Theme: Imagine

Imagine invites us to shed limitations and envision possibilities. It urges us to tap into our child-like wonder to dream about the future. It calls us to solve challenges with new technology, engage peaceful alternatives to violence, create innovative design, improve our environment with scientific research, and form communities that are strong because of their diversity. Ignite your imagination on November 16th as we explore big ideas together.

Buell Theatre
1350 Curtis Street
Denver, Colorado, 80202
United States

Allison Anderson

Aerospace Engineer

Dr. Allison Anderson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and an Adjunct Professor in Integrative Physiology. Her work focuses on aerospace biomedical engineering and human physiology in extreme environments, with the goal of enabling a human mission to Mars. She received a Ph.D. from MIT and a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. She grew up on a farm in rural Missouri, is the fourth child of five, and is now a private pilot.

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández

Immigration Law Expert

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández is a law professor at the University of Denver and the author of two books: Crimmigration Law and Migrating to Prison: America's Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants. His op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, and Newsweek, and he publishes crimmigration.com, a blog about criminal & immigration law. He was a Fulbright scholar in Slovenia and is a member of the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration. César was born & raised in McAllen, Texas, and is a graduate of Brown University and Boston College.

Danny Rankin

Graphic Designer

Danny Rankin is a designer & educator at the University of Colorado Boulder ATLAS Institute. His work explores subversive graphic design, material fabrication, game design, hardware hacking, sustainable agriculture, and large-scale installation art. He co-directs the ATLAS Whaaat!? Lab, a space for experimental game & interaction design, and is a mentor in the BTU (Blow Things Up) Lab. His cooperative card game Ravine was one of the most popular card game Kickstarters of 2017. He lives in Lafayette, Colorado with his wife and two sons.

Jennifer Reich

Public Health Expert

Jennifer Reich is Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research examines how individuals and families weigh information and strategize their interactions with the state and service providers, particularly as they relate to healthcare and welfare. Over the last decade, she has examined how parents come to reject vaccines for their children, in dialog with physicians, complementary healthcare providers, activists, and researchers. She wrote Calling the Shots: Why Parents Reject Vaccines. She & her husband have three children.

Jose "Jozer" Guerrero

Poet

Jose "Jozer" Guerrero is a spoken word poet, stage and screen actor, and member of Chicano Funk band Los Mocochetes. He is inspired by his students' strength, compassion, determination, and willingness to change. His work has been featured on Univision, PBS, HBO, and American Theater Magazine. In his free time, he enjoys long distance running, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and boxing. Jozer has learned more from his son, JT, than any teacher.

Jovan Mays

Poet

Jovan Mays is the emeritus Poet Laureate of Aurora, Colorado, a National Poetry Slam Champion, and the Youth Voice Coordinator of Aurora Public Schools. Mays has worked with over one million students through poetry outreach in his program, Your Writing Counts. He is the author of 3 books: Pride, The Great Box Escape, and This Is Your Song, and has been published by The Pilgrimage, Button Poetry, and Write About Now. He graduated from Chadron State College with a degree in Secondary History Education. He is accompanied by Tyson Bennett, Jesse Hunter, and Chadzilla of Von Disco.

Los Mocochetes

Xicana Funk Band

Los Mocochetes are a Xicana Funk band from Denver, Colorado. This colorful cast of characters fuses thoughtfully brazen, socio/politically charged song lyrics, groovilicious melodies and high-energy stage antics to create an immersive experience. Much like a machete, which can be used either as a tool to build or a weapon to kill, they have chosen to use their music to inspire and encourage positive social change. Performers include Jose “Jozer” Guerrero, Jon Rubio, Josh Randy Abeyta, Eli Montoya, and Elias García. Every show is different, but it’s always a dance party!

Marah J. Hardt

Marine Biologist

At 17, Marah J. Hardt left high school early to study sharks in the Bahamas. There, she realized that our oceans face serious challenges and that scientists are (often) terrible at communicating them, which inspired her career in marine conservation & communication. She received her PhD in marine science from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is working on solutions for overfishing, climate change, and the coral reef crisis. She is founder and CEO of OceanInk and the Director of Discovery at the Future of Fish. She wrote the book, Sex in the Sea.

Marcus Doe

Author & Refugee

A native of Liberia, West Africa, Marcus immigrated to the United States when he was 14 years old during the Liberian civil war. He began his career in education, and after seven years as a middle school teacher, Marcus got his MDiv at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. Currently, he works with Providence and CrossPurpose in Denver, Colorado. Marcus published his autobiography, Catching Ricebirds, in 2016. He enjoys spending time with his wife & daughter and playing soccer. His dream is to increase literacy in West Africa.

Nita Mosby Tyler

Racial Equity Expert

Dr. Nita Mosby Tyler is the Chief Catalyst and Founder of The Equity Project, a company that supports organizations & communities in building equity, inclusion, and diversity, and The HR Shop, a boutique human resources firm for non-profits & small businesses. Previously, she was the Senior Vice President and Chief Inclusion Officer for Children’s Hospital Colorado and the Executive Director of the Office of Human Resources for the City & County of Denver. She has three children, Jasmine, Imani, and Chinelo, and is married to Rev. Dr. Timothy Tyler.

Paula Stone Williams

Gender Equity Advocate

Paula Stone Williams is an internationally known speaker on gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy, and religious tolerance. She is the Teaching Pastor at Left Hand Church in Longmont, Colorado and a Pastoral Counselor with RLT Pathways. Paula has been featured in The New York Times, Red Table Talk, the Denver Post, The New York Post and NPR. Her TEDWomen and TEDxMileHigh talks have had over 3.5 million views. She is an avid runner and mountain biker. She has three adult children and five granddaughters.

Ruth Soukup

Entrepreneur

Ruth Soukup is dedicated to helping people everywhere create a life they love by following their dreams and achieving their biggest goals. She is the host of the wildly popular Do It Scared Podcast, as well as the founder of Living Well Spending Less and Elite Blog Academy. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including Do It Scared: Finding the Courage to Face Your Fears, Overcome Obstacles, and Create a Life You Love. She lives in Florida with her husband Chuck, and two daughters Maggie & Annie.

Tom Teves

Media Reformer

On July 20, 2012, Tom and Caren Teves’ firstborn son, Alex, was murdered in the Aurora theater shooting while heroically shielding his girlfriend from gunfire. In the days immediately following his murder, they founded NoNotoriety, a movement dedicated to reducing rampage mass murders by limiting the name and face of the killers in the media. They also founded the Alexander C. Teves ACT-Foundation.org to provide funding for scholarships, mentor programs, and opportunities for students with special needs. He lives in Arizona & works for Compass Group.

Veronica Barassi

Digital Anthropologist

Dr. Veronica Barassi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media, Communications, and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths University of London. Her research focuses on the impacts of data technologies and artificial intelligence on society. She founded Child | Data | Citizen and authored two books, Activism on the Web: Everyday Struggles against Digital Capitalism and Child | Data | Citizen. Veronica was born in Italy, and currently splits her time between London & Los Angeles. She has two daughters with her Scottish husband, Paul.