Theme: The Power of One

For their Fall 2019 Salon, TEDxUWMilwaukee is bringing two amazing people to the stage to interpret "The Power of One" in very different ways. Ken Leinbach, founder of UW-Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center, will explain his personal beliefs on how to make life meaningful using only the letter "P". Marissa Jablonski, a transnational Sustainability Consultant, wants to help the audience question why they make decisions regarding plastic use--and how to rethink that decision. This event will also allow the audience to ask questions of the speakers, and discuss with one another the ideas surrounding these two intriguing talks.

UWM Student Union, Fireside Lounge
2200 E. Kenwood Blvd
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53211
United States

Ken Leinbach

Urban Ecology Expert

Ken Leinbach, an internationally recognized author, science educator and leader in community-based environmental education is best known for his work facilitating the creation of the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee. Ken, a certified high school teacher with over 30 years of experience teaching and developing environmental science programs, holds a biology degree from Antioch College, a master's degree in environmental education from Prescott College, and an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. His awards list is long, and includes the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Natural Science (Virginia), Nature Educator of the Year from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (New York), the Martin Luther King Award from St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church (Milwaukee), and the Harvard Business School scholarship for strategic perspectives in nonprofit management which lead to the Green NonProfit Leader of the Year from the Milwaukee Business Journal.

Marissa Jablonski

Development Engineer and Educator

Dr. Marissa Jablonski is internationally recognized for her expertise in water engineering, international development, and plastics reduction—but it is her way of understanding complex interactions involving human beings and environmental systems, and her special talents in storytelling and systems processes that truly help organizations and people make simple and effective environmentally informed, socially inclusive choices. In this talk, Marissa will share her experience helping 65 international hotels reduce their single-use plastics—how working with large companies still involves the impact of individuals—and how offering integrative, holistic solutions led to the reduction of 6 million single-use plastics in 2018 alone.