Theme: 2020

This TEDxDayton event will be held in four parts. Nov 10 & 12, 8p-9p, and Nov 17 & 20, 8p-9p. Like past TEDxDayton events, it will feature talks from a diverse group of individuals and performers. Stay tuned for more information. Can't wait!

Virtual Event
Virtual Event
Dayton, Ohio, 45402
United States

Amy Riegel

Amy M. Riegel, Director of Housing at CareSource, works tirelessly for the underserved within the community. She is focused on building collaborative partnerships to address affordable housing through development, financing, and policy with an emphasis on improving health outcomes. Amy has served on numerous Boards within Ohio and nationally that are focused on poverty elimination, affordable housing, and neighborhood revitalization. She is a graduate of Wright State University, and proudly lives in Dayton with her husband and three young daughters.

Ann Pucket

Ann Puckett, mom of 4 boys and the wife of a coach, grew up building with her Dad and crafting with her Mom. She spent over 25 years in the corporate world, but always loved the time to step away from tech and build something with her family. Ann loves to help and empower others while building confidence and unleashing creativity, and she has always dreamed of opening a shop where others can come together to create. She invites you to come and try a DIY project yourself at her boutique AR Workshop Centerville: www.arworkshop.com/centerville.

Anne Marie Romer

Conor’s aunt, Anne Marie Romer, is a writer inspired by family connection, grief, and fleeting moments of serendipity. She articulates the language of the heart in a way which binds the human experience and highlights connections that are relatable to all. She is propelled by the relentless quest to highlight good that rises even amidst debilitating pain. Anne Marie is a Community Contributor to the Dayton Daily News. Along with her essays, she is also the author of the book, Just Give Me the Road. Her writings can be found on her website, annemarieromer.com.

Brianna Rhodes

Brianna Rhodes is a freelance dance artist, and a dance teacher for several dance studios and summer camps in Columbus, Ohio. She graduated with a degree in Dance from The Ohio State University in 2019, and is a former dancer of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Brianna focuses on educating herself on equality of any sex, race, sexuality, and profession through the lens of African & African American history and activism. She has recently utilized the art of poetry and combined it with dance to further her creative voice towards social equality. Constantly keeping the stories of the ancestors close, Brianna lives through her favorite African Proverb, “I am because we are, and because we are; therefore I am.”

Charlie Campbell

Charlie Campbell is the creator of the weekly blog, It’s Great In Dayton, http://www.greatdayton.com where he informs his 7,000 “best friends” of what’s going on in the Dayton area. Since 1972, Charlie has been living in Oakwood with his family and working in downtown Dayton. His grandfather established Miami-Jacobs College and Charlie was the third generation to “…keep things going.” During those years, Charlie was tagged, “The Mayor of Webster Station.” In the year 2000 he retired, but he never took his eye off downtown Dayton.

Christopher Wyatt

Christopher Wyatt is originally from Manchester, England. He has a PhD in Neuropharmacology and for the last thirty years has researched the neuronal control of breathing with particular interest in how disease states and medicines alter breathing. He has over fifty publications on the control of breathing and his laboratory has been funded by NIH, The American Heart Association, and the pharmaceutical industry. Chris lives in Yellow Springs, is married to Karen, and has two teenage sons: Bob and Morris. To relax during this pandemic, he walks his two crazy little Patterdale Terriers: Betty and Archie.

Conor Crippen

Conor Crippen suffered a catastrophic traumatic brain injury (or TBI) from being hit by a drunk driver. Despite this incident, Conor has a persistent belief that recovery is always possible, no matter the circumstance. He has a loving sister and brother and ended up right in the middle of them. His favorite things are curiosity in the unknown, big laughs and finding the opportunities to engage and befriend as many people as possible. So, if you meet him, pull up a chair.

Daj’za Demmings

Daj’za Demmings, named in Dayton Business Journal’s 2020 Class of 40 Under 40, is a native of West Dayton and is the Executive Director of Dayton Young Black Professionals. Through this role she has worked to create a network that is a safe haven for young, African American career men and women to unite, network, cultivate their resources and thrive, together. Demmings studied at Central State University and Wilberforce University, the only two Historically Black College/Universities (HBCUs) in Ohio. She is committed to a life of service and philanthropy for minority groups and marginalized people everywhere.

Elijah Muhammed

Elijah Muhammad is an aspiring motivational speaker who is truly an example of the saying, “succeeding against all odds.” He spent his childhood and early adulthood in a human trafficking cult, that dictated every aspect of his life. Elijah’s story was told for the very first time when he served as a contributor on A&E’s “Cults and Extreme Beliefs.” He has aided in freeing others from similar enslavements and volunteers a great deal of time advocating for other victims of human trafficking.

Gern Blanston

Gern is a well known comic by another name

Jacquelyn Wright Palmer, PhD

Jacquelyn Wright Palmer, an educator who retired from teaching at Wright State University and a former administrator at Dayton Public Schools, embraces what it means for her to lean on her genealogy to connect to her ancestors in a way that would keep her family’s history alive and well. Her passion for this came from her own mentor and uncle, Walter L. Wright Sr., who instilled in her what the stories behind the documents really mean. Jacquelyn received her master’s degree in teaching from Andrews University and her PhD in business administration from University of Cincinnati.

Jim McCutcheon

Ohio Arts Council Touring Artist Jim McCutcheon received the 2017 Governor’s Award for the Arts in Arts Education. He is Artist-in-Residence at the University of Dayton and adjunct faculty at Wright State and Miami University. He presents “Guitar Man” and “Science of Music” performances and residencies to schools K-12 across Ohio. He has been the Guitar Advisor to the National Federation of Music Clubs for over three decades, and has hosted “The Intimate Guitar” weekly on Discover Classical since 1986. He reviews guitar CDs for Soundboard and the American Record Guide, and owns and teaches at McCutcheon Music, a music store and teaching facility in Centerville, Ohio.

Jodi Mader

Jodie Mader is a history professor, faculty developer, and mom. Her appreciation of the past and all that is historical grew from a family trip to Europe in the late 1980s. Despite refusing to believe her dad’s prediction for many years, she eventually became a professor. She is always curious and sees another career ahead of her, either in or outside of academia. In her free time, she likes to paint on canvas and dabble in crafts. She and her husband Chris live in Fort Thomas Kentucky with their two sons, Jeffrey, and Christopher.

Josh Montgomery

Joshua Montgomery is an Associate Professor at Southern State Community College and Director of Technology at the Chillicothe City School District. He is the co-founder of SOMACC (Southern Ohio Makers Against COVID Coalition). This grassroots group built 4,500 3D printed face shields for first responders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh is working on his Doctorate at Colorado Technical University in Computer Science. One of his most significant accomplishments is building R2-D2, a droid that took him 2.5 years to complete. Josh and his wife, Brandy, reside in Southern Ohio with their two children and three dachshunds.

Kathleen Wiant

Kathleen Wiant, mother of five children, had her world change forever in November 2018 when her 18-year-old son, Collin, died from fraternity hazing at Ohio University. This motivated her to learn about hazing and in the process, she discovered a critical remedy for it…courage. She now speaks at universities across the country to share her findings and lobbies for anti-hazing legislation on a national level. She is also progressing with Ohio’s anti-hazing & anti-bullying law, Collin’s Law. Kathleen has spent her career in professional training and leadership development. As a board member of The Collin Wiant Foundation, she is passionate about its mission to “bring more Kindness + Courage to the world.”

Ronald Fletcher, M.D.

Ronald L. Fletcher, former Ohio Health Director, is devoted to helping people wherever there is great need and has a vast array of experience. After graduating medical school, he became director of a clinic, through the U.S. Health Department poverty relief program. Ronald worked with groups to send $13 million of medical aid to Hungary, Ukraine, and Romania as they struggled after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Ronald also worked with missionary groups to care for people in the jungles of Belize and Guatemala, as well as initiating a strategy with President Museveni of Uganda to save the endangered Mountain Gorillas.

Shomari Payne

Shomari Payne was born in Dayton and is the author of the memoir, Pain is a Stimulus, which chronicles his oppressive childhood, disinvested neighborhood, and experience navigating a high-poverty school system. He is passionate about social justice, affordable housing, anti-gentrification efforts, education reform, and fostering community. He is motivated to revitalize the region of the U.S known as the “Rust Belt.” He has served the city of Dayton as an advocate for first-generation college students at Sinclair Community College since 2014. Shomari earned his MBA at Miami University and is currently pursuing a PhD at Miami University in Educational Leadership. He is also the Head Varsity Golf Coach at Stivers High School.

Subhashini Ganapathy

Subhashini Ganapathy is an educator and a leader in the area of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Wright State University. Her interests are in exploring fundamental and applied research in the area of Human Computer Interaction. Subhashini has published over 50 articles in premier journals, conferences, and as book chapters. She holds 3 patents in the area of mobile augmented reality. Prior to joining WSU, she was a senior user experience researcher at Intel Corporation.

Ted Yoder

Ted Yoder is the perfect musician for the 21st century; his passionate playing style and easy-going personality make him a natural live and online star. Why? Because until you hear Ted Yoder, it’s impossible to imagine that one wooden stringed instrument can sound like an entire rock band or a whole symphony orchestra all in one. A national champion and sure virtuoso labeled, “The Bela Fleck of the hammered dulcimer”.

Tim Nevius

Timothy Nevius is a sports attorney and former NCAA investigator. While at the NCAA, Tim led investigations into top athletic programs for violations of NCAA rules. Thereafter, he switched sides and helped initiate a landmark class action against the NCAA to challenge athlete compensation restrictions. Since then he established a one-of-a-kind sports law practice representing college athletes, and founded the College Athlete Advocacy Initiative at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. Tim graduated from the University of Dayton, where he played college baseball. He also graduated first in his law school class from the University of Dayton and earned an LL.M. with honors from Columbia Law School.